Your weight-loss success depends in large part on your readiness to take on the challenge. If you jump in before youre ready, your weight-loss plan may buckle under the first challenge. Use these questions to assess your weight-loss readiness.

1. Are you motivated to make long-term lifestyle changes?

Successful weight loss depends on permanent lifestyle changes, such as eating healthy foods and exercising more. That could represent a significant departure from your current lifestyle. Be honest. Knowing that you need to make changes in your life and actually doing it are two different things. You may have to overhaul your diet so that youre eating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, for example. Youll also need to find time to exercise for at least 30 minutes nearly every day of the week. Exercise is especially important to prevent regaining your lost weight.

Your motivation for undertaking these changes may be better health, improved appearance or just feeling better about yourself in general. As long as your motivation is a healthy one, it doesnt really matter what it is. Find your motivation and focus on it.

2. Have you addressed the big distractions in your life?

If youre dealing with major life events, such as marital problems, job stress, illness or financial worries, you may not want to add the challenge of overhauling your eating and exercise habits. Instead, consider giving your life a chance to calm down before you launch your weight-loss program.

3. Do you have a realistic picture of how much weight youll lose and how quickly?

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is a lifelong process. Over the long term, its best to aim for losing 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week. To lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day. You can do that through a low-calorie diet and regular physical activity or exercise.

Initially you might lose weight more quickly than that if you make significant changes — just be sure the changes are health supporting. Dont get discouraged if your rate of weight loss slows a bit after bigger initial losses.

4. Have you resolved any emotional issues connected to your weight?

Emotions and food are often intertwined. Anger, stress, grief and boredom can trigger emotional eating. And if you have a history of an eating disorder, weight loss can be even trickier. Start by identifying your emotional issues related to food so that youre prepared for the challenges. Talk to your doctor about what weight-loss options are best for you.

5. Do you have support and accountability?

Any weight-loss program can be difficult. You may face moments of temptation or become disheartened. Having someone in your corner to offer encouragement can help. If you dont have friends or family you can rely on for positive help, consider joining a weight-loss support group.

If you want to keep your weight-loss efforts private, be prepared to be accountable to yourself with regular weigh-ins and a log of your diet and activity. You might also want to consider joining an online program or using a certified health coach.

6. Have you embraced the weight-loss challenge?

If you dont have a positive attitude about losing weight, you may not be ready. If you dread what lies ahead, you may be more likely to find excuses to veer off course. Try to embrace the vision of your new lifestyle and remain positive. Focus on how good youll feel when youre more active or when you weigh less. Picture yourself celebrating every little success along the way, whether its opting for a low-fat cottage cheese snack instead of chips or going for a walk.

Youre ready for weight loss: Now what?

If you answered yes to all or most of these questions, youre probably ready to make the lifestyle changes necessary to work toward permanent weight loss. You may be able to forge ahead on your own, creating your own lifestyle program for healthy eating and exercising. Or you may feel you need help.

Educating yourself about the process of successful weight loss and maintenance is a start. For example, learn more about the dietary changes necessary for losing weight. See a dietitian or enroll in a behavior-based weight program that can help you change the habits that can interfere with weight loss, such as eating when youre stressed or bored. If you have a significant amount of weight to lose, you may benefit from medically supervised weight loss with a team of health professionals that may include a dietitian, a therapist or an obesity specialist.

What if youre not ready?

If you answered no to more than one of these questions, you may not be ready to embark on a weight-loss program right now. And thats OK. Explore whats holding you back and face those obstacles. In some cases it may simply be a matter of timing. For instance, you may need to resolve other stressors in your life first. In other cases, you may need to work on related issues, such as your feelings toward weight loss or your willingness to commit to permanent lifestyle changes.

By Mayo Clinic staff

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The energy you use in your home can come from a coal-fired power station, hydroelectric power, or a wind turbine. You won’t know which because the end result is electricity. The energy that fuels your body can come from fats, proteins or carbohydrates. You won’t know which because the end result is ATP, or cellular energy,” says Cooney, concluding that “Your body will use the energy it needs and store the leftover fats, proteins or carbohydrates as fat. When you do the sums, it’s ultimately a matter of calories in and calories out.” ~ By Alan

So how do you lose weight? Eat less and exercise more. Nobody likes that answer, but continuing to ask the question isn’t going to change it.

We know that any diet will work and, for that matter, any exercise program works, provided youre burning more calories than youre eating.

The question we ask ourselves when it comes to diets or exercise programs is often: Will this help me lose weight? Chances are, whatever it is, it will. The question we may want to ask ourselves is this: Can I follow this for the long-term?

Thats one reason that making lifestyle changes is one way people find long-term success.

What about you? Have you ever found yourself trying to go back to an exercise program or diet that worked for you before? If it worked, why werent you able to stick with it? Is it time to let it go and find something you can do for the long-term?

Weight loss is all about believing in yourself and finding a program that you think works for you. If you believe in yourself it will make it that much easier for you to succeed in your journey. Here are a couple of tips to help you stay motivated on your way:

1) Set Short-Term Goals:

While it is essential to long term goals you must set short term goals as well. Why? It’s simple. If you just set long term goals then you will get disappointed and maybe quick because of a lack of results. But with short term weight loss goals like losing a 1 or 2 a week, or shaving 10 seconds off your mile time then you can see results and it will keep your eye on the prize.

2) Reward Yourself:

A good thing to do in order to continue on your weight loss path is to reward yourself with little things that you have been wanting. Take this for example. "If I stay on track and lose twelve pounds this month, then Ill buy myself that pair of heals Ive always wanted." Little incentives like that can really go a long way when it comes to keeping you interested in your program.

Losing weight can be a difficult challenge for anyone but we can all succeed in the task if we are willing to put in enough work towards it. There are plenty of tips and tricks out there that you can use to your aid and conquer all of your weight loss goals. Remember that in order to lose the weight and keep it off for the rest of your life, you cant change your habits for a month or two. You need to change your habits for the rest of your life. Good luck and the best wishes along your weight loss journey.

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1.  Exercise: "move it to loose it".
   Walk, run, dance, playing with kid or just doing household work.
2. Smart Food Choice: Healthy and balanced Food, portion control and lots of water.
3.  Be Happy: Try to Keep Depression away. Listen to music, talk to close friend or loved ones, hug your kids, play with pet, take time for you hobbies. Exercise keeps depression away.
4.  Self-Control: Dont lose your hard work & goal in emotions, whether its Celebration, happiness or depression or being part of any event or self-sympathy.
5. Self-motivation: Keep rewarding yourself and find a way to get up and start again. Its never too late, to correct yourself and be back on track.
6. Revise your Goals: Keep weighing yourself and rework on your action plans. As with time weight may change or it may hit a Plato so you need to step up to get more result. Never be shy or scared to check your weight, face it and prepare to conquer.
7. Planning and Preparation: Plan your exercise and prepare for meals in advance will always keep you on track.
8. Rest: Well 8hrs of rest is must for body to get recharged otherwise it goes in fatigue and chances of slipage is maximum. Weak and tried bodies are perfect home for diseases so make sure to follow the last rule. But not more than 8hrs as anything is excess is bad for body.

By: Reena Sharma

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"Weight creep" is the unwanted pounds that slowly show up on the scale. You may think that a couple of pounds here and there is no big deal. When it happens every holiday season, though, it can add up. If you are overweight, shedding as few as five pounds can make a difference in your health. Exercise may be the best way to keep a check on weight creep. How much exercise you need depends on the amount and type of the activity, and how much you eat. The more calories you consume, the longer or harder you have to work to burn them off. Burning off caloriesA medium-sized adult would have to walk more than 30 miles to burn 3,500 calories, or one pound of fat. Although that may seem like a lot, you dont have to walk the 30 miles all at once. Walk your kids to the bus stop instead of driving them. Take a walk during your lunch hour and spend more time exercising instead of eating. Walk across campus from class to class instead of hitching a ride. Take a 10-minute walk after a meal. These are small steps. It doesnt require a big change in your life, but it can make a big difference. The goal for a healthy lifestyle should include at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. Even if you walk for 10 minutes, three times a day, youve reached your 30 minutes. To lose weight, you need to exercise more than that - for 60 to 90 minutes most days of the week. Do something you likeWalking is a popular option for people looking to get off the couch. If this is your choice, start slowly. Gradually put some swing in your arms and increase your speed and distance. After a while, you may want to add 3- to 5-pound hand weights to burn more calories and to gain more definition in your upper body. Check with your doctor first to ensure the weights wont aggravate an existing problem such as arthritis or hernia. Also make sure you pick an exercise that you enjoy. If you pick something you like, youre more likely to stick with it. Choose an activity that is right for your lifestyle, too. Whether you walk or kick box, doing it regularly is rule number one. Also, exercise smarter, not harder. Intensity is important, but first try increasing the length of your workout. Finally, "no pain, no gain" is a myth. Exercise should tire you, but it should never be painful. By:  Barbara Kunz, PhD

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