You make it seem so easy, how?

BeingKevin

The first thing is to do whatever it takes to create a new way of living your life, a new lifestyle if you will, that combines eating less and moving more. The second thing you have to do is to never under any circumstances give up.

While it certainly hasn’t been easy, I did just that about 14 months ago and every day I wake up and live that new lifestyle I created another day. Then every night I go to bed with the promise of doing it all over again the next day.

MinnieInMaine

it's not easy, even if it might look that way. Ever feel like people are "lucky" to be skinny and eat whatever they want? Yeah, guess what, 99% of the time, that person is eating really well and working out, you just see them eating goodies at parties or holiday meals and assume they eat like that all the time. No one has a magic metabolism, they all work at it. Trust me, I used to think that to but I really started paying attention to people's habits for the last few years and learned differently.

Have patience - weight loss takes time. I've been at this for nearly 4 years now. While I'd love to get to goal by this time next year, I know it may take another year or two due to things that just come up in life.

Keep perspective - along those same lines, even though I'm not yet at my optiumum weight, I have made HUGE leaps and bounds regarding how I treat my body now. I eat much healthier foods, keep within my goal most of the time and exercise 4-6 days per week.

NEVER give up - just because you have a rough day or week or month (or even year), it's not worth giving up completely. Go back to the beginning, start tracking everything, weighing and measuring, try new recipes, try new exercises, etc. Keep things interesting and keep going. My tracker may look impressive but my weight hasn't actually changed much in the last year. Life happens...

Keep learning - I have learned so much by keeping an open mind about things. Just because someone told you something 20 years ago doesn't mean it's still true. There has been so much research in the nutrition/fitness industry that the facts are always changing. Be a cynic and do your own research and find out what works best for you. Especially when folks tell you "hey, I'm doing this new diet (or pill, or shake) and losing crazy weight, you should try it!". No...wait and see how they feel about this fantastic diet in 6 months. If it's really that great, they'll still be at it but more likely than not, it's over and done with by then like most other fad diets.

Concentrate more on healthy and fitness than "getting skinny". No extreme diets, no starvation.. Fuel the body, take care of it and it will reward you with success.

Best of luck!

Bry_Fitness70

All fitness progress in my case has been as a result of making better choices, day in and day out, over a period of time. In reality, choosing to eat a little better, eat a little less, exercise a little more, etc., provides momentum that builds upon itself, and your habits become integrated into your lifestyle rather than just being a part of some separate program that you only plan on doing for a finite amount of time.