Being successful at losing weight, regardless of your past attempts, is not beyond your capability. You Can Lose Weight! It does take more effort for some than others but impressive results can be achieved by you with the right mindset and the right knowledge.

So you want to lose a few inches. You’ve spent years searching for the right diet or program. You’ve tried them all – Atkins, Zone, South Beach, Nutrisystem, Mediterranean, Grapefruit, Jenny Craig, Abs, even intermittent fasting. High protein, low carb, low glycemic, and the list goes on. You may even have had some success. But chances are you went right back to where you were. And so you’re here, searching for some sort of magic method to make the pounds fall off overnight and stay off forever. Ok. Time to wake up. There is no magic method to weight loss. But it is a very simple concept – calories taken in and calories burned. Reduce your caloric intake – increase your activity – period.

But what about all the different products and diets? Yes there are good ones and there are bad ones. But surely weight loss is more complicated than calories in and calories burned, right? Well, it probably is to a 40 billion dollar per year industry (yes, billion), and with that kind of money at stake, the simple “calories in – calories burned” concept doesn’t always fly very well. The more complex it becomes, the more money that needs to be spent for it. And what a great playing field for the industry right here in America, where we gorge ourselves with whatever and however much food we want and then some! Consumers tend to fork over lots of money for something they’re self-conscious about whether its for a good product or not. And being overweight is a biggie.

Don’t get the wrong idea about diets or weight loss programs. A lot are built with limiting calories without being concerned with cutting out a particular food group or preaching high-protein / low carbs or what have you. Some can still work for you and can do the calorie math for you so you don’t have to. You can lose weight with these. It would, however, benefit you to educate yourself with foods, portions, and calories so that you can choose what and how much to eat wherever you might be. A good reference for calories in foods can be found at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.

After you drop the pounds, what’s going to keep them off? You’ve heard it before. Don’t think of it as a diet. Think of it a lifestyle change. Become accustomed to how many calories foods contain and eat smart. Let the new way you begin to eat become a way of life. Maybe a little exercise to increase your metabolism? And make it a ritual? Absolutely. Not to offend you in any way, but your lifestyle gave you those pounds. It will give them back to you if you don’t change it! You can lose weight for sure, but you want to keep it off.

Apologies to everyone looking for the magic solution. There is no magical method for making the flab disappear. We’ll touch on some specific things in the next pages, but remember the basic idea. Reduce your caloric intake and increase your activity level and you can lose weight. You’ll feel better too!