For many people on the path to a healthier lifestyle, weight loss is an excellent and important goal. Although it can be one of the hardest goals to achieve, the benefits are so numerous that the rewards make the effort worthwhile: it is known to help with depression as well as lower the risk factors of various diseases. Making it happen can be hard, but there are some tricks that make it easier:

1. Accept that weight management is an achievable goal. If you approach weight management with the concept that small steps will add up to make a big difference over time.

2. Make a plan to succeed. Take about 10–12 ”bad” food items (e.g. cookies, chips, etc.) and plan to start eliminating 1–2 of these items each week from your grocery list. Watch the pounds drop and your wallet will grow.

3. Contact a nutritionist. Every individual should have a customized nutrition plan tailored to their age, weight, height, metabolism and activity level. A professional will dedicate time to working with you one on one.

4. Regular exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. Enough said.

5. Set realistic goals. Rapid weight loss that can’t be sustained only results in frustration. The goal should be to lose approximately 1–2 pounds every week.

6. Develop a support system. Some of the most accessible groups exist at Weight Watchers, Ediets.com and faith-based organizations. Inquire within your health plan for resources that also may be able to help you maintain your goals.

7. Weigh in regularly. Don’t be afraid of the scale. Every week you should check your weight in the morning before you get dressed on the same scale. Daily weigh-ins may be too much.

8. Positive reinforcement. Feel good about the weight loss success by allowing for small rewards not food related like a manicure, a massage, taking a scenic walk, purchasing a new CD, etc.

9. Congratulate yourself. Weight loss is similar to a marathon that is not always won by leaps and bounds. Success should be acknowledged for sure.

10. Really love yourself. Whether you drop five or fifteen pounds, love yourself no matter your size.

View this article on HealthyBlackMen.Org.

Creating a weight loss lifestyle in 2012 doesn’t have to seem like an insurmountable goal. Break down your goals into smaller, more attainable pieces that will have you creating healthy eating habits, rather than shedding pounds using crash dieting methods that won’t last.

Weight loss is an excellent resolution to have in spite of how difficult it may seem. Although there are many diets and fads that come and go, even a 10-pound weight loss can improve your health and your risk for diseases associated with obesity, like type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

Here are ten easy steps to jumpstart your weight management program

1. Accept that weight management is an achievable goal

   If you approach weight management with the frame of mind that small steps will make a big difference over time, then the idea of losing weight will not seem so complex.



2. Make a plan to succeed

   Identify 10 food items that you currently purchase that you know are bad for you and that you can live without. Make a consistent plan to start eliminating two of these items each week from your grocery list.



3. Contact a nutritionist and make an appointment

   Every individual should have a customized plan tailored to their age, weight, height, metabolism and activity level. This plan is best created with a professional who will dedicate time to working with you one on one.



4. Schedule regular exercise

   Make it a goal to double the distance that you walk each day until you are walking at least 30 minutes each day.



5. Set realistic goals

   Rapid weight loss that can’t be sustained only results in frustration. The goal should be to lose approximately 1-2 pounds every week. Depending on how much you choose to lose, over the course of a year this would result in a substantial amount of weight loss.



6. Develop a support system

   It is important to join a support group and to develop a network of individuals who are committed to your success. Some of the most accessible groups exist at Weight Watchers, Ediets.com and faith-based organizations. Check your health plan for resources that also may be able to help you maintain your goals.It is important to check your weight regularly. Every week you should check your weight in the morning before you get dressed, on the same scale.



7. Positive reinforcement

   Feel good about the success that you are making and provide a small reward for yourself each week that is not food related. Some excellent suggestions include a manicure, a massage, taking a scenic walk, purchasing a new CD or new clothing item.



8. Congratulate yourself

   Weight loss is similar to a marathon that is not always won by leaps and bounds. The goal is to stay focused on your goal even if there are small setbacks from time to time.



9. Love yourself

   While absolute weight loss is a goal, it is important to love yourself no matter what your size may be.

Tomorrow, being Thanksgiving day, officially starts off the holiday season! Come Friday, I will allow myself to listen to the Christmas music that has been playing on the radio for the last month or so. It will ring in my ears for the next four weeks as I merrily bop around, vomiting Christmas Spirit upon everyone I encounter. The holidays are a joyful time for me. However, they are also a very busy time filled with parties, shopping, and gatherings. Food always accompanies these occasions and I always manage to consume much more than a comfortable portion.

This year (like I say every year), I’m not going to let myself pack on extra pounds for Christmas. What’s different? I’m prepared. Read the following tips from our expert contributor to better prepare yourself to battle the bulge over the holidays:

1. Make an appointment with yourself.

   Walk, exercise, make time for fitness and wellness by scheduling time into your day for walking or other aerobic activity.



2. Join a fitness club.

   As the weather turns and the days grow darker earlier, it’s understandable that going out to exercise in the dark could turn into both a cold and unsafe experience. If outdoor exercise doesn’t work then bring the exercise indoors and check out the local YMCA.




3. Bring exercise into the home.

   Download a simple exercise or beginner yoga video form Netflix, iTunes, or YouTube or consider borrowing a DVD from your local library if funds are tight. Get a pedometer at your local Walmart and head to the nearest mall to go walking. The 10,000 steps a day Global Challenge is a free health promotion program that encourages the use of step-counting pedometers to monitor your daily physical activity levels.



4. Keep warm by protecting your head, hands, and feet.

   More than 70% of your body heat escapes from your head, hands, and feet. Maintain your body by wearing a cap, gloves, and thick socks when exercising in the cold.




5. Drink lighter.

   Buy low fat egg nog, eliminate desserts, cut back on empty calories from alcohol and try hot tea instead of hot chocolate.



6. Keep Vitamin D in check.

   In the fall and winter, exposure to sunlight decreases which is why patients often experience a corresponding decrease in their vitamin D levels. Take vitamin D supplements to compensate for this diminished exposure to sunlight may be advisable for these patients. New evidence suggests that minimum recommended intake is 2000 IU/day so check with your doctor to make sure your bone labs, including vitamin D, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium are adequate.

This article was featured on 5Ktours.com

How many of us haven’t yet figured out that broccoli is generally a better choice than a Big Mac? The challenge for most isn’t in knowing what we should do to lose weight, but rather in actually doing it.  Enjoy these five strategies that will help you enjoyably do what you already know you should.

1. Recognize the Positive Intent

We overeat for a reason, and the reason, believe it or not,  isn’t self-torture.  We all prefer pleasure over pain, and let’s face it, you’re getting some pleasure out of overeating, or you wouldn’t do it.  Perhaps it’s the distraction, the taste, or the comfort.

Whatever the reason, notice that, in it’s essence, it’s positive. Then begin to design new behaviors and thought patterns that work even better than food.  For example, if food is a distraction, what are you distracting yourself from? How could you enjoy that more?

2. Whisper Sweet Things to Yourself

How do you talk to yourself? Would you speak to a friend or a child in this way?  If you did, how would it affect them? Just for fun, pretend you are your own best friend, and say the nicest, most supportive things you can imagine to yourself.  Switch to “I feel good about myself” or even “I am so silly!” from your top ten self criticisms and watch your sweet words replace your sweet tooth.

3. Focus on Self-Correcting

No matter what your resolve, no matter how miraculous the diet, you will overeat again. We know this because Naturally Slender people overeat from time to time.  Sometimes they misjudge how filling their food will be, other times they make a conscious choice to do it.  But it doesn’t matter. They are still naturally slender.

The difference is that the Naturally Slender self correct.  They know how to bring themselves back into balance after over-indulging.  So if they dip their chips a few too many times at a cocktail party, they eat less at dinner. If they become upset emotionally, they get the support they need before coping with cookies and cake.

Shift your focus to how you bring yourself back into balance after overindulging, and on decreasing the time it takes to do so.  Whether it’s a walk in nature, a workout, or a talk with a friend that brings you back into balance, make self-correcting your new priority.

4. Focus on the Solution, not the Problem

There is a Huna saying  (Huna is the spiritual practice of the traditional Hawaiian culture) that goes “Energy goes where attention flows”. In other words, what you think about expands. If you are constantly thinking about what you don’t want, you will have more of it.  The subconscious mind does not understand a negative command. So if I were to say “don’t think of a pink elephant with purple spots on it’s big floppy ears right now” what do you think about?  If you tell yourself “don’t eat”, what do you think you will want to do?

Consider focusing on what you do want instead.  For example, “I want to be relaxed around food” or “I want to love to exercise”.  The energy will happily flow to the solution, and your subconscious mind will begin to design ways to get you what you want.

5. Change Your Definition of Success

If you have set a goal for yourself of reaching a certain weight, it will probably take some time before you reach that goal. And along the way, the scale may not always tell you what you want to hear.

Because it’s hard to stay motivated for a long term goal that involves short term “sacrifice”, consider changing your goal to something that you can be successful at every day, such as making a healthy choice, or self-correcting

Have fun with these strategies, and let us know how it goes!

A former food addict, Renée Stephens is the host of iTunes top weight loss podcast “Inside Out Weight Loss”, with over 3,000,000 downloads to date. She is featured in the breakthrough film “The Inner Weigh” available at www.theinnerweigh.com/renee. She has consulted with Weight Watchers International as a behavioral weight loss expert, and coaches by phone and in person out of her San Francisco office. Her website is www.reneemethod.com.