How can I achieve success with my weight loss efforts?

Quantitative methods are the best way to assess whether your plan will end in success or end in a whimper. Instead of judging how skinny you look when standing next to your sister, measure how many pounds you have lost the last four weeks. Keep a journal to track your progress in measured milestones. Stating that you will go to the gym 7 days a week may be difficult to follow. Even the best athletes in the world have rest days for their body to recover. We know that you can safely and comfortably lose 2 pounds a week.

To set a goal that you will lose 10 pounds a week is setting yourself up for failure. Being realistic means recognizing that some factors cannot be controlled. I often talk to people who want to look like runway models or Hollywood stars. No matter how great the results, some people will never get a Victoria Secret photo spread or a job as a body double for a Victoria Secret model or Matthew McConaughey. But you can embrace realistic goals to boost your energy and enthusiasm and get you the best body possible.

You can achieve success in your weight loss efforts by following this 5 part strategy.
Decide. Plan. Believe. Persist. Learn.

To achieve any goal you must first make the conscious decision that you are willing and able to do what is necessary reach it. You must have the desire to succeed, and the desire to succeed can only come from within. Only you will know when you're ready to make a change. Those who are certain about what they want are 6 times more likely to succeed than those who are not. Make the decision to succeed.

Next, you must have a plan of action to accomplish this goal. An organized strategy will ensure continued progress. Winging it, especially in the world of weight loss, does not work. A structured, proven course of action is the only way to get you from where you are now to where you want to be. It's also important to set obtainable, measurable goals that are within a timeline. "I want to look better" is nice but not measurable or time-bound, while "I want to lose 10 pounds in the next 4 weeks" is.

To be successful, you must truly believe that your plan of action can and will get you to your goal. Trust in the system, have confidence, and believe in yourself. Belief is one of the most powerful predictors of change and success. Those who believe they will be successful are more likely to achieve their goals.

Next, you must be persistent. Your weight loss journey will undoubtedly have its share of pitfalls, you must be aware of them and be prepared for them. When you make a mistake, recognize that it has happened, keep the damage to a minimum, and move forward. Don't let a slice of pizza turn into a whole pie, or a bad day turn into a bad week. Stop the bleeding and get back on track. Persistence is the key to achieving your weight loss goals.

Finally, track your progress and learn from your mistakes. Keeping a nutrition log and a workout journal are excellent ways to stay motivated, but can also be used to make adjustments if things aren't going according to plan. If you didn't lose the 2 pounds you wanted to last week, you can look back at what went wrong and make the necessary adjustments.

By being consistent with your efforts -- the work you are putting in to reach your weight loss goals with regard to the two key components, nutrition and exercise.

If you enter a marriage with the expectation of being perfect, you would be able to stay married for about a month before it drives you insane. So, why be perfect with your diet? Aim to be imperfect and accept that this is a lifelong learning process.

Take small steps in the beginning to reach small goals. Your initial success will fuel your motivation to continue to make changes. The first step may be to drink more water in place of sodas, rather than losing 30 pounds in a month.

Think of who you and your partner were when you first got married versus who you are now -- those changes didn't happen overnight and it didn't require either one of you to be perfect, right? When you set the bar to "perfect," it becomes an "all or nothing" scenario, which leads to yo-yo dieting and a sense of failure. Have realistic expectations so that you are constantly succeeding at a pace that doesn't require perfection. Perfection is hard. Small, persistent steps forward is easy and rewarding.

At the Hunger Free Forever Program we have learned over the years that success breeds success. If you begin with the simplest parts of this program, your appetite will be reduced, your blood sugar stabilized, and you will likely be able to make significant progress in your quest toward an ideal body weight. Setting realistic goals that can be achieved within reasonable amounts of time is a good place to start. We normally recommend people set their initial weight loss goal to be 5 to 10 percent of their current weight. Once you have achieved this goal, your initial success will stimulate confidence as you realize that this first step was not all that difficult. Even if you lose weight slowly, if you continue to make changes that you can stick with, in the long run you can still achieve your weight-loss goals. After all, it would be far better to average a weight loss of 1 pound per month for four years and keep it off, than to lose 50 pounds in eight weeks and then gain it all back. It is important to condition yourself to accept changes in your eating habits and lifestyle that you can live with for the rest of your life.