By Kelly Lord

Look around you the next time you are out in public and just take in how many people are overweight and many are downright obese, some of them morbidly so. No wonder the weight loss gurus and all the diet fads on TV are doing so well; excess body fat is a detriment to your overall good health, and if you have lots of body fat, lose it if you care about yourself and your well being.

The hardest part of a weight loss plan is getting started, and if you are like most of us, trapped in a never ending cycle of “boy that looks good, yum”; to “geez, I have to get working on this body fat and lose it.” There is so much on the market today aimed at people who want to lose weight but just can’t bring themselves to make the move and get started, so we succumb to the ads and buy the products that never work, simply because we hope against hope that this will be the time that works. You can’t do that; you have to start out looking for an eating plan and lifestyle change that will fit with your way of thinking and living so you can stick with it if you intend to lose weight.

Don’t be suckered in by all those ads and false claims about “got body fat? Lose it fast”; or” be a slim, stylish looker in just 30 days, you don’t even have to get out of bed”. They are all come ons for folks who have thrown in the weight towel and feel hopelessly trapped in an overweight body and feel there is no way out. There are a lot of health benefits to be had when you are at your recommended weight, such as lessened incidence of heart disease, outrunning diabetes, and just overall feeling better physically with more energy. You need to find a plan that fits your lifestyle and will help you get on a healthy eating track so you will stay with it if you have body fat to lose.

The first and biggest hurdle you must overcome if you have body fat to lose, is developing a positive attitude about yourself, your life, the way you will look when you have lost the weight, and the determination to stick it out to the end. Nothing can come of anything if you are not positively charged about what you are undertaking, and you can do anything you want to if you just think in a positive way and go for it. You have to find a food plan that will lock into your lifestyle and will work with you as you develop a new way of living; which is not the easiest thing in the world. You must bid farewell to those greasy burgers and fries, sugar-laden desserts, and heavy creamy sauces etc. because they will not longer be a part of your new life; they are killers and should be eliminated.

Start thinking about a plan where the nutrition you get every day is the core of the plan, and should be a well balanced array of foods that will provide all the nutrients you need every day, lots of fiber, lots of water, and plenty of sleep. And get that exercise worked in too; you must keep your engine running at top speed all the time to burn the body fat to lose that you have, and tone up those muscles so you are getting fitter with every passing day.

Now close your eyes and picture yourself and your mental state; just how much healthy living and lifestyle change can you put up with and stay the course. Emotions run our lives because we are human and we are built that way; so you must take stock of your emotional health as well as your physical, because the two go hand in hand and one must be considered as equally as the other. If you are not ready to make a big change in your way of thinking and your lifestyle so you can work on that body fat and lose it, then any diet plan will not work. You have to do the emotional work first and be ready for the pitfalls that your emotions can throw you into, that trigger your food cravings.

From now on, if you are going to make anything work for you with your body fat and how to lose it; you need to be in control of not only what and when you eat, but also your psyche and your emotions so you know why you eat like you do. Your new way of thinking will be the mantra “Got body fat, lose it” and if you are serious about this and develop a positive way of thinking; you can do anything you put your mind to. Remember not to fall victim to the jerks that are pushing the weight loss gimmicks; just take stock of yourself, find an eating plan that is nutritionally sound, drink lots of water, exercise on a regular basis, and rest with a good night’s sleep every night. You will find that getting rid of that body fat is not as hard an undertaking as you thought it would be, and soon you will feel so much better and so energized that you’ll wonder why you waited so long to make your new life happen.