People decide to lose weight for a variety of reasons including looking better in a bathing suit or for health reasons. If you are starting a weight loss program, you need to know your reasons for doing it. So, stop and ask yourself. "Why do I want to lose weight?"

As with any thing in life you must have a strong enough reason for doing it. If you don't have a strong resolve and a solid reason for losing weight you will most likely be unsuccessful.

If you are like me you have gained and lost the same weight over and over through all different kinds of diets and I can tell you from experience that the common denominator in all my failures was not having a strong enough reason to stay on the diet and lose the weight and keep it off. Many times you will end up even heavier than when you started if you don't have a strong enough reason to maintain the weight loss.

In our busy world that we live in now it is easy to make excuses. I work too much, I have my family to attend to, I'm too tired, etc. I am telling you now that everyone has the same 24 hours to work with and some of the busiest people I know find the time to exercise. Sleep an hour less and take the time to exercise, you will appreciate it.

You have to be realistic. If you are 50 years old you are not going to have the body you had at 18, but you can have a body that 30 year olds would envy! Again, you must decide what you are seeking, do you want to be fit and muscular or do you just want to lose for health reasons. Maybe there is a history of heart disease and high cholesterol in your family like I have in mine, my mom had her first heart attack and triple bypass surgery at the age of 37. If that isn't a powerful reason to exercise and stay lean I don't know what is!

Just like goal setting your reasons for losing weight need to be written down. These are the things that will keep you going when you feel like quitting. Post the list all over. Put it on your bathroom mirror, at your desk, on your refrigerator, this way you are constantly reminded of why you are doing it. This will keep you from cheating and encourage you to grab a glass of water instead of that gallon of Ben and Jerry's!

Everyone starts from a different place. We all have reasons why we are where we are the way we are. We all have different reasons why we want to change and why we want to make things different. You have to know what these reasons are and be aware when they change to help in achieving your goals.

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About the Author

Glenn Freiboth is a Certified Health Advisor lives in Illinois and has helped many overweight and obese people lose weight and keep it off. Get Medifast diet and weight loss products at http://www.GetYouHealth.com