Weight loss can be a frustratingly inexact science. As much as you feel motivated to do the right things to start off with, when you see them taking time to be effective, it is perfectly natural to believe that it just isn’t working. If things are taking time, or if you are feeling less than healthy, it will always be tempting to throw the baby out with the bath water and say “this is doing me no good – in fact, it’s doing harm – so this is where I stop”. Often people do this right before the first obstacle is about to fall, and the weight starts coming off. If they would just give it a bit of time, they would see results.

Keeping a diary can be the way to give a dieter focus and confidence in what they are doing. This diary will usually take the form of a report on what they have eaten at every sitting, and what exercise they have done. In addition, when you weigh yourself (which can be daily, or a few times a week), you will see where you have lost weight and where you have not. Keeping a note of how you feel as a result of what you are doing also helps. If you are genuinely feeling unwell, then noting what you have eaten might give you an idea of how to make up for it.

This is the main physical reason for sticking to a written record of your weight-loss plan. There are also good and solid psychological reasons why you should also be open to the idea of keeping a diary. If you do this, then you will find that it gives a firm focus to your weight loss plan. Rather than taking the process lightly – and therefore leaving some doubt over its seriousness and efficacy – you will find that you have a firmer concentration on doing the right things and making a difference.

Of course, it is not always easy to keep to a diary. Things get in the way, and you may find it hard to get over the idea that what you are doing is having little or no effect. You may think that it is just going through the motions, but in fact keeping a weight loss diary gives you a very firm focus, because by adding an extra layer of rigor to what you are doing, you make it easier to remember why you are doing it.

There are other reasons why a weight loss diary makes a lot of sense as a document. If you embark on a diet plan and have some questions about it at some stage, the best person to address these questions to is a doctor. By having to hand a written record of what you have been doing in order to lose weight, you can give the doctor a chance to look through what you have done and give you guidance in keeping it going. This may help you more than you imagined.

Of course, a certain amount of challenge is unavoidable in life. If we didn’t challenge ourselves and we all lived our lives on auto-pilot, then we would slip into a way of life that was not good for us at all. We would gain weight, we would be unhealthy and we wouldn’t actually feel any better for the absence of challenge. Our brain activity levels would closely mirror those seen in sufferers of depression, and there would be good reason for that as, to all intents and purposes, we would be living a depressive (and depressing) lifestyle. Trying to lose weight from that point is not at all easy, because it makes every small effort seem like a huge one.

Your body is not unlike your brain in that it needs a challenge to shake it out of the wrong habits and to really become an efficient working machine. If you take this away, it will just revert to stasis, so you need to get exercise. There are many reasons why people do not exercise often, however, and among these is the fact that we often have a lot to do already. A pressured work routine in an office can be one of the main factors in weight gain, as it causes people to eat whatever is quickly available and not move far from their desk. The end result is an inevitable gain in weight.

If you want to lose weight, you have to find places in your day where you can increase the amount of exercise you are doing. Fitting it in with your daily routine is essential to begin with, as the combination of a changed routine and a raised level of exercise can be a lot to deal with at the start, and can dissuade some people from sticking to the routine through the early, tough stages. Once you have worked yourself a coherent routine you can begin to make amendments, but going for it at top gear right from the start is inevitably going to do more harm than good.

Think about how your day usually pans out. Do you drive to work? How far away do you park? If work is within walking distance, then deciding to walk rather than drive is often the first and best place to make a change in your routine. Do you grab lunch at your desk, from a sandwich vendor? If you can spare the time, taking a brisk walk to pick something up will help. Some people like to go for a morning jog even before they have had their breakfast, claiming that it makes them feel more ready to face the day ahead of them. This doesn’t work for everyone, but making a change where there is room for it is certainly a good way to approach weight loss.

You have probably been in a situation in the past where you were looking forward to a big meal in the evening, and have spent much of the day thinking about it and eating lightly, if at all so that there is room for the large and delicious platter of food that awaits you. And although this is understandable, and at times not a problem, it is important to bear in mind that this has its perils too. “Little and often” is a very good piece of advice to remember when it comes to food, and it could be the best advice when you are looking to lose weight.

If you leave a long time between meals, and even occasionally skip one, then you may feel that you are doing what should be done in order to get the most enjoyment and the best use of the food that you are eating. The truth is that this is a false economy.  Leaving substantial time between meals will result in pangs of hunger and, inevitably, this will lead to overeating. It may be that you have too much at mealtimes, or with the long gap between meals you may snack excessively in order to keep the pangs at bay. Either way you are doing yourself no good, and risk a situation where you will put on weight.

Many people skip breakfast because they feel that they cannot eat in the mornings. Either they don’t feel hungry or they actually feel slightly ill at the start of the day and cannot face eating. Even if this is the case, it is to be encouraged that you at least try to eat something in the morning, as this gets your metabolism running and allows you to approach the day with some momentum and strength. It means that you are unlikely to run to the vending machine at 10 am to grab something – anything – to forestall the hunger pangs until lunchtime.

You don’t need to have a big breakfast. Indeed, it might be most advisable just to have some toast, or cereal, along with a bit of fruit simply in order to get the body going at the right pace. A larger breakfast as a treat every once in a while is fine, but habitually eating large breakfasts results in you becoming sluggish in mid-morning as the body struggles to digest everything you have eaten. The key is to eat regularly and eat well. If you do this, then you will be hungry less often, and less hungry when you are.

Some toast and cereal at breakfast, and a salad at lunchtime are a good foundation for a day. A light sandwich in mid-afternoon can then tide you over until the evening, when you can have a full meal and eat more than you have eaten at the other meals. If you eat this way and show common sense, you will have a balanced diet and a better chance of losing weight.

Before

After

Name: James Leonard

Hometown: Dover, Delaware

Height:5′ 8″

Starting Weight: 220 lbs.

Current Weight: 150 lbs.

What made you decide to transform your body?: A visit to my doctor (the first in many years) made me realize how poor my health was. I was pre-diabetic and had sleeping and breathing difficulties as a result of my weight.

What were the most important lifestyle changes you made?: Most importantly, I changed the way I was eating. I quit eating fried foods and soda and focused on lean meats and vegetables.

What was most challenging about your transformation?: I was so accustom to eating pizza, wings, and other unhealthy foods that it was very difficult to switch to eating healthy foods. However, after a couple of days, I actually began to like my new food choices.

How long did it take before you started seeing results? Almost immediately. I lost 10 pounds in the first month and have never looked back.

How has your life changed as a result of your transformation?: I have much more energy and feel like I am 10 years younger. I now enjoy playing with my kids as I am able to keep up. I have also used the extra motivation I’ve found to start a small business that I have dreamed about for years.

Please share your #1 transformation tip: Be patient and don’t get down on yourself for small slip-ups in your diet or exercise routine.

Please share more details of your transformation story (inches lost, change in bodyfat %, motivation, diet, workout routines, etc.): I usually have a large bowl of oatmeal with walnuts and raisins for breakfast, an apple or other fruit for a mid-morning snack, and chicken salad for lunch. For dinner, we make chicken or fish and try to avoid a lot of bread and refined carbs.

I lift weights 2-3 times per week and enjoy biking with my family on a regular basis.

Before

After

Name: Tina Williams

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

Height:5′ 3″

Starting Weight: 185 lbs.

Current Weight: 124 lbs.

What made you decide to transform your body?: I felt miserable and knew that it was time to make a change. My weight continued to increase after the birth of my second child and I was not pleased with my health.

What were the most important lifestyle changes you made?: I became more active and starting walking each morning before work. Most importantly, I was careful about the types of foods I brought into the house, mostly avoiding refined sugars and sweets.

What was most challenging about your transformation?: Just getting started. I struggled to get motivated each morning, but that changed after I first started seeing some positive results.

How long did it take before you started seeing results? After about two weeks, I noticed that I had lost some weight and that my mood had improved.

How has your life changed as a result of your transformation?: I’m excited about the future and feel confident in my ability to meet any challenge that comes my way. I have more energy to get through the day now that I am eating right and exercising.

Please share your #1 transformation tip: Start slow. Don’t attempt drastic changes right away as this can lead to frustration.

Please share more details of your transformation story (inches lost, change in bodyfat %, motivation, diet, workout routines, etc.): I walked approximately two miles each morning and tried to stay active throughout the day. I cooked healthy meals for my family instead of eating processed foods and I really focused on portion control.

My greatest source of motivation was the desire to feel confident with my body and feel well again. I lost 6 dress sizes and I feel great!

Many of the diet plans on the market today charge an awful lot for something that will either be really obvious when you consider it for a moment, or ineffective, or perhaps even so swiftly effective that it is dangerous. Some of the newer plans available will charge you good money for the revelatory information that you can lose weight by replacing most of the solid food in your diet with a “health drink”. This information should usually be met with a response along the lines of “No, really?”, but is often packaged in a more persuasive way than that.

Of course you will lose weight if you start cutting food in general out of your diet. This is information that should not really shock anyone. Many people see fit to point out that drinking water whenever you feel a hunger pang will keep your appetite down and will therefore enable you to lose weight. Once again, it should hardly come as a shock to anyone. Water has no calories in it and bloats the stomach temporarily, so it stands to reason that having a glass of water instead of a chocolate bar will help you lose weight.

Much of the diet industry is in the hands of people who have realized that if you package extremely obvious information in a new and friendly way, it can appear to be pretty close to philosophy. People will pay money for something that promises to tackle their problems in a head-on, no nonsense fashion. But if you are being sold a weight loss plan on the grounds of its amazing effectiveness, consider what makes it effective – if it is nothing more than snake oil, it will become clear. And if they want you to pay up front before they tell you anything about it, think about why that may be.

Whether you’ve lost 10 pounds or 100 pounds, we want to hear about your amazing journey and what you’ve learned from the experience. Has your hard work and dedication allowed you to pack on muscle and increase your strength? Share your transformation and encourage those who are looking to accomplish their own weight loss or muscle building goals.