STOP! Don't even THINK about starting another weight loss program, diet, supplement, shake, energy bar, or other method until you've completed one key step to ensuring your success at it. This isn't about seeing your doctor or researching it on the internet – you've probably already done these things many times before (and if not – you should). This is about preparing you – your mind – for the weight loss journey you are about to embark on. And a journey it will be!

How many times have you sat there on a Sunday afternoon stuffing yourself with an afternoon meal and proclaiming to your friends and family that "tomorrow I'm starting my diet," only to have Monday roll around and you're right back to your old habits? How many New Year's resolutions and post-Holiday season promises have you made to start that next diet, but instead watched yourself quickly fade back to the old routine within a week or less? You had the right intentions, the right products, the right books, the right research, the right everything. Or so you thought. Maybe you even lost a pound or two, only to regain them a week later as your new weight loss program came to an abrupt halt. You asked yourself, "why do these things never work for me?" and, "why can't I lose weight like those people in the ads do?"

The answer is simple: you did not mentally prepare yourself to be a "successful loser!" You said you had the right intentions, but what did you do to turn those intentions into a winning plan of action? You said you had enough will power to see it through, but will power only goes so far when it comes to weight loss. Will power is like a brief burst of energy – it excites you, motivates you, and gives you a taste of victory – but then suddenly dies out as quickly as it was mustered. Thus, it takes more than will power: it takes a vision of what you wish to achieve. You must envision what your end goal is – your objective – clearly in your mind. You must determine what your "why" is – your reason for losing the weight – before you will truly make a personal commitment to it. And then you must persist at it – with no exceptions – until you achieve your goal and arrive at the place you envisioned.

Without this mental "skin in the game," you will never have a reason to keep at it day after day, month after month. With no clear objectives in mind, you will start out of the gate strong for a few days – perhaps a week or two – but soon return to your old ways when you don't get the results you want immediately. Patience is a virtue when it comes to weight loss – looking in the mirror each day is like the watched pot that never boils. Instead, try gauging your results on longer periods of time – a week, a month, or more. Set realistic goals for these time periods so that you are constantly working towards them. Write these goals down using the SMART formula:

S = Simple, M = Measurable, A = Agreed-upon, R = Realistic, and T = Time-bound.

Goals with dates attached to them help you put that "mental skin" in the game and keep your persistence going. We're all given deadlines at work that keep us working hard towards achieving our work-related goals, so why not give ourselves some time-bound personal goals - in this case, for losing weight?

So before you eat that bar or drink that shake, consider why you are embarking on this weight loss journey, where you are going, how you're going to get there, and what it will be like when you arrive at your final destination. A clear picture of all of these factors will put you in the weight loss frame of mind. I know – I lost 35 pounds in three months in 2001, and I'm still at my ideal weight four years later. So be a "Good Loser:" Set your SMART weight loss goals – persist – achieve – and enjoy the results!

About the Author
Tim has spent over 15 years in the computer industry and as a result of those endless hours sitting behind the screen, is a lifetime member of a nationally known weight loss program. Copyright (c)2005 Timothy R. Trzcinski. http://www.quick-loss.com