I found an article from a couple of days ago that I just had to comment on. The article can be found here: Get a Slimmer Body - Weight Loss Program Advice

This article represents the basics of weight loss and here is the gist of the article and my advice:

1. Educate yourself about nutrition and fitness. Find out what’s healthy and unhealthy, learn how to read nutrition labels, find out what your BMI and your ideal weight is, and then go from there. Look at your daily habits to see what you may be doing wrong if you’re unsuccessful at losing weight.

2. Maintain discipline and patience. How do you maintain discipline and patience when you aren’t seeing results? Pretty tough, I know. But don’t give up. Make small attainable goals, one at a time, and once you reach that goal, set another. Don’t set yourself up for failure by wanting to lose 15 lbs. in a month. It’s not feasible (unless you’re starving yourself) and it’s dangerous.

3. Don’t deprive your body of food and especially water. Drink at least 8 glass of water a day. It will work wonders for flushing out fat AND keeping you hydrated. Don’t deprive yourself of food unless you want your body to go into “starvation” mode and actually hang on to fat instead of getting rid of it.

4. Don’t put yourself down. So you’re unhappy with the way you look? Only YOU can change that by eating healthy and getting in some type of physical activity at least 5 days per week. Indulge in some cheap exercise equipment and/or videos. Exercise will make you feel better and look better. If you splurge one day and eat some Cheetos, don’t make the mistake of thinking you “blew it.” Tomorrow is a new day, so get back on track the next day.

5. Talk, talk, and talk some more. Join a local gym or, again, exercise at home. Find a weight loss buddy. Talk to family or friends who have successfully lost weight to get some pointers. Join online support groups and message boards.

Most of all, be kind to yourself and your body.