I found a really great article today that I thought I would share.  It’s called Effort Needed for Weight Loss 

So what do you think?  Do we really need to put for any effort at all to lose weight?  Is there anyone who believes that a little pill or some hyped up diet drink is really going to help us lose weight without any effort on our part?

Even though there are scientifically-backed products and plans on the market, all of them have one thing in common - we have to be an active participant when we’re trying to lose weight.  We actually have to work for it.  That’s just the way it is, so as soon as people who want to lose weight face up to that, the better off they’ll be.

So what kind of effort does it take?  Well, for starters, we have to be conscious of what we’re eating (i.e., how many calories we’re consuming).  It only takes a couple of minutes and a website like www.fitday.com to keep track for a while.  Once you keep a tally of your calories for a couple of weeks, it becomes easier to be aware of what you’re eating and drinking and you can kind of keep a tally in your head throughout the day.  Secondly, there’s no way around it - you have to put out more calories than you’re taking in.  That is the big “secret” to weight loss.  So while you’re consuming less calories than you normally would, you need to exercise.  But remember: any form of exercise, even for short durations, is better than no exercise.  So go for a brisk morning stroll for 15 minutes and take another walk later in the day.  If you can’t find a 30 minute chunk of time in your busy schedule, you can still benefit by breaking it up into two 15-minute chunks.

Anything else?  Yep.  You have to take the first step in starting your weight loss journey and that definitely takes effort.  You need to decide when enough is enough, find what program you’re going to follow if any, and get started.  It is hard, so sometimes getting started takes a ton of effort.  However, once you do get started, it’s all downhill from there.  I promise.