How many times have you been online looking for that elusive top weight loss secret - five, ten, twenty times or more? It's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are patches, pills, supplements, exercise programs, diet regimes, hypnosis, acupuncture etc. etc. All of them claiming to be the one and only top weight loss secret. But you know what? None of them will work without the very simple, top weight loss secret I'm going to reveal in a moment - and which you will realise you already knew anyway.
A doctor once said to me that losing weight, especially if you have a lot of weight to get rid of, is one of the hardest things to do. Unlike quitting smoking, when, in theory at least, you can throw away the packet of cigarettes before you go to bed and never smoke again; when you want to lose weight fast - or slow - it's not as if you can wake up the next day having lost 50 pounds! So, what is the one top weight loss secret which will get you actually losing weight?
Well, first of all, even if you are morbidly overweight, which means it is life-threatening, unless and until YOU decide you want to lose weight, nothing much is going to happen. Even to agree to an operation, it is still YOU who must decide it is time to do something. Hopefully, you won't get to that stage.
What is going to make you decide then?
Is it your family? After all, I'm sure they don't want to see you struggling to walk upstairs, puffing as you climb hills with your dog or try to run and play with your children. How about the effort involved when you wriggle in and out of clothes that are just that bit too small. Yes, perhaps it's pressure from your family and friends which will help you. But that's not the top weight loss secret.
Is it the difficulty with doing other every day things that will persuade you? Just sitting comfortably can be difficult if the chair is too small, or not strong enough to support your weight. Squeezing through narrow doorways and aisles might seem amusing when turning sideways makes no difference; but really, it's no fun, is it?
How about looking at the positive side of having lost a lot of weight? Is this the top weight loss secret?
You will be able to dress more elegantly, wear more modern styles and look fabulous in them too. You will have more energy, flexibility, stamina - to do all those things you ever wanted to do. How about getting really radical and take flying lessons (there's a weight limit), or perhaps a parachute jump appeals. Horse riding; yes it is possible for big people to ride big horses, but you still need to be very fit. There are lots of action sports which you will be able to do when you are thinner and lighter.
Men or women - won't you just look so good beside your partner when you go out together?
OK, so these are just a few incentives. But they still are not the top weight loss secret I'm going to reveal - right now...
Here it is. The top weight loss secret is to 'accept that it is going to be hard'.
Let me repeat that.
The top weight loss secret is to 'accept that it is going to be hard'.
Once you realise that, then you can take the next step and do something about losing your weight. But if you think it is going to be easy, then you are less likely to succeed and more likely to become demotivated. If you know it is going to be hard to begin with, then the only way forward is positive.
Once you realise that losing weight will take effort and hard work, then it simply becomes a matter of taking the steps necessary to achieve it. Whether that be through changes in your eating habits, an exercise program, altering your attitude to food or whatever system you decide is right for you. You've done the difficult bit - you've realised it is going to be tough - so now becomes simpler. You can knuckle down and just get on with the task in hand.
This top weight loss secret is the one thing that needs to be accepted before everything else that you do to lose weight. Once you grasp this, then you are already well on your way.