by Ruth Franz Higdon

Created on: April 07, 2009

There are really no secrets to losing weight. The only secret is that you haven't enlisted the method that works. There are essentially two basic parts to a real plan for losing weight.

The first part is EDUCATION: The reward before the results. This is information you will keep forever. Learning real facts about food will give you the strength to make some intelligent choices almost unconsciously. My favorite guru on this subject is Susan Powter. Worth more than a trip to some spa or clinic, her book "Stop the Insanity" and another titled "Food" should be required reading. The amazing amount of research she has done for you and honest information generously offered here can't be beat for reference, so the books can be kept around on your counter top for all time.

Learn here about fat, how to know where to find it and why. Here Susan also reveals her famous fat formula. This is life changing information for healthful weight loss. Always read labels when you shop. You will see how your life and your health depend on it. Never mind what the front label screams at you, instead figure the actual percentage of fat, or in other words, the ratio of fat to calories.

Dr. Dean Ornish promotes a very low fat and plant based diet. If you learn nothing else from him, you will, once again, find out how important it is to understand the intake of fat. When you consume more fat than your body needs, you will gain fat.

The second part of the plan is YOUR PERSONAL PROJECT: Tackling the weight loss issue must be for you, not for someone else and not for glory. (Actually the glory and recognition will come after a while; you will recognize it.)

My own personal method works very well, too, if you need to start very slowly. I like to suggest eliminating one food item at a time. This is your personal project. Start by giving up one thing entirely. An example would be chips. Give them up. Every time you pass the shelves where chips are sold, walk on by. Take those few dollars that they would have cost and save that money in a secret place. (I did that as a school kid with my food allowance money. Every time I did NOT buy a candy bar, I took that same amount of money and saved it.) Let that little collection of money grow. Continue for two weeks, let's say, and then add another item to your cross-off list.

Difficult? Of course. If it were easy, there would be no personal pride. Without changes to your habits, no change will come. After about a month or so, you should notice some difference; continue on by choosing one more item and: don't look back. It's important that you are making your own decisions. Being on someone else's diet plan, following all of their instructions and recipes, tells you that you are not in control of your own habits. The diet plan eventually fails because you are tired of being controlled.

Now control this: eliminate the rascals that are hurting you. In the same manner, just remove the availability. What you will be removing from your diet is fat. Once again, read the labels. This is your personal project, to learn and then to act on your knowledge. The best plan in the long run is your own plan. Be your own boss; be in charge of yourself. This is the secret for your best weight loss plan.

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