Weight loss is now a huge industry that is making a lot of people rich. But diet products are rarely successful in the longterm. To lose weight and keep it off, you need to devise a plan you can stick to for the rest of your life, not just for the next few months. Below, I list the crucial elements of any sensible weight loss programme. Build these common-sense, five easy steps into your daily life and you will be well on your journey towards a healthy body weight.

STEP # 1. Have a good breakfast! This is where your daily weight loss plan should begin. People who eat a proper breakfast eat less junk and less fattening food throughout the rest of the day. The best breakfast you can eat is one based on oats. I recommend organic oats with seasonal fresh fruits and berries. In winter, heat it with a little water and make a lovely porridge. In summer, make up your own delicious oat-based muesli mix. Add a few wholegrain spelt crackers, with a fruit, or nut spread and some freshly-made juice, for a truly filling breakfast. Make breakfast the most important meal of the day in your healthy eating weight loss plan.

STEP # 2. Most overweight people eat far too much from the top of the food pyramid and far too little from the base. To lose weight permanently, cut out, or cut down your intake of biscuits and cakes and fatty, sugary foods. These are treat foods. Keep them for treats, don't graze on them all day! For a weight loss plan that will not leave you starving, switch to wholegrain breads and cereals and the fibre in them will fill you up much quicker than the more refined ones. Eat lots more fruit and vegetables. And snack on seeds and nuts when you are feeling peckish!

STEP # 3. Start home-cooking and cut out ready-meals and take-outs, most of which are too salty, too fatty and contain little nutrition. Lasting weight loss requires basic home-cooking and food preparation. All you need, is a weekly rota of recipes that are easy for you to prepare and cook. Do a little research at the beginning and soon you will find that home-cooking is not as time-consuming as you thought it would be. It's about being organised enough to plan what you are eating, to do the shopping for it and to make the time to cook it.

STEP # 4. Exercise! Healthy eating is not the answer to everything when it comes to weight loss! What you eat alone, will not solve your weight problem if you do not exercise. Daily exercise is best, but do try to exercise at least four times a week. If time is short,or if you dread the thought of the gym, build some exercise into your normal routine. Take the stairs instead of the escalator. Walk, or cycle short journeys instead of using the car. Spend less time watching TV and get moving instead! Go swimming with your kids instead of watching them from the poolside. And whenever you walk, whether it is around your office building, or around your own house, if you walk briskly, that counts as exercise! So, just speeding up a little, can increase the benefit you get during your normal day, without ever having to sign up at a gym.

STEP # 5. Be happy! Enjoy the food you eat and don't obsess over it. Happiness and wellness go hand in hand. When we feel happy, we are less likely to indulge in destructive, or dysfunctional eating habits that sabotage our plans for weight loss. Cultivate your happiness along with your healthy eating lifestyle---they are not separate!

These five easy steps are all habits that you can sustain every day for the rest of your life---healthy eating habits, healthy exercise habits and a healthy, happy outlook will add up to a healthy lifestyle that can only increase your well-being and longevity. If you adopt these habits, you have a much greater chance of being successful in achieving permanent weight loss, than the yo-yo-dieters who pay $20 billion each year for products and methods that don't work!

If you don't believe me, a recent survey carried out in California, followed a group of women over a ten-year period. At the end of the decade, the women who dieted had put on more weight than those who didn't!

So, for permanent weight loss, ditch the diets and build yourself a healthy lifestyle instead. And remember my motto "Healthy eating is enjoyable!" It really is! Make it enjoyable for yourself and then you will stick to it!

Copyright. 2008. A. de Blaca. All rights reserved.