Did you know that yo-yo dieting (losing, then gaining, then losing weight and so on) is incredibly bad for your health? Your body just doesn’t know what’s going on. First it has famine, then feast, then famine again . . . and what’s more, this behaviour will cause your metabolism to slow down and hold onto fat because your body thinks there might be another famine on the way. So you’ll often end up weighing more than you did in the first place. I can’t stress enough the importance of safe weight loss -- for both your health and your figure.

The key to safe weight loss is to take your time. Yes, I know, you want to get slim like yesterday. But if you think about it, wouldn’t you rather be slim for life than go on some crash diet, lose a lot of weight and put it all back on again? If you want to be slim for good, you’ll have to start thinking like a slim person, so that bit by bit the pounds drop off -- and this time they stay off.

The first thing to look at is your hunger versus your perceived hunger. True hunger is a very specific feeling which you may have forgotten how to recognise; if you’re a habitual over-eater you probably never let yourself get the point of hunger so you don’t ever feel it anymore. In that case, it can be useful to go without food for half a day, just so that you experience what real hunger is like once more.

Now that you recognise it, only eat when you’re genuinely hungry, and only eat enough to just satisfy that hunger.

The second thing for effective and safe weight loss is moderate exercise. No, don’t groan, you don’t have to run a marathon, but you do need to learn to move your body a bit. Start small and build it up. Just a 10 minute walk once a day is a good start for burning off some of those calories. Then, once that becomes natural, try to walk for a bit longer and perhaps add a short jog into the middle of your walk.

Look for exercise you find fun -- if it’s a total chore you just won’t do it. There are all sorts of things you can do, from simply cleaning the house a bit more vigorously, to swimming; from running around with the kids to joining a soccer team! Even just taking the stairs instead of the elevator incorporates more exercise into your day. My personal favourite is a workout dvd -- I enjoy moving around to music and can do as much or little of it as I feel like on a particular day.

With mindful eating and exercise both in place, the pounds will start to drop off. Guaranteed. Imagine how great it’ll feel when you can comfortably run for the bus again, and when you enjoy the admiring looks from both friends and strangers! The key is to take things at a steady pace and rethink your lifestyle. That’s the way to stay slim for life. To learn more about the healthy route to safe weight loss, read my ebook, The Secrets To Slimming For Life Easily And Naturally, and get ready to welcome the new, slender you!