Here's a little statement I've made before in various forms and forums.

Effective, lifelong weight loss is simple...not easy, just simple.

We all seem to be seeking some ultimate and absolute weight loss secret. However, the "weight loss secret" has been known for years. Simply stated, if you take in more calories than you use, you gain weight. If you use more calories than you take in, you lose weight.

In their attempts to wiggle around those two simple facts, people have discovered that some foods, and some diet products, are effective in "helping" you cut down on the calories; and they have found lifestyles, and diet products, that "help" you burn more calories, but two simple laws have remained for healthy, effective, lifelong weight loss and weight management.

1. Get regular, moderate exercise

2. Regularly eat tasteful, nutritionally satisfying foods in reasonable quantities.

Do those two things, and your body will automatically adjust itself to a healthier, leaner, more fit state of existence.

Are there other things you can do to help the process along?

Of course there are. Drink more water, get more sleep, serve meals on smaller plates, eat more slowly...and so on. All these things and many other tips help the weight loss process, but, in the final analysis, it all comes down to those two rules up there.

Now, I said that if you do those two things, your body will automatically adjust itself to a healthier, leaner level. Unfortunately, since we are all different...in our the way we were raised, our ethnic background, the habits we have acquired, in our likes and dislikes, in our daily processes and procedures, in our metabolism, and in many other ways, the perfect weight loss system for one may not seem very effective for another. Also, since we may attack our weight loss problem with a different intensity or attitude or expectation, what we perceive as "being effective" may not satisfy our neighbor...or may seem miraculous to him or her.

Lacking the guidance of trained dieticians and personal fitness trainers, our actions in pursuit of proper nutrition and exercise may be a bit hit or miss. If we also take into consideration the manner in which most of us go about our daily lives...staying up too late, rushing around to get all our obligations (real and imaginary) properly discharged, eating unhealthy food in a state of stress and on the go...and from a point of ignorance...and there is no surprise at that statement I made about weight loss being simple, but not necessarily easy.

All that being said, however, most of us can easily make regular attempts to meet the requirements of the two laws I outlined above. We can easily find ways to insert more activity, both planned and opportunistic, into our lives, and we can exercise more control over the food we put in our mouths. A great knowledge of physiology and the science of exercise is not necessary, nor is it a requirement that we be extremely knowledgeable in the science of nutrition either.

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