It’s not always easy to do, however. Just because you’re excited about weight loss doesn’t mean that the people around you are excited. In fact, they might be downright hostile. For example, your husband might be worried that you’ll want to stop visiting his favorite buffet. Your best friend might be worried that you’re going to lose so much weight that she’ll feel insecure about her own weight when she’s around you.

It’s all about communication

You need to start by being totally open and honest with your partner and with your friends. Tell them how important these new goals are for you. Talk about how you want to be more healthy and be around longer to enjoy their company, and that weight loss is an important part of that process. You might ask if they want to join you in your weight loss journey. Ask your partner and your friends to be happy for you and excited for you, and ask them to encourage you when it gets rough.

Leading by example

Sometimes, friends and family will be almost hostile. You might just be on your own. When that happens, you need to be able to stick to your weight loss goals. Once your family and friends see the progress that you make, they will be inspired. That doesn’t mean they’re going to join you, but once they see how happy you have become when you reach your goals, they will at the very least probably be more supportive.

A little extra outside help

Sometimes, you still need support and encouragement. There are plenty of places to find just that. You might join a support group for weight loss. You might find an online community of other folks who are trying to lose weight. There are plenty of people out there who are able to give you the support you need, even if your friends and family aren’t able to do so at the moment.

Weight gain isn’t any more “contagious” than weight loss is, of course. However, weight gain can be spread socially. That is, it moves from one person to another and from one group to another through specific behaviors and social activities. For example, if a group of friends goes out together on a Friday night and someone consistently suggests the all-you-can-eat buffet, eventually others in the group are going to gain weight. Likewise, if a friend gains 20 pounds, you’re not going to feel nearly as bad about the 5 pounds you gained.

So, what do you do? If you’ve got weight loss goals and you have friends that are overweight or obese, should you just trade them all in for skinnier versions? While that’s one way to go, it’s probably not the best way for a whole host of reasons. We’re not going to judge you, but let’s face it: dumping your fat friends because you don’t want to be fat is pretty cold.

Instead, here are some suggestions:

• Join a gym with a fat friend. Lose some weight together. In some cases, you might even be able to get a membership discount or referral bonus if you join together. Turn gym time into social time. It’ll make workouts more fun and weight loss just a little bit less painfull.
• Engage in fitness related social activities. For example, you might organize a lunchtime basketball league. You might get your friends to go out bowling together (just watch out for the beer and pretzels).
• Avoid food related social activities. Let’s face it: when you’re fat, you can be fat with a group of people. When you diet, you diet alone. Instead of tempting yourself with that Friday buffet, consider opting out of activities with your friends that revolve around food.

• Buy your clothes now. With all the Christmas sales going on right now, this is the perfect time to acquire some new gym clothes. You maybe looking for a new tie for dad, but you may also want to hit up the stores active wear section and get yourself some new shorts as well. This is a great way to get your mind in gear for weight loss activities, while you save some extra coin.

You should also be sure to look for new footwear as well. Your lawn mowing sneakers maybe great for the lawn, but they will not serve you well in your weight loss exercises. Again, with all the sales going on, why pass up the opportunity to dress your feet in comfort?

• Lay out your attack plan. Instead of fumbling on January 1 with how and what you need to do to make this weight loss resolution come true, start your planning for it now. This can be as simple as just figuring out where in your day you will schedule a 30-minute walk. You may need to design a full weight loss friendly diet as well. Planning these items now will make that first day of resolution that much easier.
• Start shopping for a gym. If a gym membership is in your near future, now is the time to start finding a gym. Remember, January is full of people running to the gym to start their weight loss routines. Instead of fighting yet another crowd, you can be ready for your success. Many gyms are running end of year specials to help boost their numbers. You may also want to chat with gym about their potential sales they will run come the new year. This only puts you ahead of the game when it comes to getting into a gym and commencing your weight loss routines.
• You get your mind ready for the impending doom. If you start thinking about that weight loss resolution now, it gets your mind ready and willing. This has a side effect of helping you stave off the hordes of cookies that are soon to be filling the office. Just get up every morning and remind yourself of the weight loss resolution soon to hit and how much easier it will be to succeed if you don’t suck down platefuls of cheese and sausage.

Planning for your weight loss resolution now is a great way to ensure your success when the new year rolls around. Not only will you be prepared with new clothing, comfy shoes, and a sweet gym membership, but also you won’t be stressing about how to make this a reality. Thus, you are setup for weight loss win, instead of failing by January 2.

1. Know your limits – It’s hard to refrain from the copious amounts of cookies, fudge, sweets, sausage, cheese, and other sundries of great food this time of year. This is a perfect time to know your limits. No, you don’t have to completely refrain from those awesome sugar cookies, but instead of consuming five or six, just enjoy one.

You can also ensure you stick to low consumptions by eating slowly. Enjoy that summer sausage the vendor sent you. There is no need to race to the end of it. Eating the great items that spring up this time of year is not a bad thing, but make sure you resist the urge to dump an entire plate of candies down your gullet.

2. Adjust that diet – The holidays often bring on parties, buffets, and potlucks. Time to start your weight loss dietary planning. You may know days in advance that there is going to be a buffet of food at work one Friday afternoon. Adjust your diet to allow for some enjoyment during this time. This may mean you have to eat some plain oatmeal with dry toast for breakfast and follow up with a simple salad for dinner. Know that you are going to consume more calories, sugars, and fats at lunch and adjust your eating habits accordingly.

3. Keep liquor at bay – Now you don’t need to cut out grandma’s special alcoholic Egg Nog completely, but you may want to show a bit of restraint on how many glasses you consume. Remember, alcohol still contains weight loss killing calories no matter if it is hard liquor or a favorite beer. Just as you may only enjoy one or two cookies a day, you should limit your alcoholic beverage to one or two max.

There is a second reason for this limiting, and that is fending off munchies. You know how you get a killer case of the munchies after you have consumed a few drinks. Nothing will kill your weight loss goals quicker than carefree snacking. Just avoid this situation by keeping a lid on grannies special Egg Nog.

4. Exercise – Yeah, it maybe cold outside, but that should not stop you from exercising. You are inevitably taking in more food, which means exercising is that much more important to your weight loss goals. This is also a great time to hit the gym before all the New Years resolution people show up. Not only will you be ahead of the game, but you can enjoy the treats at this time of year a bit more guilt free as you have at least worked off one bite of food at the gym.

5. Enjoy the delectable food – The most important part here is to give you permission to enjoy the food this time of year. Not only will you enjoy the food, but also it is proven that allowing yourself to indulge in even just one piece of fudge will go a long way to binge eating. So, enjoy the bounty this special time brings to kitchen tables everywhere, just do is smartly.

The holidays may have your weight loss goals running in fear, but there is no reason for that. Enjoy this special time of year, keep exercising, and allow yourself just a bit of enjoyment. Besides, you have all year to be mad at yourself for breaking your eating rules.

Researchers aren’t entirely sure what’s behind our cravings. That being said, many experts do suspect that our cravings are physiological. Our bodies crave specific nutrients contained in the specific foods that we crave. So, for example, if you’re feeling low on energy, your body is likely to crave carbohydrates.

There are psychological aspects to cravings that can’t be denied, as well. Cravings can come as a part of food addiction, or as a response to emotional eating. The most important thing you can do in terms of controlling your cravings is to try to identify where yours come from.

Here are some things you can do to control your cravings and stay on track with your weight loss:

• Respond to cravings with acceptable foods. Just because you’re craving potato chips doesn’t mean you have to eat potato chips. Instead of eating potato chips, why not try something else? Try some celery sticks, for example. If you can’t stomach the celery by itself, don’t dip it in peanut butter. Instead, try it with some fresh garden salsa. Identifying substitutes for your cravings is one great way to give in without compromising your weight loss.
• Go do something else. Get busy with a new project, or go for a walk. Separating yourself from the situation in which you’re experiencing the craving is one great way to break that craving. If you tend to want ice cream while watching TV, for example, record your favorite program and watch it later. Alternatively, put an exercise bike or a treadmill in your family room and watch TV while you exercise instead of eating ice cream.
• Tough it out. Sometimes, you just need to cowboy up and say “no.” You need to wait out the craving. You may find that, within just a few minutes, that feeling like you had to have a slice of chocolate cream pie actually vanishes on its own. It’ll be back, of course, but when it does come back you’ll need to exert your force of will again.

To truly hit your weight loss goals, you need to get a grip on emotional eating. First, its important to identify the kinds of emotional eating that may take place. For some people, emotional eating means that they eat or overeat when they’re sad, depressed or even confused. For them, eating becomes a way to escape from their problems, and a way for them to avoid having to take any action to solve those same problems.

One of the biggest difficulties with emotional eating, and the reason that it’s so difficult for weight loss, is that emotional eaters rarely turn to healthy foods. If you were to grab a stick of celery each time you were to feel like eating because of your emotions, you’d probably be all right. Unfortunately, unless that celery is covered in peanut butter and chocolate, chances are that’s not the food you’re going to be grabbing. We like to eat sweet foods, greasy foods or salty foods when we’re emotionally eating.

Here are some of the common signs that you may be an emotional eater:

• Emotional eaters often find that they’re eating even without realizing that they are doing it.
• Emotional eaters very often will feel shame or guilt associated with eating.
• Emotional eaters often eat by themselves or in strange places, so as not to be noticed by their friends or family.
• Emotional eaters often eat after a stressful event, such as an argument with their spouse or children.
• Emotional eaters tend to have cravings for specific sorts of foods when they’re upset. Chocolate is common, but so are other foods.
• Emotional eaters may eat out of sheer boredom at times.
• Emotional eaters tend to get a temporary boost to their mood when they eat.

If you’re an emotional eater, you need to address the issue from several angles. Start by choosing more healthy foods to snack on when you feel hungry, but also work on breaking the vicious cycle that comes from eating when you’re feeling down or confused.

Here are some ways in which planning your meals, snacks and other food intake will have a huge impact on your overall weight loss efforts:

• Start by looking in your refrigerator. Take note of perishable items including fruits, veggies and lean protiens that are nearing the end of their shelf life. This in itself can help you with weight loss by prompting you to make better food choices. No one likes to throw away food that you originally bought while you were hoping to lose weight. The guilt you’ll have that comes from throwing away rotten veggies that you could have eaten instead of less healthy food will only make your weight loss harder. Avoid that guilt by daily checking the fridge and identifying healthy perishable items you can eat.
• Look around your pantry, as well. There are a number of different types of food you should see in there that are staples for weight loss. Pasta is one common weight loss staple. If you’re on a low-carb diet, you might have cans of tuna fish instead. Put these kinds of items on your weekly grocery shopping list, and don’t ever let yourself run out of them. If you do, you’ll be forced to eat something that’s not as good for you when you get hungry (or worse yet make a trip to the fast food drive thru).
• Plan out your meals. This isn’t always easy. It requires some real forethought. In addition, you need to plan your meals a week out at a time so that you can make sure you have the groceries on hand that you need. Still, designating what foods you are going to eat and when accomplishes several tasks. It keeps you from having to make impulse decisions about what to eat. Impulse decisions regarding food are almost universally bad for weight loss. It also can help in some practical ways. For example, having your lunch packed for the next day means a more stress-free morning.
• Regularly review your eating habits. By keeping a journal of the food you eat, you can look back on a regular basis and see what foods it is that you just can’t seem to stay away from, even if they’re bad for you. This can also show you when you’re at your weakest. For example, if you’re prone to raiding the freezer for ice cream during Prime Time TV, replace that poor eating decision with a good one such as snacking on some crisp veggies.
• Shop from a grocery list. You can’t eat deliberately if you don’t have the foods you need on hand. Likewise, if you buy foods randomly at the grocery store or on impulse, you’re going to wind up eating them. Create your grocery list and stick to it religiously for the highest probability of weight loss success.

Planning that weekly menu

There is not doubt about the fact that changing a diet is hard work. People become accustomed to eating fast and easy foods. These foods are often full of ingredients that make people crave them. Time to break that habit.

Sit down each week and plan your meals. This goes a long way to answering that age-old question of “what is for dinner tonight?” You can also use this to plan in your cheater meal, prepare for any company you may have, or just put that mind to ease when the week become hectic.

The other benefit is this allows you time to plan out when you will make these weight loss meals of desire. Maybe you have two nights free that you can make two or three meals. Doing this will mean you have weight loss friendly meals at the ready. No more dreading going home and slaving away in the kitchen when you just want to let the stress of the day slip away.

Scheduling in your exercise

Many people find it easier to put in a dedicated time to do their daily weight loss exercise routine. There is not right or wrong time when this should be scheduled. What matters most is that you get it into your day at some point.

There are a few ideal times to consider with this scheduling. Some people find it wakes them up to exercise in the morning. Others find that they work off their days stress by exercising at night. You can even break it up into chunks and exercises throughout the day. Just make sure you have these weight loss workouts figured into your daily routines.

Schedule your downtime

Just as you scheduled your exercises, meetings, cooking, and bathroom breaks, scheduling your downtime is extremely important. Some people find that they just need fifteen minutes of quiet time in the afternoon to help them feel refreshed. If this applies to you, schedule some time.

You need downtime to help purge your mind and body of stress. Stress can lead to weight loss disaster in over eating, skipping exercises, and just throwing the whole life style out the window. Take some you time and see just how much better you feel from day to day.

People live by schedules

The reason this all works for weight loss is how many people live by the schedules in their lives. Society has become busier than ever. Work, kids, partners, friends, and other obligations quickly decimate your time. Scheduling in your weight loss needs will go a long way to keeping you on track and dedicated to your lifestyle. No, these are not items that can just be scratched off to make room for Monday Night Football.

Changing to a weight loss lifestyle does not need to be any more complicated than it already is. Take each item and make it a to do item that gets it’s very own time slot. Looking at the life changing events in this way is often easier than trying to handle everything in one big gob of weight loss change.

Healthy cooking is only a click away

Cooking at home does not always have to be bland, hard, and time consuming. There are television programs geared towards weight loss meal success. You just have to sift through all those shows pushing cookies and steaks on you.

You can also use these cooking shows as a way to reward yourself. That one cheater meal you allow yourself every week can be from the TV gods. You know you like how Paula Deen throws down some peach cobbler. Allow yourself to indulge in this treat as a reward for sticking to your weight loss goals all week.

You can even put these recipes up some place to remind yourself what you’re working so hard for. Become a weight loss boy scout by changing out those unhealthy ingredients for their healthier substitutes. The winning combination is to use these shows for meal ideas and cheater meals.

Weight loss competitions can be entertaining

Ever notice how people get all worked up about weight loss competitions. This can be your motivation as well. Weight loss completions come in just about every form and variety of reality TV show now. Just find the one you like and watch it when your feeling less motivated than a sloth.

Weight loss competitions get people motivated due to results being so blatantly plastered on the screen. Viewers get to see weekly updates of their favorite cast members. Exercise routines are turned into small competitions. The before and after photos are often constantly put up for people to see success. All of these factors play into the human mind and prove that if average Joe on television can do it, so can you.

Strongmen don’t always carry swords

Maybe not all that fofo weight loss competition stuff is your bowl of Wheaties. Have you tried watching some of the strong man competitions? These are great motivational tools for anyone who is slinging weights for their weight loss exercises.

These types of programs show strapping people doing extraordinary feats. These may include pulling tractor-trailers up a hill or lugging a barge anchor around. This can be all the motivation it takes for you to hit the gym and push yourself just that much harder.

Crazy races in all shapes and forms

The last use of television is to watch your favorite marathon style sport. Cyclists have a wealth of tours to watch besides the Tour de France. Iron man competitions are full of weight loss motivation spread across various exercise routines. Yes, rowing a boat for miles can easily be used as a workout routine.

These types of programs often motivate people to train for these style events. Marathon runners may watch various marathons for training and motivation. Find those events you enjoy and watch them for your motivation.

Television is often the abused subject of weight loss success. This could not be further from the truth. There are plenty of options on the tube to get you motivated, keep you motivated, and introduce new ideas to your daily life.

1. Controlling stress is at the bottom of the bottle

Stress is a killer to your weight loss goals and your sanity. You don’t have to go far to find hordes of studies on how bad stress is on the human body. Getting rid of that stress is key to a long and healthy life.

Ending a long hard day with a beer is a great way to kick that stress out the door. Just as the French have their glass of wine at dinner, the Germans have a cold brew after a stressful day. To many people, having a beer signals the end of their busy day and the start to their nightly stress purging.

2. Moderation is Key

Beer can be just as beneficial as red wine. A glass of red wine at dinner is touted as being beneficial for years. While beer does not come packed to the hops with antioxidants, it does come with some beneficial goodness.

Just as red wine needs to be enjoyed one glass at a time, beer needs to be consumed in moderation. Some studies are based on one beer a week. Other studies will tell you that four or five beers a week are key to the good life. The main factor is all these number are less than a six-pack a week.

Binge drinking will kill your weight loss goals in a fluid ounce. Over drinking dehydrates the body and causes a nasty case of the munchies. These factors add up to you ditching that diet plan and eating food at 3am that looks as though it came out of a jar of oil.

3. Enjoy the beer

Time to enjoy that beer. There are several ways to enjoy a beer while keeping your weight loss goals in place. These all start with the beer your drinking.

Microbrew beer may cost you more per six-pack, but it will save you money, calories, and weight loss misery in the end. Microbrews come in a world of blends and mixes. These can come from hoppy goodness to dark chocolate stouts. Point being, microbrews contain more flavor per bottle. There is a microbrew for you unique taste buds.

Microbrew beer usually contains higher alcohol content. This means you get your buzz with fewer beers. Fewer beers mean fewer calories. Fewer calories will mean less weight loss gym hassles. Microbrews are meant to be sipped and enjoyed, not chugged and forgotten. Find a good microbrew beer and enjoy it for all the hard work the brewmasters put into it.

Having a good brew from time to time is a great way to reduce stress and keep you on the weight loss path. This is not the green light to suck down a case of beer every night. Take time to enjoy that beer and let the stress of the day fall away, one sip at a time.