There are only really 4 steps to losing weight...

The steps to losing weight below will help you get started with a diet and exercise plan that will fit into your life, and that you will be able to build on, even if you're weight loss stalls and then use to maintain the loss.

I could give you a plan that telling you what exercise and diet to follow, but that doesn't guarantee you getting what you want, because you're not me, what I can give you is a set of simple steps to losing weight that you can always come back to.

4 Simple steps to losing weight and maintaining it...

Step 1: What do you want?

Close your eyes and see what it is you want your body to look like. Be honest! There is no point imagining something that is totally impossible.

Close your eyes and see what it is you want your body to look like. Be honest! There is no point imagining something that is totally impossible.

To create something you have to have an idea of what it is. The more detail the better, but you will add to the picture as you go, so aim for as much detail as possible.

Step 2: Where are you now?

This step is where you get up close with your starting point, which is what you look and feel like now.

Once you know where you are, and where you want to go you can start setting goals and taking action to get there.

There's to be no judging! Don't make comments like 'I look awful' or 'I feel bad'. Just look and notice.

Step 3: What actions will I take?

This website is full of actions to take, actions that you can choose to construct a diet and exercise plan that works for you in your life.

Here you decide on what to do to get where you want to go. What you need to do more of, what you need to do less of, and most importantly what you can do, that fit’s with your life.

Step 4: Monitoring how you're doing.

You've mentally focused on where you want to be, you've noted where you are now, you've decided on a couple of actions, now a scoreboard will help get you going, and is the last of the steps to losing weight.

You can use actions, or measurements as your scorecard, try both, if you don’t lose size one week, you can check that you’ve been taking the right action, if you have, keep going, losing weight is not consistent, nor instant cause and effect.

These 4 steps will have you losing weight, and you can use them with the 5 keys to making it last to maintain that loss and achieve your goals.

The articles below will give you some more valuable tips on these steps to losing weight.

Health Promotion Worksite - Have a look at this website, it's a great resource of programs, from healthy eating to physical fitness and financial wellness, that anyone can use.