There are only two natural ways to lose weight.

There really are only two ways to lose weight naturally. Eat less and exercise more. Do them both at the same time and you double your chances at success. Be patient, be relentless, and ... most importantly ... BE REALISTIC!

It is not necessary to give up the foods you love to lose weight. In fact, deprivation is one of the quickest ways to fail when you are trying to lose weight. Although you should try to eat healthier whenever possible, you can also continue to eat double cheeseburgers, french fries and sodas for lunch every day and still lose weight. Try these tricks:

1. Buy a kid's meal
2. Drink a large glass of water or have a piece of fruit before you leave for lunch
3. Throw away 1/3 of everything on your plate before you begin to eat
4. Eat someplace quiet - a park bench, a blanket under a tree - away from traffic, the TV, and overexcited people.
5. Eat consciously - slowly, chewing your food completely, putting down your fork (or your burger) after each bite.

It is not necessary to exercise every day or for long periods of time to be effective in helping you lose weight. Any increase in exercise over the amount you are currently getting is going to naturally burn more calories. Perhaps these ideas might be helpful:

1. Find a walking buddy at work and push each other to go on a lunch time walk as often as possible.
2. Try exercise that has another purpose - geocaching, sweeping the sidewalk, pulling weeds, walking a dog.
3. Climb stairs every day.
4. Get up from your desk at least once an hour and take a 5-minute walk
5. Stand up and do exercises during the commercials

Losing weight naturally means losing weight slowly. Don't step on the scale every morning. In fact, for the first 6 months, don't step on the scale at all! Your body is going to do everything it can at first to try to hold onto the weight. Give it some time to realize that you are not trying to starve it. Once that happens, the weight will begin to come off naturally and consistently. Natural weight loss is the only successful weight loss. Start today!

This article was written by Marc Hill. As always, I am looking for the whole mind/ body approach when it comes to solving life's problems. My review of weight loss programs can be found at: ksnreview.com