FREE General Secrets

FREE General Secrets Collection

1. First things first.. Prioritize. The beds might not get made but making time for exercise is more important. That's how Amy Reed, 36 has kept off more than 80 pounds for 11 years. "I have to schedule it in and let go of other things like a perfectly clean house." she says.
   
   

2. Enjoying your life is as important as anything else. Find a passion. "I have a dance background and when I found jazzercise, I said, 'Thank God.' If somebody told me I had to go out and run five days a week, I'd still weigh 185 pounds," says Anne Geren, 41, who lost 55 pounds and has kept it off for 13 years.
   
   

3. If you keep track of something, you're more likely to be responsible about it. Keep an exercise log. It makes you more accountable. Norma from Dallas, TX, who hangs hers on the refrigerator, checks off six workouts a week dutifully. "If I miss one day, I make that my day off for the week."

4. Setting goals is important .That keeps you inspired in your effort. Sign up for some fun runs and try to improve your times. "I went from a 5-K to a 4-miler, then a 5-miler, then a 10-K. As I was building miles and speed, I was getting fitter and losing more weight," says Therese Revitt, 42, who lost 80 pounds and recently ran a marathon.
   
   

5. Get pumped. "It wasn't until I put on more muscle through resistance training that I was able to keep the weight off - almost effortlessly," says Verona Mucci-Hurlburt, 37, who went from a size 18 to an 8. The reason? Muscle burns more calories around the clock.
   

6. Quick fix diet plans won't make you stay slim, a healthy lifestyle will. "I learned how to eat and live with it for the rest of my life," says Barbara Miltenberger, 42, who lost more than 40 pounds and hasn't seen any come back in three years.
   
   

7. Be sensible about what you eat instead of forbidding yourself most of the menus. "The best thing I did was quit dieting," says Reed. "I'd always find ways to cheat. So instead, I stopped forbidding myself certain foods and just started eating less of them."
   
   

8. Realizing the problem and the extent of its gravity is part of the solution. Get a grip on reality. "When I started keeping a food diary, I discovered that I was eating somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 calories a day," says Rebecca, 46, who found the number shocking.
   
   

9. Eat mini-meals. Having smaller, more frequent meals can prevent you from getting ravenously hungry and overeating. On average, weight loss winners eat five times a day.
   
   

10. Follow the 90% to 10% rule. "If you watch what you eat 90% of the time, the other 10% is not a problem," says Mucci-Hurlburt, who learned this tip from a fitness professional.

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