One day you're eating a certain way and then the next you decide to follow a diet. Way too drastic. No wonder many of us dread to diet. You can sneak up on your weight loss success slow and gradual. You know the story about the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady won the race. If you make small changes in your diet and exercise plan, you can achieve your weight loss success. When we change something too dramatically, we don't allow ourselves time to adjust. Master one small change and then move on to another. You build on these successes to change your health.



1. Water as your first beverage of choice. After you've consumed your morning coffee or tea to get you going for the day, drink water. Water is critical in maximizing your weight loss. You can drink flavored water for a change of pace.

2. Fresh fruit instead of juice. If you drink orange juice or other juices, try switching to eating the whole fruit. Juice packs lots of calories in a small glass and doesn't provide you a sense of satisfaction the way eating the fruit does. You'll consume less calories, enjoy the sense of eating, feel fuller from the fruit rather than the liquid, plus you'll add important fiber from eating the fruit.

3. Write it down. Carry a small notepad with you and log in every meal, bite, taste and anything that you eat. By keeping track of what you consume, it will make you think twice before eating something. If you have to write something down in a log, many times you don't want to see it in your log so you won't see it on your waist either. Writing it down can also show you exactly what you are eating. A bite or taste sometimes doesn't register with us. In a log, you become very aware of what you're doing.

4. Check your steps. Buy a pedometer and wear it every day. Health experts recommend 10,000 steps each day for maximum health. Take your first day and use it as your base number. Set your goal to get in an additional 1,000 steps per day. Keep track how many steps you have each day. You can make it a game by logging the steps you make each day.

5. Lose your taste for soda. Soda scores a big zero in weight loss. Soft drinks contain astounding amounts of sugar and sodium. Plus, they are void of nutrition and do nothing to assist in filling you up. If you must drink soft drinks, go for the diet version. Just like many other things, you acquire a taste for something and you can lose it too. By cutting out soda from your day, you'll save hundreds of calories which result in weight loss.

6. Get a team of support. You don't have to lose weight alone. There are many resources available to you. First, turn to your family and friends and request their support. You can also hire your own weight loss coach. You can work with your coach to create a program that is best for you, what you like, what you prefer, and what works best for you. You can also join an online support group. There are many people waiting to partner with you to achieve your weight loss goals.

7. Make your coffee work for you. I used to love those flavored creamers. I would joke that I added coffee to my flavored creamer. Unfortunately, I was right. It wasn't until I kept a food journal that I noticed how much I was actually consuming. The flavored creamers, whether non-fat or in any form, are full of sugar. I was consuming enough carbs to count for one-half of my day. I strategy that I incorporated is to use nonfat powdered creamer and sugar-free flavored syrups in my coffee. I returned to losing immediately upon changing this one small habit.

In another article, we'll add more little changes for you to review and consider. As you can see, some small changes you can be simple and easy. Small changes can be painless too. As far as little changes count for you: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = Your own weight loss success!