The people who think and say these things are the very same people who are constantly trying diet after diet with no success or very poor results, at best. There's a reason for this. It's very real and it's very easy to stop this.

There are a number of steps to take, yes, without a doubt, that is true. But. There is one, single step that you must take, a single hurdle that you must overcome. Without this first, absolutely crucial step, you probably will never lose weight.

That's not trying to sound mean or rude but it is the simple truth. Without the first step, you will constantly see failure. This first step is very simple: believe.

Yes, that is the first, most important and crucial step to take. You must believe in yourself before you can achieve your weight loss success. You must believe that you have the potential, you can and you will lose weight.

Believe it because it is very possible. The stronger you believe in this, the stronger your desire will be to lose weight or to shed those extra inches. Don't let anything stand in your way: family, friends, nay-sayers, the (stupid and shallow) media, or anyone else. Believe in yourself and ignore the rest. So the first step to successfully losing weight is just to believe in yourself as strongly and deeply as you can.

Next, you have to make a serious effort to make positive and healthy changes in your lifestyle. This will involve some planning so be prepared to think things out completely. Whatever your situation is you have to make it a point to choose healthy over convenient or fast or fad.

When you are trying to pick a weight loss program, don't go with a fad diet. Read up on everything you are considering and choose the weight loss program that focuses on your body as a whole. It should be well-rounded with plans for nutrition and for physical fitness. The fine details are debatable but the overall foundation should always be rooted in good nutrition from fresh, whole foods and physical fitness rooted in all-body exercise.

So for good nutrition, you will want your weight loss program to help you focus and easily pinpoint what fresh, whole foods actually are. In my opinion, a good way to figure this out: produce in your grocery store is good, but processed foods are not. So avoid those. Your weight loss program should also help you fast occasionally, emphasis on occasionally.

Also, the program should not make you avoid any particular fresh food because your body does need all of the different types. So be wary of any program that tells you to avoid all together certain vegetables or tells you to eat whatever you want or to fast for more than 2 days at a time.

As far as physical fitness goes, there are very many different methods in this field. The best advice for me to give is that you should first consult your physician to make sure you have his/her approval first. Then you should consult a personal trainer; most gyms give you a free session to see if you like their trainers. Use that!

And ask that trainer plenty of questions, especially geared towards your specific weight loss goals, like if you want to lose weight for a specific event or if you want to lose weight in certain spots). They may tell you to do only cardio, strength training or aerobics or they may tell you to do a combination of all of them, which is probably the best method. Either way, use that resource and if you like him/her, stick with that trainer! They are a great resource even after the 1st free session.

It seems simple because it is. Those are the two (only two) biggest and most important keys to success in weight loss. Without these two, you will be lost. So make sure you believe in yourself first and then change your lifestyle to focus on healthy and physically fit. Here's to your weight loss success!