Most everyone who has suffered with a stubborn weight problem for any length of time can attest to the fact that losing weight can often become the central focus of life. The irony though is that while most dieters would give anything to shed their unwanted pounds, the reality is that few can sustain the motivation to do it.

Losing weight often becomes a demoralizing and frustrating endeavor because few people answer the question that must be addressed in order to make permanent weight loss a reality. For most dieters, 99% of the focus and energy is spent on what to eat, when to eat and how much to eat which isn't anywhere near the most important thing that will determine success or failure.

The simple question that must be answered by anyone who hopes to conquer a chronic weight problem is this... why? The "why" behind a person's attempt to lose weight and regain their happiness and self-esteem is what will determine whether they will be successful. In fact, it is almost predictable whether someone will be successful simply by asking why they want to lose weight in the first place.

If the biggest and most important reason why someone wants to lose weight is because of things like they want to fit in smaller clothes, they want to look good on the beach, they want to make someone jealous or they want to look good for an upcoming social event, then the chances of them losing weight and keeping it off are slim to none. In order for most people to be able to make the lifestyle changes necessary to lose a significant amount of weight, the reasons have to be big.

While wearing smaller clothes may sound like a fun reason to lose weight, it probably won't be enough to keep you on track when times get rough. Looking good on the beach may not be reason enough to stand firm when all you feel like doing is throwing in the towel. In other words, the reason why you want to lose weight has to be big enough to inspire you when the lifestyle changes you've adopted aren't fun anymore.

When it comes to making any kind of difficult change in life, if the "why" is big enough, we can do almost anything. I often ask my patients who are trying to lose weight and are finding it difficult the following question;

If I told you that by simply losing 40 pounds in 5 months you would receive a check for 1 million dollars, tax free, do you think you could (or would) do it? I would submit that not only would virtually everyone lose the 40 pounds but they would do it with absolute ease.

The reason almost everyone would be successful at losing the weight if 1 million dollars was waiting for them is because suddenly the "why" has become huge. In fact, the why has become so big that all the difficulties that most people experience when trying to diet would suddenly melt away.

Where skipping dessert would normally be difficult for most people on diets, with 1 million dollars waiting for you, skipping dessert would be effortless. Where staying away from the pizza might seem almost unbearable for people on a typical diet attempt, with 1 million dollars staring you in the face, suddenly the pizza loses all its draw.

In order to be successful at changing your lifestyle and losing weight, you must spend as much time as is necessary coming up with your "why". And when your why is big enough, sticking with an eating and exercise plan will become almost easier than ever.