You want to go on a vacation, jump online and you could be on your way this afternoon. If you are hungry, stop by at a fast food chain. If you want to watch your favorite TV show, you can use TIVO or the internet (sometimes) to do so, whenever you want. It's quite amazing what we can do.

All of this instant gratification though is making it very hard for us to be healthy and lose weight.

Because we are so used to getting whatever we want, when we want it, we've been conditioned to believe that we should be able to lose weight at the push of a button, or the taking of a pill, without changing anything we're doing.

Because we live such abundantly, and are spoilt by how quickly we can get it, we feel it should be the same when it comes to weight loss. We believe there's got to be a way to easily, and very quickly pop a pill, and enjoy safe weight loss.

Now, if we think logically about this, it does not make any sense. Anyone who knows anything about weight loss will tell you that it comes down to one simple formula:

You have to burn more calories per day than you eat.

If you can manage that, you can't help but lose weight. The problem is of course in managing it. For you to lose weight, you need to do this for an extended period of time. And of course to do this, you have to modify your lifestyle.

The thing is though, we don't want to eat less. We don't want to give up our favorite foods and drinks. And of course, we don't want to exercise.

The fact that we resist change so much means there has been a multi-million dollar weight loss drug and supplement industry that thrives. Its amazing that what we're willing to try, just so we don't have to eat less or exercise more.

Some of the side effects created by some of these drugs are pretty severe, so much so that you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. Ironically, there is enough people in the US that are happy to pay for it, as long as they can just keep their old habits and let the drug do all the work.

Now, am I saying that weight loss drugs and supplements are all useless?

No, not necessarily. What I am saying is that if you are really serious about losing weight and keeping it off, you do need to make some lifestyle changes. And you know what?

It won't be easy. Anytime you do make some lifestyle choices, there's going to inertia. You'll have resistance from yourself to making the change. You just have to keep focused on your end goal.

So, what is smart is to focus on changing your lifestyle, and choosing effect supplements to help you do this, if it is appropriate for you.

How do you know if a supplement is appropriate for you?

All you have to do is figure out what lifestyle choices you're going to make. Decide what habits you need to form to maintain the body you want. Now think about all the things that might go wrong, when you make those changes.

For example, if you are overweight, you should start by looking at what you are eating. Often people will over-eat and under-drink. What I mean by that is that they will eat, even when they are not hungry, just because its lunch time, or because food makes them comfortable, and they won't drink water regularly throughout the day (and leave themselves dehydrated).

So in that case, this person should think about how they can have water within touching distance of themselves throughout the day. If you do that, you will naturally sip it. You'll be amazed how this simple tip controls your appetite.

If comfortable eating is a problem, I would now look at one of the popular weight loss supplements out there, called Hoodia. I would choose Hoodia, because, to date, there are no known side effects that have been reported. This doesn't mean that it won't cause side effects, because Hoodia is quite new to the market, but at this stage it seems the best choice. I would though be very careful about where I buy my Hoodia from. The source where you get your Hoodia is the most important factor you have to think about if you plan on using it.

The reason Hoodia would be effective here is because its job is to make you feel full. So if you are already feeling full, you don't have to worry about comfortable eating. You can now focus on eating a balanced diet, full of good nutrition so that your body gets all the nutrients it needs to help you lose weight.

Again, I would not recommend relying on Hoodia long term. Use it in the short term to get into good dietary habits, then when you do get used to eating healthy foods, wean off it.

That way you keep in total control, without relying on anything. You're just using it (Hoodia in this case) to make it easier for you to change your lifestyle. The point is, if you want to keep the weight off, you have to take the power off the pill, and put it back into your ability to change your lifestyle. If you do that, you're more likely to stick to your new habits, and therefore keep the weight off.