How do you respond to your excess weight? Do you deprive yourself of food? Have you tried various fad diets or diet pills that claim to help you lose weight? Was exercise part of your weight loss plan?

If you have tried all these methods and you still haven't lost weight, there is a good reason. There's more to it than that.

Here are the elements you need to achieve weight loss:

- nutrition in sufficient quantities that do not include any fattening foods, junk food, sweet foods, and the like

- exercise to increase your body's demands for energy

- breathing exercises to encourage weight loss

- consistency and persistence

You can't expect to achieve weight loss if nutrition is not adequate. Junk food and other empty foods do nothing for you but add weight. While the energy they provide might make you feel good and help you to perform, they are short term solutions.

Let's take a look at each aspect of weight loss.

Nutrition: You want to choose non-fattening foods that maintain the nutrient levels your body requires. If your body doesn't get them, it will hold on to whatever food it gets as a survival tactic. Look for low and no-fat foods. Make sure you eat fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meat (preferably chicken or salmon rather than red meat), and calcium rich foods like cheese and skim milk.

Exercise: Develop a suitable workout for you and practice it at a minimum of 30 minutes per day. Make sure it's an exercise you enjoy. Walking, swimming, cycling are all excellent exercises for weight loss. Nutritious snacks will provide you with appropriate energy that will quickly burn off during exercise.

Deep Breathing: Several times throughout the day, practice deep breathing for about 15 minutes each session. This will help your body to burn energy.

Consistency & Persistence: No weight loss, nutrition plan or exercise will help you to

lose weight if you don't follow through consistently and with persistence. You might lose weight after your first week or two, but if you start wavering or skimping on your plan, or worse, cheating on your meals, you'll stop losing. In fact, you'll probably gain weight.

One final tip, eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day rather than 3 big meals, and avoid eating within four hours of your bedtime. You might already know that eating before going to bed can disrupt your sleep. In some people, it causes indigestion because the body slows at night.

Eating at this late hour can cause you to get improper sleep and it can cause you to gain weight.

Follow these tips for weight loss: nutrition and exercise according to your weight loss plan, and you'll soon see results.