Is food on your mind all the time? If you want to lose weight I will bet that it is on yours as well. As a matter of fact, I will venture to go out on the limb and claim that most overweight people think about food much of, if not all, the time. Many young people think of food as evil that may destroy a perfect size 3 figure or a well-formed physique and incessantly think of ways to avoid it while others think of ways to live by the words of the Biblical statement in Ecclesiastes 8:15, "A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry." Elderly people think about foods that will upset their aging stomachs and weakened digestive systems, women think of foods that will settle on their hips and man think of foods that will add bulk to their overly inflated beer bellies.

Many people when they're trying to lose weight find themselves thinking of lunch while in the midst of munching on their breakfast and about dinner while preparing lunch. Food is on their minds upon waking in the morning and it is often part of the last thought process when falling asleep at night. There is a constant debate in their head and the topic is food: what can I eat and what should I not, what is good for me and what is bad, how many calories does this contain and how many does that. They think an awful lot about dieting and weight loss which leads to thinking about food.

Someone very wise once, long ago, said that "every action begins with a thought." I maintain that every action then leads to a result. Therefore, positive thoughts lead to positive actions which in turn lead to positive results and, of course, negative or disparaging thoughts lead to destructive actions which lead to harmful results.

All that ties in to the topic at hand as follows: constant thinking about food leads to constantly eating food. Frequently thinking about unhealthy food leads to eating unhealthy food and too much of it which then leads to gaining weight and all the health problems that are directly or indirectly related to overweight.

So, I propose here and now that you take a pause, realize and appreciate our endless thoughts about food, understand that they are saboteurs of our mission to lose weight and improve our looks and health by redirecting them. We can and should still think about food because food is, after all, the fuel that sustains life. Let us, however, think about food only long enough to make healthy choices but then let's move on to thinking about other things.

Let's think about ways to get our bodies to move by getting off the couch to take a walk around the block, by pushing away from the dining room table and taking a cycling trip in a nearly park, by joining a health club or a yoga class. If you cannot spare an hour, thirty minute will do. If thirty extra minutes are not to be found on your busy schedule then fifteen will be good. Even five minutes are better than nothing. So let us do it. Let's do it regularly and let's do it as often as we can.

How about starting now to redirect your thoughts. Think about propelling your body into motion so you have the success in your quest for the healthy lifestyle that you deserve. Perhaps think about walking into your backyard and doing some gardening. I encourage you to be willing to convert your thoughts into positive action.

Are you fed up of battling to lose weight?

You have probably felt like this for a long time - you keep trying diets but they don't work. They're full of empty promises and disappointing results.

Let me share with you . . .

Losing weight doesn't have to be hard work, eating foods you don't enjoy and boring exercise. Restrictive diets aren't the way to successful weight loss.