What do most people do when they want to lose weight? Why they go on a diet, of course. But while dieting will indeed lead to weight loss, if people want to keep those pounds off for the long term they first need to lose the "diet mentality".

The biggest problem with a diet mindset is that is defines "diet" as a temporary restriction of calories in order to fix a short term problem. In some cases this may be true, but for the vast majority of dieters out there the number on the weight scale is not a short term issue. Diets do not address how or why the number on the weight scale is what it is, and because of this the weight scale will remain an issue long after the diet is over and done with. Bottom line, a diet is merely a band-aid solution for weight management that fails to resolve the true problem of poor eating habits and/or portion control.

Think about it. If Suzy is 50 pounds overweight, will her decision to go on a short term calorie restrictive diet to drop the 50 pounds really change anything over the long run? Not likely - once she stops restricting her calories and goes back to her old dietary habits, she will soon eat her way back to being 50 pounds overweight again, and then some. (People who follow calorie restricted diets tend to gain back more weight than they lose - see explanation below.) Suzy can tell herself that once she loses the weight she'll be sure to keep it off, but unless she also resolves to make some permanent lifestyle changes to help maintain a lower body weight, the odds are against her.

Because diets are considered temporary measures, they tend to be extreme. People perceive going on a diet as hardship and so they generally put dieting off until something triggers them to take action. Often when the decision is made to diet, the objective is to lose as much weight as possible in the shortest possible time span in order to get the unpleasant experience of dieting over and done with.

This sets a person up for failure on many fronts. Constant hunger is distracting, and thus dieting interferes with one's ability to concentrate. It also makes people irritable, which can create problems with family, friends and work colleagues. Calorie restriction can evoke a sense of deprivation, which is not good for one's mental or emotional state of health. Eventually the stress of dieting can become so great that a person gives up in defeat, which is also detrimental to their emotional well-being. The resulting binge afterwards can be enough to negate any weight loss success to date and thus generate strong feelings of guilt as well as serious emotional hang-ups regarding food and portion control. These hang-ups could lead to any number of mental health issues, such anorexia, bulimia, binge episodes, compulsive overeating, depression, self hatred with self destructive behaviours, etc.

Aside from possible mental and/or emotional repercussions, excessive calorie restriction can wreak havoc on the physical body. Most people understand this, but many think they can escape potential damage to the body because the period of calorie restriction is only temporary. But every individual is different, and risk will vary dependent on the length and degree of calorie restriction, as well as one's overall physical health and level of nutritional soundness going into the diet. Chronic dieters are particularly at risk, as are individuals who crash diet.

Calorie restriction, unless one's diet is carefully planned, can lead to inadequate nutrient intake as well as nutritional imbalances, which could contribute to the development of various disorders and diseases, as well as speed the body's aging process. In particular, chronic dieters risk developing deficiencies in iron, vitamin B12, calcium, potassium and sodium.

Diets which restrict carbohydrate intake are particularly dangerous. Your brain, heart, liver, kidneys and other vital organs require carbohydrate energy to function properly. Should this form of energy not be present, your body starts to break down muscle tissue for energy. Your brain will even instruct your body to cannibalize your organs in order to produce enough food to keep the brain functioning, leading to eventual organ failure.

It's bad enough that people place both mental and physical well-being at risk when they diet, but the real kicker is that many dieters don't realize dieting programs their bodies to gain weight! Ask any chronic dieter and they'll tell you they just have to smell food and it goes straight to their hips.

At the beginning of any diet, it's relatively easy to lose the first several pounds. That's because it's mostly water loss. The sudden low calorie intake causes the body to use up its glycogen stores and since glycogen requires water to be stored, when you deplete the glycogen you also eliminate the water.

However, once the glycogen stores are depleted and calorie intake remains too low, the body could go into "red alert" mode and reduce the amount of thyroid hormones produced, slowing down metabolism so that the reduced amount of energy it now has at its disposal can be used more efficiently. In addition, the body will start to break down lean muscle tissue and convert protein to carbohydrate energy (through gluconeogenesis) to feed the brain and other vital organs, as noted above. Reduced muscle mass will require less energy to support it, and so the body now needs fewer calories per day to keep all its systems functioning. I think we can all do the math: fewer calories needed per day + slower metabolic rate = less calories that can be eaten on a daily basis if you want to avoid having any calories converted to body fat. In other words, it now takes fewer calories for someone to gain weight than before they started the diet, and so even while they are in the middle of dieting the weight scale could start creeping back up again.

At this point, one of two possibilities usually occurs. The dieter may give up in defeat and go back to their old eating habits, with the sudden influx of additional calories being stored as body fat by an overly efficient metabolism causing rapid continued weight gain for an extended period of time. (The body can continue its lower metabolic rate for some time after the period of calorie restriction is over.) Or, the dieter may hunker down and eat even fewer calories in an attempt to reverse the direction on the weight scale, which only further compounds the problem over the long run.

At this point some of you may be experiencing an "ah-ha" moment as your continued weight gain, despite all your efforts to the contrary, is starting to make more sense. If that's the case then understand it's not you, it's the methodology that's at fault. So the good news is that you can do something to arrest and reverse the problem.

The bad news is that there is no quick and easy fix, despite the myriad of companies and products out there that promise otherwise. But the honest truth is that if you really want to lose weight and keep it off, the only thing that will allow you to do so is a permanent lifestyle change where you adjust either your average daily calorie intake or your physical activity level, or both.

While on the surface "lifestyle change" may sound complicated and time consuming, in reality it truly isn't. Part Two of this article, coming next week, will show you how easy it is to implement a number of small changes that will collectively reverse the upward direction of the weight scale.

In Part One of this article, I talked about the problems associated with a "diet mentality" and argued that diets are merely temporary band-aid solutions to long term problems which can only be satisfactorily addressed through permanent lifestyle changes. I also told you that making a number of relatively small lifestyle changes can work collectively to make one big difference on the weight scale. Now in Part Two, I will outline how to critically evaluate your current dietary habits and suggest a number of lifestyle changes you can easily incorporate into your daily routine.

If you're truly serious about losing weight and keeping it off, then you will need to do some homework to develop an intelligent and practical weight loss plan that promotes good health and fits with your lifestyle. The problem with most diet plans is that they are generic and therefore don't take into consideration YOUR body or YOUR lifestyle. The most successful diet plan is going to be one that is custom designed to fit YOU, because a diet plan that fits your lifestyle and suits your taste will be that much easier to follow.

The first step to developing your plan lies in understanding that certain health or lifestyle issues can affect metabolism and trigger your body to store unwanted fat. If you do have an underlying condition, you will need to discuss how to work around the problem with your health care provider. It may be a that a change in medication could help. As long as your doctor understands that you are serious about losing weight, he or she should be quite willing to work with you to find a solution.

The second step will be to critically evaluate your current dietary habits so that you know exactly where you are versus where you need to be. It's important to understand where you may be going wrong so that you can target what you need to fix. For example, your volume of food may not be excessive, but what you are eating is too calorie dense (i.e. too many high calorie sauces, fast food meals from McDonalds, KFC and the like, nuts, pastries and other fatty foods). Or, you may be making nutritious, low calorie food choices, but your portions are too large for your body size.

Finally, you need to develop a written weight loss plan that outlines what you need to do to achieve your weight loss goals. It's important your plan be written down as this provides greater clarity of purpose and reinforces commmitment.

Health or lifestyle issues that can negatively affect your metabolism

1. Certain medical disorders such as heart failure, hypothyroidism, Cushings syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), etc. can trigger your body to abnormally increase its fluid or fat stores, as can certain types of medications, including certain anti-diabetic drugs, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, steroids and birth control pills. If you strongly believe you weigh more than you should based on your daily calorie intake, then visit your doctor to discuss whether certain health issues or current medications could be causing abnormal weight gain. Ask your doctor what you can safely do to compensate.
2. Certain medical conditions such as kidney failure or liver disease can cause you to retain fluid and thus look very "puffy". If any significant swelling you experience is not due to your menstrual cycle (women tend to gain a little water weight near the end of each cycle) or to recent high sodium (salt) intake, you should speak to your doctor. If you press on your skin and it doesn't immediately pop back out, then it's fluid, rather than fat, you're dealing with.
3. Not enough sleep, or interrupted sleep (such as that caused by sleep apnea), can lead to weight gain. Lack of sleep can lead to higher levels of grehlin hormone (an appetite stimulant) and lower levels of leptin hormone (an appetite suppressant that can also stimulate your metabolism to deliberately burn off fat). The amount of sleep required for good health varies by individual, but if you are regularly getting less than 6-7 hours of quality sleep per night you may wish to trying increasing your hours of sleep for a period to see if this impacts your body weight.
4. If you are currently under a high level of stress, your body may be producing too much cortisol hormone, which in turns stimulates fat storage. (It's a complicated chemical process, but basically the fat storage is to replace the energy your body thinks it is losing during your "flight or fight" reaction to the stress. Your body reacts the same way whether your stress is physical or emotional. But if you're experiencing emotional stress rather than physical stress then you didn't expend the calories your body thought you did. Therefore you don't need to replace any lost energy and so the extra energy storage triggered by the cortisol accumulates as fat. And if you are under constant emotional stress... your body will be constantly storing fat!) Studies have shown that cortisol related fat gain is generally deposited in the stomach area as opposed to around one's hips, which in turn will increase one's risk for diabetes and heart disease.
5. Smoking increases your metabolism (rate at which your body burns calories), so if you've recently quit you are susceptible to weight gain if you don't either cut calories or increase your activity level. And here's the double whammy - nicotine is an appetite suppressant. So that means with the nicotine no longer in your system, even as your metabolism is slowing down, you'll be craving more calories. And the final kicker - once you quit smoking your taste buds become more sensitive and so food tastes much better, thus tempting you to eat more of it!
6. Age can be a factor. Our metabolism tends to slow down as we get older, likely because we become less active and therefore lose a portion of our lean muscle mass. After menopause women tend to accumulate fat around their waist as opposed to their hips and thighs, one reason our risk of heart diseases increases after menopause.
7. If you habitually snack or consume large portions at mealtimes to help you cope with stress or other emotional issues, then you will first need to deal with what's creating the stress in order to get your daily calorie intake under control on a lasting basis.

Critically evaluating your current dietary habits

1. Write down everything you eat for a period of 3-5 days so that you can analyze exactly what you're eating. Try to make these days as typical as possible. You might want to analyze weekdays and weekends (or work days and days off) separately, since eating patterns can be different. Be disciplined and mark down EVERYTHING, including that few ounces of juice you had to wash down your vitamin pill, the mayonnaise you added to your sandwich, the scoop of sour cream on your baked potato, etc. If you don't mark absolutely everything down you are doing yourself a disservice, since your analysis will only be as good as your data you collect.
2. Use the nutritional labeling on your packaged foods and an online food analyzer for everything else to determine the calorie content of each meal, as well as how many grams of protein, carbs, fat, sodium and sugar each food item contains. A good online food analyzer is available through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database. This site will allow you to select a specific food item and specify serving size.
   
   Here is a sample analysis of one breakfast consisting of a bacon and eggs, whole wheat toast, coffee and orange juice:
   
   
   
   While this might seem like a lot of work, the exercise is important because it will allow you to better understand why and how your current eating habits are making it difficult for you to control your weight. Once you understand the problem, you'll be much better positioned to fix it.
3. Once your chart is complete for all 3-5 days, it's time to analyze what exactly you're been consuming. Here are some things to look at.
• What is your total calorie intake per day? How does it compare to what the calorie intake should be for someone with your vital statistics? To determine your ideal daily calorie intake, you will need to estimate your basal metabolic rate and add an additional calorie allowance based on your present activity level. Here is how to calculate your metabolic rate (basal metabolic rate + estimated calorie usage for activity level) using the Schofield method, which is commonly used by dieticians to calculate a starting point for determining required calorie deficit for weight loss:
  
  Schofield Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Formula for Adult Women*
  *Note this formula is not as accurate for the very lean or obese.
  
  10 - 17 years BMR = 13.4 x W + 692   SEE = 112
  18 - 29 years BMR = 14.8 x W + 487   SEE = 120
  30 - 59 years BMR =   8.3 x W + 846   SEE = 112
  
  

  W	=	Body weight in Kilograms - convert pounds to kilograms here
  SEE	=	standard error of estimation - the number of calories you could be out, plus or minus; if you are very lean, you will likely have to adjust upwards and if you are obese you will need to adjust downwards

  
  Activity Factor

  1.3	Sedentary (very physically inactive, both during work and leisure)
  1.5	Lightly active (daily routine includes some walking, or intense exercise once or twice per week)
  1.6	Moderately active (intense exercise lasting 20-45 minutes at least three time per week, or a job with a lot of walking, or a moderate intensity job)
  1.9	Very active (intense exercise lasting at least an hour per day, or a heavy physical job, such as a mail carrier or an athlete in training)
  2.2	Extremely active (an athlete on an unstoppable training schedule or a very demanding job, such as working in the armed forces or shoveling coal)

  
  
  Here's how to use the formula to calculate your daily requirements. We'll use me as an example.
  
  Age = 47
  Weight = 120 lbs or 54.431 kg
  Activity level = Very active
  
  BMR = 8.3 x W + 846   SEE = 112
  BMR = 8.3 x 54.431 + 846 = 1298 calories per day, plus or minus 112 calories
  Add the activity factor = 1298 x 1.9 = 2466 calories per day (give or take)
  
  This means that if I want to maintain my current weight at my current activity level, then I would need to consumer around 2466 calories per day. Because this is only approximate and could be out as much as 213 calories either direction (112 x 1.9), I would need to play with my diet a bit to get it exactly right for me. And of course if I wanted to lose weight, I would need to eat fewer than 2466 calories. (How many fewer calories will depend on a number of factors, which we will discuss in Part Three of this article series.)
• How balanced is your diet in terms of carbs, fats and proteins? Determine this by calculating your total carb, fat and protein grams per day and converting them to calories, as per the sample above. The appropriate percentages for protein, carbs and fats are ranges as opposed to specific numbers. Refer to my article on macronutients for an overview of these ranges. You will see these ranges are quite wide, but we will talk about how to narrow them down to what's best for you in Part Three.
• How many of your carbs are coming from simple sugars versus complex carbohydrates? Are your carbs coming from healthy choices such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, or are they primarily from sugars added to breakfast cereals and other prepackaged foods?
• We will review this in more detail when it comes time to develop your custom weight loss diet, but right now you should start thinking about ways to lower your excess calories and make healthier food substitutions. The following section will provide you with some "food for thought".

Lifestyle habits that support weight loss programs

Here are a number of small lifestyle changes you can make that will collectively support your goal for a leaner physique as well as give you a healthier body overall. As you're reviewing them, pick out the ones that make the most sense for your particular situation. However, don't try to implement all of them at once as this will be too overwhelming. Instead, plan to incorporate one or two new items into your routine each week, so that change is relatively painless and thus you can sustain it over the long run. Who knows - it may be that by the time you've introduced a number of these changes you may not need to cut calories all that much to achieve your target weight.

Dietary Lifestyle Changes

1. Eliminate "empty" sugar and fat calories that have no nutritional benefit and are used solely to flavour your foods.
• Drink coffee or tea black.
• Skip the gravy. If you can't stomach your potatoes plain, then drizzle meat juice (drain the fat off first) over them as opposed to gravy.
• Omit the trimmings. If you simply can't eat a baked potato without anything on it, choose either butter or low fat sour cream, but not both. (Chives are fine, but skip the bacon bits. Most "bacon bits" are simulated soy product, with salt and "chemicals" for flavouring. Rule of thumb: if you can't pronounce it, be suspicious because it most likely isn't food.)
• If you're at a restaurant, ask to have the trimmings on the side so that you are the one controlling your portions. Then dip your fork into the sour cream or salad dressing before picking up your food as opposed to dunking your food into the condiment. You'll still get flavour, but with fewer calories per bite.
• Use mustard instead of mayonnaise to add flavour to sandwiches. For additional moisture, add some finely chopped dill pickles to the mixture.
• Hot sauce and salsa can add flavour without the fat found in more buttery or creamy dressings and sauces.
• If you like hot, try flavouring with hot peppers. Capsaicin in hot peppers has been shown to reduce appetite.
• If you must flavour your food, then use low or no fat sour cream, salad dressing and other condiments instead of regular. But first check the salt and sugar content - if fat isn't being used to flavour something, then salt or sugar generally is. The flavour has to come from somewhere, after all.
2. Eat whole wheat bread and brown rice as opposed to white. White bread and rice are highly processed, so the nutritional content is much lower. In addition, because they are so processed these foods will spike your blood sugar much faster than whole wheat bread or brown rice. This causes your body to release greater levels of insulin to compensate, which in turn more quickly lowers your blood sugar and causes you to feel hungry sooner. (Ever felt that "crash" after eating a high carbohydrate meal or snack where you feel tired and shaky and craving more sugar?)
3. Watch the amount of simple sugars you're eating in prepared foods. If any of the first few ingredients are sugar, fructose, or corn syrup, put it back on the grocery shelf. Just like white bread, simple sugars will spike your blood sugar and then cause you to crave more sugar when you "crash" a short while later.
4. Drink water throughout the day rather than pop or juice. Fruit juice is processed, so many of the nutrients (and fibre) are removed and thus you'd be better off eating an orange versus drinking a glass of orange juice. (In addition, the fibre in the orange will make you feel fuller longer.) Beware of anything with "drink", "beverage", "punch," "-ade," or "cocktail" in the name - though these may contain some real juice, the rest is basically sugar, artificial colours and flavours. If you find plain water too boring, try squeezing a bit of lemon or lime into it. But don't use too much, as the acid in these fruits can damage the enamel on your teeth over time, if taken in large enough quantities.
5. Do not skip breakfast. Study after study has shown that people who skip breakfast tend to be heavier than people who don't. That's likely because the longer you put off eating into the day, the more you're going to eat when you finally do sit down to a meal. So even if the thought of food first thing in the morning makes you feel a little nauseous, try to get something down, even if it's only a slice of dry (whole wheat) toast and a glass of skim milk.
6. Eating small meals throughout the day as opposed to one or two larger ones releases less insulin overall and keeps your blood sugar at more even levels, which helps control hunger. But remember that if you choose to eat multiple smaller meals spread throughout the day, you need to make sure that you don't overeat on any "main" meals, such as dinner with the family.
7. To help keep portion sizes down, use smaller sized glasses and plates. That way you will automatically put smaller portions on your plate.
8. Fill your plate with more vegetables than anything else. Vegetables contain fewer calories than most other foods and the fibre in them will help fill you up. Vegetables are also high in vitamins and minerals, which your body needs to maintain good health.
9. Try to eat out less often, because when you're at home you can better control your portions. When you do eat out, order the smallest available portion.
10. Eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to figure out you're full, so the faster you eat the more you may overeat before you get the signal to stop.
11. Do the dishes and brush your teeth after eating dinner. When both the kitchen and your mouth are sparkling clean, you'll be less inclined to want to mess either up.
12. Pack a bagged lunch to work rather than go out to eat or grab something off the coffee truck, and make sure the bagged lunch is filled with nutritious, low calorie items.
• It's much easier to be disciplined about food when you're at work since your routine is more structured than when you're at home and you can't run to the fridge whenever you want. So use this as an opportunity to eliminate any sort of choice about what you're going to eat.
• If you're disciplined about bringing a nutritious, low calorie lunch to work each day and that's all you have to eat, regardless of whether you feel like eating it or not you'll have to, or go hungry.
• Don't bring snack foods to nibble on throughout the day, even for "just in case" situations. If you currently keep crackers, cookies, chips or other food items at your desk to snack on throughout the day whenever you feel the urge, toss them out and drink water instead. Or, provided you are permitted to do so, keep a kettle or single cup coffee maker at your desk to brew either tea or coffee when you feel the urge to munch. Often it's just a flavour experience you're looking for and so this may just do the trick. (Another option is to chew gum, but I don't recommend this because of the aspartame in sugar free gum - see my article on the dangers of aspartame.)
• Plan in advance what you're going to bring for lunch and ensure it's prepared the night before so all you need to do is pack it in the morning. If nothing is ready and you're running late, you're going to grab whatever is convenient, whether it's appropriate or not.
• Use the weekdays (or whatever days you are at work) as an opportunity to ensure you are eating healthy, low calorie foods so you don't need to be as careful on the weekends when you're either busy running around or wanting to relax a bit. About 20 years ago, I started bringing several servings of raw fruits and vegetables to work daily so I didn't have to worry about eating as many servings on weekends. This has worked quite well for me over the years and to this day I still do it. (Yes, there are days when I really don't feel like eating my veggies, but enventually I get hungry enough that they aren't that bad...)
• Including raw carrot and/or celery sticks as part of your lunch will help fill you up and chewing on them makes you feel like you've eaten something substantial. Red peppers also make great vegetable sticks as they are quite sweet in flavour. Vegetables that contain a lot of water (i.e. zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers) will make you feel fuller faster. Try changing your choice of vegetables regularly so you don't get bored with eating the same thing all the time. Of course it goes without saying that you need to eat these vegetable sticks plain, without any sort of dip.
• A sweet piece of fruit can be a nice way to end your lunch - pretend it's dessert. Fruit salads can be made up in advance and will keep several days in the fridge if properly covered and the fruit is allowed to stand in its natural juice. My favourite recipe: grapefruit, orange, kiwi and red grapes.
13. Plan your meals for the week in advance and create your shopping list based on your meal plan. NEVER go grocery shopping when you're hungry. You will be more disciplined if you shop on a full stomach and less tempted to pick up snack items, especially when they are on sale.
14. Be extra vigilant about how much you're eating on weekends. Because your routine is not as structured as during the week, you are likely to eat more often as well as include eating as part of your social activities. Therefore, it is easy to lose track of exactly how much you're consuming throughout the day.
15. Limit your alcohol intake. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, which is 3 more calories than a gram of either protein or carbohydrate. And since there is no nutritional value to these calories, they don't go anywhere other than straight to your hips. Alcohol also affects your judgment, which makes it harder for you to resist having a snack with your drink. (Or dessert after dinner if you're at a restaurant.)

Activity Lifestyle Changes

1. If you are not exercising regularly now, do yourself a favour and start moving. Increasing your activity level will facilitate weight loss provided you do not increase your existing calorie intake. The best type of exercise for long term weight maintenance is weight training, or any activity that increases muscle mass. The more lean muscle you have on your body, the higher your basal metabolic rate (see explanation above). You do not need to develop huge muscles to make a difference. Building muscle mass will also help compensate for the lean body mass we tend to lose as we get older. Loss of lean body or muscle mass lowers basal metabolic rate and is the key reason why we tend to put on weight more easily as we age.
2. On dry days, take a quick walk around the block during your lunch hour. Try to find a walking buddy so the two of you motivate each other to walk as often as possible.
3. When parking your car anywhere, choose the back of the lot and walk across the parking lot to the mall, restaurant or wherever else you need to go. When there's a choice, take the stairs rather than elevator or escalator. Running late and don't have time? - then ask yourself what difference 30 to 45 extra seconds is really going to make. It's cold or wet out? Good - you'll walk that much faster and burn that many more calories!
4. When the weather is nice, hand wash your car as opposed to taking it through the automatic car wash. Do some yard work and/or walk around the block while you're at it. A little extra activity will help burn a few extra calories. Over time these extra activities will add up.
5. Housework burns calories. Keep this in mind and next time vacuuming the entire house may not seem so bad. As a matter of fact, dusting it afterwards won't be so bad, either.
6. Watch a little less TV. I think most of us have a tendency to snack when sitting in front of one. But if you absolutely must watch your favourite show(s), then try marching on the spot instead of munching on the couch. Swing your arms back and forth and lift your knees up as high as you can. (If you're in an apartment be sure to tread lightly, otherwise you won't be too popular with your neighbours directly below.)

Now that you've considered some existing health and/or lifestyle issues that may interfere with your ability to lose weight, examined your current dietary habits and considered some possible lifestyle changes that will support your weight loss goals, it's time to put it all together by incorporating everything you've learned into a workable weight loss plan customized just for you. This will be the subject of the third installment of this article series, coming next week.

In Part One of this article series I talked about the problems associated with a "diet mentality" and explained that as a general rule diets don't work because at best they are only temporary fixes for long term problems. At worst, they wreak both physical and emotional havoc on an individual, creating metabolic damage as well as mental hang-ups regarding food and portion control that will only sabotage future weight loss attempts.

In Part Two, I asked you to write down exactly what you ate over a 3-5 day period to help you get a better handle on where you are now versus where you need to be. I also suggested a number of small dietary and activity lifestyle changes that will collectively make a big difference on the weight scale.

Now in Part Three, I will suggest a way for you to incorporate all you've learned into a comprehensive weight loss program that will allow you to achieve your weight loss goal and, just as importantly, maintain it over the long term. But I'm not going to simply give you a diet plan and assure you that by following it your weight loss goals will be realized. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. (If it did, there would be no need for me to write this article. Everyone who wanted to lose weight would simply buy Atkins, Pritkins, Sears or whomever, follow the prescribed diet plan and their weight issues would be a thing of the past.)

What I am going to do is provide you with a framework you can use to develop your own personalized weight loss plan that fits with your present lifestyle so that it is both realistic and practical, and therefore sustainable for more than just a few days or weeks. It will incorporate what you choose to eat and when and how you choose to eat it, because it will be based on your ultimate weight loss objective in terms of both number of pounds to be lost and length of time to lose them. And so as long as the plan you develop is realistic for your situation, you will ultimately achieve your goal.

Will developing your own weight loss plan require some time and effort on your part? Of course it will. But aren't you worth it? I assure you, the small amount of time it will require up front to develop a diet plan that works long term and provides greater health, vitality and quality of life as you age will most definitely be time well invested. Your health is paramount - if you wait until it's compromised your quality and length of life could be seriously compromised as well. I think we're all guilty to some degree of thinking "it won't happen to me"... until one day reality hits us squarely between the eyes and there's no turning back time or undoing what's already been done.

Consider the development of your dietary plan an exciting opportunity to get lean and healthy on your terms, as opposed to it being an unpleasant chore. This is your chance to shine, to take charge of your diet and your body once and for all, and reap the benefits of looking just as great as you feel. So on that note, let's get started.

Steps to Developing a Practical, Sustainable Weight Loss Diet Plan

1. Calories are key.  In order for weight loss to occur, the number of calories you consume must be less than the number of calories your body burns. Because it's easier to work in daily increments, take each day on its own and ensure you do not eat more calories than your body needs. Plan to eat approximately the same number of calories per day, as your body functions better when its food intake is consistent.
   
   In Part 2 of this series, I showed you how to calculate your basal metabolic rate and add an activity level factor to determine the approximate total calories your body requires on a daily basis to maintain its present weight, given your existing activity level. If you have not already done so, you will need to calculate your daily calorie requirements using the formula provided.
   
   To lose weight, you will need to eat fewer calories than your body's daily calorie requirement. The question is, how many fewer calories should you consume? Obviously, the more calories you cut, the faster your weight loss. However, you must not go overboard, for several reasons.
   
   • First, your diet needs to be maintainable over the long term, and if you're starving yourself to death, how long can you realistically maintain your diet before relentless hunger drives you to eat?
   • Second, if you drop your calories down too low, your body will reduce the amount of thyroid hormone it produces to lower your basal metabolic rate so it can better match your calorie intake. Then you're in big trouble, because not only will be harder to lose weight, you'll start packing on the pounds much more easily.
   • Third, the emotional and physical stress you will give yourself trying to stick to a ridiculously low calorie diet will be immense. Who needs that?
   
   So how low does one go? That's a fair question, and from the research I've done, lowering your calorie intake by 10-15% of your daily calorie requirements seems a reasonable place to start. If we use my example from Part Two, this means that if I wanted to lose weight I would subtract 10-15% from my calculated daily required calorie intake of 2466 calories, or between 246 and 370 calories.
   
   What would that get me in terms of fat loss? The relationship between calories burned and fat loss is quite complicated and I don't want to get too technical here. Just know that 3500 calories equates to one pound of fat, but when we eat 3500 fewer calories than our actual calorie requirement we won't necessarily burn off one full pound of fat. (That's because we use both carbohydrates and fats as energy sources.) But if we assume for simplicity's sake that 3500 fewer calories does equal one pound of fat burned, if I reduce my daily calorie intake by 370 calories, in theory I would burn off one pound of fat every 9 1/2 days (3500 / 370 = 9.5).
   
   That may not sound like a lot of fat, but consider the following:
   
   • My overall weight loss will be slow, so the odds are better that it will truly be fat and not lean muscle that is lost.
   • It's also less likely my metabolic rate will drop and force me to lower my calorie intake even further to maintain the same rate of weight loss.
   • Once I've reached my target weight and decide to increase my calorie intake slightly so that I can maintain my current weight (rather than continue to lose weight), I'm more likely to maintain the weight I want to be. If a portion of my weight loss had been lean muscle mass, it's likely I would gain weight more easily as my body worked to replace the lean mass it had lost during the diet period.
   • While I might be hungry at first, my appetite will adjust more easily to this new daily intake than if I had gone crazy and cut my calories in half. I will therefore be more able to maintain the diet without feeling like I'm starving myself.
   • As you've likely learned from last week's exercise, it doesn't take a lot of food to make up 2000 calories. So reducing my required calorie intake by a conservative 10-15% rather than going all out will give me more room to play with my food choices and include some of my favourite foods that might be a little higher in calories. I will therefore feel less deprived and won't be as tempted to cheat. (After all, who wants to live on celery sticks?)
   
   A word of warning: no matter how ambitious you are to lose weight, NEVER drop your calories below 1000 per day, especially for extended periods. This is dangerously low and thus there could be serious health ramifications as your body starts cannibalizing itself to survive.
   
   Once you have determined what your daily calorie intake needs to be, you can set up a worksheet similar to the sample I showed in Part Two. Here it is again, so you don't need to page up to Part Two. Use the USDA National Nutrient Database to check the calorie content of your food choices.
   
   


2. Balance the macronutrients.  Macronutrients consist of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. (Some sources also classify water and fibre (a form of carbohydrate) as a micronutrients.) If you're not familiar with how proteins, carbs and fats work within the body and would like some additional background, please review my article on Macronutrients.
   
   Incorporating the right mix of macronutrients into your weight loss plan is important because your diet needs to be balanced, not just low cal. Remember, this is not a short term diet you're creating, it's a lifestyle change and thus needs to support your health over the long run. If your diet is not properly balanced, your brain may generate all kinds of weird food cravings in an attempt to balance your diet for you.
   
   Besides, you'll feel so much better and have so much more energy with a proper nutritional intake that once you've become accustomed to eating more healthily, you'll never want to go back to the way you used to eat. (If you're rolling your eyes right about now, I assure this is the honest-to-goodness truth. The problem with poor diet is that people get so used to feeling tired and achy they think it's normal. I'm 47 years old at the time of this writing and I assure you I feel better now than I did when I was in my 20's.)
   
   Proteins  Most North Americans eat way more protein than they need to. The RDA for protein consumption is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight for adults. (The requirements for children and pregnant/lactating women are higher.) If you exercise regularly, particularly at high intensity, your requirements may be higher than this. The other rule of thumb used by many health care professionals is to make protein intake anywhere from 10-30% of your daily calorie intake, depending on which health care professional you're speaking with. However, 15-20% seems to be the most commonly used guideline.
   
   Fats  There is no specific RDA for fat consumption, but the general rule is to make it no more than 1/3 of your daily calorie intake. Many experts argue this level is still too high, and that 20% should be the ceiling. I suggest you work somewhere between these two guidelines, depending on your taste buds. Some people are more drawn to fats, others to carbohydrates. (Myself, I prefer carbs - I'll take a tomato/vegetable sauce over alfredo sauce any day!) There's no right or wrong, so use this leeway to incorporate more of the type of food YOU like to eat. This way it will be easier to stick to your diet.
   
   Keep in mind, however, that fats contain 9 calories per gram while proteins and carbohydrates contain only 4 calories per gram. Therefore, fatty foods will be more calorie dense than carbohydrate rich foods, which means the more fat it contains, the less your allowable volume of food will be. (The trade off is that fattier foods make you feel fuller longer because they are digested more slowly.)
   
   Non-saturated fat from non-animal sources (i.e. avocados, olive oil) is generally a healthier choice over saturated fats from animals. (Coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil are also high in saturated fats.) Saturated fats have a greater impact on your cholesterol levels.
   
   Carbohydrates  While there is no specific RDA for carbohydrate consumption either, the general rule is for over half your daily energy requirements (calories) be supplied by carbohydrates. When I design my weekly meal plans, I ensure my proteins and fats are in correct proportion and then make all the rest of my calories carbohydrates.



3. Keep your carbs complex.  Although carbs have been given a bad rap in recent years, not all carbs are bad for you. Carbohydrate foods in their natural state (i.e. raw and unprocessed) are chock full of micronutrients and phytochemicals that cannot be obtained through proteins or fats, and so carbohydrates are absolutely essential for good health.
   
   However, many processed foods (candy, soda, fruit juice, white bread, crackers, cereal, etc.) contain high amounts of "refined" carbohydrates which have had their vitamins, minerals and other nutrients removed during processing so that virtually the only thing left is empty sugar calories. These sugar calories are rapidly digested and thus hit the bloodstream very quickly, spiking blood sugar (glucose) levels and putting people at risk for diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and heart attack.
   
   Not only do processed sugars contain virtually zero nutritional value, they are addictive and thus should be avoided by everyone, and particularly by those individuals who are trying to control their weight. When processed sugar spikes blood level sugars, there is typically a rush of energy. However, the body quickly counteracts the sugar spike by releasing insulin to bring blood sugar back down to safer levels. The resulting drop in sugar triggers a craving for more sugar and its corresponding energy rush.
   
   Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, take longer to digest so that they are released into the bloodstream more slowly. Blood sugar levels therefore do not spike as high and so you do not get the rapid drop in blood sugar and corresponding craving for more sugar.
   
   Another benefit of unprocessed carbohydrates is that many are high in fibre, so that you will feel fuller on fewer calories. Your body can't digest fibre and so fibre effectively contains zero calories. Fibre is used to help move food along in the intestines and keep you regular. This can be extremely helpful to dieters, since reduced calorie consumption can lead to constipation.
   
   So ensure your diet is rich in unprocessed complex carbohydrates by consuming a variety of whole grains, beans, peas, brown rice, fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Avoid processed sugar as much as possible - be on the lookout for hidden sources in packaged foods. Remember, when you are counting calories, any quantity of processed sugar in your diet will take away from the amount of healthy, high quality carbs you could otherwise consume.
   
   Note that if you have diabetes, your health care practitioner may recommend you consume fewer carbs than recommended here and you should review your weight loss diet plan with your doctor before changing your current dietary habits.
   
   
4. Watch your sodium intake.  Many diet foods are loaded with sodium (salt) to enhance their flavour. Excess sodium causes water retention, which leads to increased blood volume that makes your heart work harder and increases blood pressure. High blood pressure is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and kidney diseases.
   
   Some individuals are more sensitive to sodium than others and so should take extra care not to consume too much. Otherwise, they run the risk of developing high blood pressure.
   
   
5. Stay hydrated.  This is good advice regardless of whether you are dieting or not. Virtually every single process in our body depends on water. Water is absolutely critical to our survival, second only to oxygen in terms of relative importance for sustaining life. While we can generally last a number of weeks without food, we can only go a few days without water.
   
   The generally accepted rule used to be that one should drink 6-8 glasses of water per day (or perhaps 8-10 glasses, depending on who you were talking to) to ensure your daily water requirements were met. However, a new formula for calculating daily water needs that considers individual differences is now gaining in popularity. This method takes looks at how much you weigh in pounds and then suggests you take a certain percentage of that weight and drink the equivalent amount of water in ounces. The percentage to use varies from publication to publication, but tends to be at least 50%. That means if you weigh 140 pounds, then take 50% of that weight, or 70, and drink 70 ounces (approx. 2 litres) of water per day.
   
   When determining your own daily water requirements, experiment a bit and see what makes you feel best in terms of overall health and vitality. As long as your pee is clear or only a very light yellow, your lips aren't chapped and overall you feel pretty good, you're probably in the ball park.
   
   For additional information about the health issues associated with inadequate water intake, common signs of dehydration and recommended daily water consumption, see my article on the critical importance of proper hydration.
   
   
6. Eat a wide variety of foods.  Whenever calories are being restricted, there is always a risk of not getting enough of certain nutrients, which can lead to nutrient deficiencies and physical problems. Therefore, you should incorporate a wide variety of foods into your weight loss plan to minimize this possibility.
   
   The key nutrients to watch out for are the macrominerals - potassium, chloride, sodium, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium - which our body needs in larger quantities than other vitamins and minerals.
   
   To ensure adequate intake, one could always list these macrominerals on their diet plan worksheet and calculate the amount in each food item on their diet plan (just like for calories, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, sugar, sodium), but I think this is getting overly complicated and is quite frankly overkill. All of these macrominerals are quite commonly found in foods and so as long as you do not limit your food choices, you should be fine.
   
   Supplementing your diet with a good quality, comprehensive multi-vitamin wouldn't hurt either.
   
   
7. Count everything.  Don't take the attitude "it's only 1 cookie so I won't bother counting it" - that kind of mentality is quite likely a big part of what created your weight problem in the first place. Many people tend to eat so automatically that when they do stop to write it all down and calculate the number of calories they've consumed over a day they are absolutely shocked.

As you develop your weight loss diet plan, please consider the following additional factors:

• Once you have determined what your daily calorie intake is going to be and you are ready to begin your weight loss plan, be sure to reduce your calorie intake slowly until you reach your target level. This will help your body adjust to the lower calorie intake more easily, without you feeling excessively hungry.
• If after lowering your required daily calorie intake by 15% you find you are just too hungry to cope, don't be afraid to add a few calories back. It's better that you go slow but remain steady than to stop because your weight loss goals are too ambitious. Remember that when you calculate your daily calorie requirements there is a margin of error associated with the calculation because every body is a little different. Therefore, it's possible you started from too low a calorie point for your particular body and so adjusting slightly will put you back on track.
• Please keep in mind that when it comes to counting calories, there are no precise numbers. That's because calorie/nutrient databases based on averages - no two "identical" foods will ever contain the exact same nutrient construction, i.e. no two bananas will ever contain the same number of calories, no two "large" eggs will ever be exact duplicates in terms of size and constitution, etc. So calorie counting is not an exact science. It's a guideline that may need to be adjusted now and then as experience dictates.
• The same applies for basal metabolic rate. The basal metabolic rate calculation will never be 100% accurate, since two people can be the same height and weigh the same and even have similar actitivy levels, but their basal metabolic rates will differ based on their overall body composition, level of fitness, etc.
• But even though the numbers aren't perfect, they are still useful as guidelines. So build your diet plan based on these averages and if after a few weeks you're not getting the results you expect, tweak your diet slightly and give it another few weeks to see what happens. Keep in mind that as you start to lose weight your basal metabolic rate will change, which means you will need to adjust your calorie count slightly on a regular basis to accommodate this.
• How quickly or slowly the pounds come off will be a function of many factors, some that are within your control and some that aren't. But as long as you consistently eat fewer calories than you burn, you will eventually lose weight. So be patient and persistent. As long as you keep consistently to your diet plan, you will remain on the path of permanent and lasting weight loss.

In Part Four, the final installment for this article series, I will offer some advice regarding how to stay focused and committed to your diet plan long term. I will discuss some of the issues you may face, and suggest some practical ways to overcome them.

Even though you now know that the best approach to permanent weight loss is "slow and steady" and you've developed a written plan that's both practical and sensible, it will be hard at times to stay focused on your ultimate weight loss goal. That's only human. Everyone has a weak moment now and then, so if one of those moments should happen to you try not to stress out about it too much. Instead, take a deep breath to center yourself and then consider the following pointers regarding how to stay focused and committed to your diet plan long term.

1. If you find that after losing your first few pounds with relative ease your weight loss starts to slow or even plateau, do not become discouraged. If you stick to your plan, the weight will come off. However, if you are having a significant amount of trouble:
• Check your sodium consumption, because if it's too high, you could be retaining water. A lot of diet food (low calorie salad dressings, seasoning mixes, vegetable juices, frozen prepared meals, etc.) use large amounts of sodium to try to make low sugar, low fat foods taste palatable.
• If an exercise program is part of your weight loss plan, then the weight scale may stabilize or even rise slightly as you start to replace fat with muscle. How your clothes are fitting is a better indicator of fat loss than an arbitrary number on the scale. Muscle is denser and tighter than fat, so it's entirely possible to weigh more yet look visibly leaner. The added benefit of adding more muscle to your frame is that it increases your metabolic rate, so that you burn more calories over the course of a day.
• Consider where you're at in your monthly cycle. It's natural to retain some water during menstruation and some women are unfortunately affected more so than others. However, the excess fluid does disappear as you begin a new cycle. So hang in there and don't get discouraged.
  
  
2. Don't obsess over the weight scale. Your body weight can vary throughout the day primarily due to fluid gain (through drinking water, excess sodium intake) and loss (through respiration, perspiration, urination). However, other factors such as timing and amount of your last meal, amount of waste product in your bowels, etc. can also affect the number on the scale. Therefore, weigh yourself only once a week, preferably around the same time of day so that your weight comparisons from week to week are as fair as possible.
   
   
3. Smaller meals spread throughout the day will help prevent you from becoming overly hungry before mealtimes so that you're tempted to overeat. The more fibre you include, the fuller you will feel. Try to avoid eating simple sugars on their own and avoid refined sugars as much as possible, since the corresponding spike and then drop in blood sugar makes them addictive. Eating simple sugars with more complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats slows digestion of the simpler sugars and thus reduces the degree of the spike.
   
   
4. ALWAYS plan your meals in advance. If you don't take the time to preplan, "life" will get in the way and you'll end up eating whatever's convenient as opposed to what's listed on your weight loss plan.
• Prepare your grocery list based on the upcoming week's menu and don't stray from the list when at the grocery store.
• Prepare your lunch the night before so that it's quick and simple to pack in the morning.
• A little advance planning will allow you to incorporate more variety into your menu (because you have time to think about it). Therefore, you won't get bored with your menu plan as quickly, which means it will be easier to follow.
  
  
5. If you find yourself becoming more easily irritated and/or it's becoming difficult to control your temper, try increasing your carbohydrate intake slightly. A lack of carbohydrates restricts the body's production of serotonin, which plays a key role in controlling mood. Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12 and folic acid and the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, and zinc also help regulate mood. So make sure your diet includes enough of these important vitamins and minerals.
   
   
6. Although plateaus can be tough to weather, do not be persuaded to try a fad diet (or one that is not nutritionally sound), even if your best friend assures you that it's working great for her.
• As previously discussed, any weight loss program that restricts calorie intake will lead to some initial weight loss. However, in most cases it will be only fluid loss, which is all too easily replaced the moment your body gets the opportunity to do so. For true fat loss, you need to go slowly, since like it or not, that's the way the human body works.
• Your health is of paramount importance, so don't risk it for the sake of losing a few pounds a tad quicker. What's the use of being thin but looking and feeling like hell because you're run down from lack of proper nutrition? The long term consequences of short term weight loss just aren't worth it.
  
  
7. If at all possible, incorporate an exercise routine into your weight loss program. Not only will it help speed your weight loss, you'll feel better both physically and mentally. Feeling good about yourself will help you remain motivated.
   
   
8. If you slip up, don't give up. Instead, get yourself back on track right away. One "cheat" is not going to be the end of the world, unless of course you choose to make it the end of your diet.
   
   
9. Understand that it's okay to lapse every once in a while. The benefit of lifestyle over diet is that as long as your calories average out over the long run, you'll be fine. You can therefore indulge at dinner on Saturday night and then eat very lightly all day Sunday to make up for it. But you do need to be realistic. Eating lightly doesn't mean simply skipping dessert the following day, it means having toast (preferrably dry) and fruit for breakfast, and a salad with low fat dressing for lunch.
   
   However, I do recommend that you refrain from splurging until you have your weight down at or near your target level so that you don't slow down your weight loss momentum and become discouraged. Also keep in mind that the more often you stray from your eating plan the easier it becomes, so it could get away on you if you're not diligent about restricting your splurges to once-in-a-while-special-treats only.
   
   
10. Once you are at your target weight, it may be that during holidays and other social events where food plays a major role you will want to relax your eating discipline a bit. That's totally understandable and you shouldn't run into problems as long as you are disciplined enough to establish a threshold you will absolutely not allow yourself to surpass and once you find yourself approaching the danger zone you take immediate steps to get your weight back under control. DO NOT make the mistake of reassuring yourself with "it's okay, I lost the weight before and so I can do it again". I've known several individuals who told themselves exactly that but unfortunately their weight never did come back down. I'm not sure if they're living with a false sense of security (i.e. "I can do it whenever I feel like it, I'm just not ready yet") or whether they let things slide so far they can't face going through the hardship of losing the weight all over again. But whatever the reason it's a real shame, since these people had worked so hard and then felt so good about themselves after finally achieving their weight loss goal.
    
    
11. I'm not sure how to word this without possibly offending someone, so I'm just going to be straight up about it. As your circle of family and friends learn about your weight loss plan and some of the positive lifestyle changes you've already made, you may be surprised at the lack of support you receive from some of them. I bring this somewhat sensitive issue up because I truly want you to be successful, and being caught off guard by a non-supporter can sometimes rock your confidence or make you feel unnecessarily guilty if you're not prepared for it.
• Some people will scoff and proclaim that you'll never stick with your weight loss plan. Don't take it personally, even though their words will hurt. Quite often statements such as these reflect a speaker's belief about himself or herself as opposed to about you - i.e. it's like they're really saying "I can't do it so I don't see how you can do it either". It can also be an unconscious way of trying to sabotage you so that your success doesn't make them appear unsuccessful by comparison. Don't let statements such as these negatively affect you. Understand where they are coming from and then immediately dismiss them as nonsense. (And try not to be angry at people who say these things - more often than not it's nothing against you per se, it's unfortunately just human nature.)
• Don't allow people to persuade you to eat something you know is wrong with the argument "You're fine! You're doing so well, what harm is a little splurge going to do?" Often these people simply want a partner in crime so they don't have to feel guilty about eating something they know they really shouldn't. Their justification to themselves would go something like this: since you are someone who is very strict about what you eat, if you indulge with them then what they're doing can't be all that bad, can it? Again, don't get angry with these people, but don't let them tempt you either.
• Some people might be offended if you no longer choose to eat food they prepare for you in the same quantities you used to consume, or perhaps refuse certain types of foods because you know they aren't healthy for you. They may feel offended because due to their own insecurities they mistakenly believe you are criticizing them for their food choices. Or, they may honestly think you're being disrespectful by not eating their food - if watching their own weight and eating healthily is irrelevant to them, they may not be able to appreciate why it should be relevant to you. Regardless of their reasoning, in actuality they're the ones being selfish and disrespectful by not recognizing and accepting your right to make your own lifestyle choices, so I wouldn't worry too much about offending them. Stick to your guns and eventually they'll get over it.
• On more than one occasion women have told me that while their husbands were initially supportive at the beginning of their diets, as the weight came off that support began to falter. It seems the thinner these women got, the more their husbands worried about whether their wives would perhaps look for greener pastures.
  
  
12. Always remember to believe in yourself. From time to time you may experience self doubts about your ability to lose the weight and keep it off, particularly if you have a long way to go. You may ask yourself why you're trying so hard when you've never been successful before and no one else around you is having much luck either. The fact of the matter is, if you truly want it badly enough, you can and will do it. So when those moments of doubt threaten to overwhelm you, remind yourself that slow and steady wins the race. Taking it step by step one day at a time is much less intimidating than looking at it from the perspective of having whatever total number of pounds still left to lose. And when it does seem like you still have sooooooo far to go, remind yourself just how far you've already come. For some additional "food for thought" regarding the power of believing in yourself versus the dangers of self doubt, I refer you to my January 2010 Blog: Unleash Your Greatness Potential.

While this article series has by no means been an exhaustive treatise on the subject of weight loss, I have endeavored to provide you with as much relevant information as practically possible within the confines of a single article. My objective was to outline the multiple factors you need consider when developing a realistic weight loss plan that will successfully allow you to lose weight, without losing your health in the process.

Although I have made a number of suggestions and recommendations throughout this article, I trust most of you have realized by now that I am most definitely not about telling you what to do. That's not what "empowering women to empower themselves" is all about. True empowerment, in my opinion, lies in giving someone the knowledge and the tools that will allow them to make their own informed choices about what is right for them. So in the spirit of that philosophy, please take from this article only that which is relevant for you, and discard the rest.

Losing weight and keeping it off in modern day society is definitely a challenge. Most of us live a fairly sedentary lifestyle with a time schedule that does not accommodate regular ongoing exercise and a social structure in which food plays a significant role. Therefore, it's hardly surprising so many people have weight management issues.

However, that being said, permanent weight loss, while challenging, is not impossible. If you want it badly enough, you can and will achieve it!