Stretchmarks

Unfortunately weight loss/gain will usually lead to stretchmarks appearing on your skin. You need to do something to prevent them as you start losing weight. Because once they are there, they are there. There are a lot of ointments being advertised that claim to help with stretchmarks but in reality little do they help if at all. Instead of spending money on them, I would recommend a simple procedure that in my case had better effect on the skin: sea salts massage. It helps for better blood circulation, which in turns leads to fading of the stretchmarks if they are already there.

If you still insist on spending money for the stretchmarks' sake, then try some vitamin E or shea butter to massage the problem zones.

Exercise

The only way to lose weight is to eat less. Exercise and all the rest are indeed helpful, but weight is about how many calories you eat. Which of course doesn't mean you shouldn't exercise at all. Sport contributes to your overall vitality and good looks. But you don't need to go to extremes to lose more weight because actually you will not. I've seen people who overexercise and undereat and the result was the scale wouldn't budge a tad. Instead you should aim for a balanced diet combined with some exercise, as much as it is convenient and pleasant for you. It could be as much as a walk in the park in the evening. As long as you are at a calorie deficit, you will still be seeing great results.

Don't be afraid of fats

One common mistake people trying to lose weight make is avoid fats as if they were plaque. Avoiding all and any fats is a sure way to sabotage your fat loss. The truth is that you need fats in order to burn fats. The lack of fats in your diet will also degrade your health and performance.

Omega-3 oils from flax, fish, or fish oil capsules, improve health and actually assist fat loss. One to three tablespoons a day of flax oil mixed in a protein drink, used as salad oil with vinegar, or taken straight, will dramatically improve fat loss and long-term health.

The omega-3 oil found in flax oil known as alpha- linolenic acid is an essential fatty acid (EFA) and is required for optimal health and fatty acid metabolism.

Further on, fats found in nuts, esp. in sesame paste, are essential for women and long term avoidance of their consumption may lead to hormonal disorders.

The fridge

No, you definitely don't want your fridge to be full of junk. Nothing can be more tempting than what is a reach away, so it's really important what you keep in the fridge and inside the cupboard. While low-fat and fat-free foods tend to be considered healthy by those trying to lose weight, they are actually just as junk as any other typical junk food. Just look at the label to see what have they substituted the fats with. It would be a long list of chemistry. If you cannot even read it and have no idea what it is, then why would you want to substitute the real food with it? Your body needs some real fuel to burn the fats and keep you going throughout the day, so go ahead and feed it some real food. A smaller amount of full-fat quality milk is always better than a bigger amount of low-fat milk. While I recommended using a calorie counter in my previous post, calories shouldn't be looked at just as calories and nothing else. If you look at it this way, then an apple may be a worse option than a candy bar because it happens to have more calories... But is it really?!

Getting started on your weight loss journey

You are determined to do it but you are not sure where to start and what would be the best weight loss plan for you. While some people find it easier to follow a certain diet that has predecided for them what will be eaten throughout the day, others prefer to have the freedom of making their own food choices while trying to lose weight. If you have tried dieting in the past and been successful, then obviously this has been a temporary loss or you wouldn't be here trying to lose the weight again. A diet consisting of strict rules may be a good way to stay on track but what's bad about diets is that a person can follow rules only for a certain period of time. Unfortunately our life today consists of following rules in the society, at work, even at home... And if you have to follow rules even in the short break between duties when you are supposed to enjoy a meal, then you probably understand why do actually diets fail.

Instead of that, you may try some diet that has flexible rules and still leaves room for your own food choices. Better yet, forget dieting and do it your own way. The best changes in life are those that actually fit into your lifestyle, not the ones that are forcing you into something you never wanted in the first place. You can lose weight in many ways but if you don't eliminate the actual problem that is causing you gain weight, you will never be able to keep the weight you've lost.

A nice tool you will find online are the calorie consumption trackers. You don't need to use them for a long time and you definitely don't need to freak over every morsel. What they really help with is give you an idea of how much you actually eat in a day. Most people have no idea how much they've consumed when eating something 'small'. As you realize the drawbacks of your eating habits, you are already on the right way to fixing them.

Motivation

When it comes to weight loss, motivation is, if not everything, then at least 99% of the whole journey. Honestly, you will never succeed in losing weight and keeping it off if you are do not feel the genuine desire and motivation to do it. Perhaps right now you feel that you are absolutely motivated and determined to succeed, or perhaps you feel very undecided and unsure about your weight loss plan; in either case, here are some good tips how to keep yourself motivated throughout your weight loss journey:

1. Find yourself a weight loss buddy. It could be a workmate, a friend, a relative. It really does not matter who it is but it better be someone responsible and determined to succeed at least as much as you are. If you can't seem to find this someone around you, you may want to try some online support group or ask if someone is interested to be your weight loss buddy at some of the weight loss forums around.

2. Read success stories. Lots of them. Look at before and after pictures of others. So many people have lost weight before you and so will you. Once you believe in this, it will happen. If you don't believe it, it can't happen. As simple as this.

3. Measure yourself. Both your weight and your body measurements. Later you will be happy to see how much you have progressed. While it is not advisable to weight and measure yourself too often, some people find it rather motivating to jump on the scale first thing every morning. But be prepared for some variations in the opposite way from time to time. If you believe this will discourage you too much, then better stick to check-in once a week or even less often.

4. Buy yourself some nice outfit in a smaller size than your current one. Not only will it stimulate you to lose the weight, but it will also be your reward once you are able to fit into it. Don't forget to try it on from time to time to see how close you have gotten. Similarly, if you used to be skinnier in the past, you may try on some old clothes of yourself.

5. Don't avoid the image in the mirror. Explore your whole body (without clothes on) and realize which parts of you and how much need to be changed. While sometimes the naked truth may be upsetting, you need to be aware of where you are in order to motivate yourself to improve it.