There's lots of conventional wisdom available when it comes to weight loss success. Everybody has an opinion of what is required to get rid of those extra pounds, and I agree that much of what is touted as conventional wisdom may even make sense – but only if you're talking about short term weight loss.
However, things are different if you aim for long-term weight loss success.
Weight Loss Success Tip #1: Stay Within Your Comfort Zone
We often presume that successful weight loss requires deprivation, self-discipline and stepping outside of your comfort zone. However, I claim you'll have a much better chance of losing weight and maintaining your weight loss if you stay as much as possible within your comfort zone.
The key is to make changes that are easy to fit into your current lifestyle and to avoid making changes that require you to do what you don't really like, whether it's food or exercise. For example, number one reason for quitting exercise is taking on too much – going from couch potato to exercising 5 hours a week. The same is true about your diet – it's better to gradually increase the amount of veggies in your diet than to decide to become a vegetarian overnight.
Furthermore, it doesn't make sense to start gorging on cottage cheese or other "diet foods" just because that's what you think you're supposed to do on a diet. The question to ask yourself is: "Am I honestly going to stick to this new habit for the rest of my life?" If not, drop the habit.
