9 easy ways to reach your weight-loss goals

Weight loss can seem so easy. Just make sure to burn more calories than you consume, and the extra weight should slide right off, right? But anyone who's tried to drop a few pounds knows that losing weight isn't nearly as simple as it sounds. From busy schedules to demanding taste buds to the worst culprit of all – long, dark Canadian winters that make us want to curl up on the couch all evening with our favourite treats and TV shows – successful weight loss can be challenging. To make it easier, we've assembled some of the best weight-loss advice we've come across into 9 easy steps, to help you reach your weight-loss goals.

1. Set your goals – and write them down
"Lose some weight" and "get skinnier" aren't smart goals – they're vague ideas that are unlikely to get you what you want. Instead, figure out what you really want to achieve. Is it a certain number of pounds? To fit that "skinny" pair of jeans that's been hanging in your closet for the past five years? Or maybe weight loss is just a side-effect of your health goals: to be fit enough to run after your kids without getting winded, or to clean up your diet to prevent or treat diseases such as diabetes.

Whether your goals are small or large depends on the kind of person you are – do you function best working toward grand plans or do you prefer to be able to check things off weekly? Either way, choose your goals, write them down – a note on the fridge or a secret file on your computer, it's up to you – and commit to achieving them.

2. Find your problem areas
In order to lose weight, you have to figure out what made you gain it in the first place. Are you an evening snacker? Do you find the lunchroom doughnuts at work irresistible? Or is the walk across your house the most exercise you get in a day?

Maybe the answers are obvious. If not, consider keeping a food and exercise journal for a week to help you analyze your patterns of behaviour. Make sure to note what you eat and when, as well as every bit of exercise you get, and be brutally honest – that grocery-store cookie sample really does count. Then decide on where you can make changes.

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