Identify 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.