4. I want to add some exercise. I'll achieve this by doing some research at library or on Internet about what I might enjoy, then perhaps get a free pass to my closest gym, talk to friends, borrow exercise tapes. Consider hiking. Find exercises I can do in front of TV at first, or on floor in my bedroom when I first get up. Whatever works.

I'm willing to experiment until you find what works best. I don't care if other people see me getting started. I'll start slowly, then add more after first few weeks, when I'm ready.

Finally, close your eyes and imagine carrying out your plan. If you chose getting up an hour earlier, see yourself doing it. Does it fit? Are you a night person? If so, an early morning workout probably won't pan out -- stick to midday or evening workouts. Find what fits for you. Can you really see yourself doing what you've chosen, regularly? If not, adjust, find something you will do regularly. It's consistency that gets results.

STEP 5: Set Up Plan A And Determine What You Need To Get Started

Plan A:

1) I need a small notebook I can carry with me for keeping track of what and when I eat (only needed short-term to get an idea of what I'm eating now and where I might make small changes).

2) Need monthly calendar to track my exercise minutes, even if it's only 10 minutes this month and 20 next, that's progress. You are after progress, not perfection. There is no such thing as perfection.

3) Visit library or order book online for using bodyweight for exercises. Pushups, crunches, etc., can be done without any extra equipment.

4) Buy healthy foods to have on hand such as fruits, cut up vegetables. Visit different grocery stores and markets to see what's there I hadn't noticed. Make dinner at least twice a week and freeze leftovers into ready-to-eat frozen meals.

5) Purchase or order supplements, protein powders, videos, etc., if I want them.

Putting It All Together

Start working your plan. Don't wait for next full-moon or some other arbitrary starting date. Just get started. The sooner you start, sooner you begin to see results.

If you use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), do it at least three times a day. It only takes a couple of minutes and you can do it while you do other things, so get it done. Check in with your list of behaviors you'd like to change, and then work on one issue each week or until it becomes a non-issue, then move to next.

You might start with frustration that things aren't happening fast enough, since this is a common early annoyance and one that drives many people right back to couch:

Example EFT statements:

"Even though I'm frustrated by all these instructions, I deeply and completely accept myself."

"Even though I don't want it to take so much effort, I deeply and completely accept myself"

"Even though I hate all this and just want to wake up skinny, I deeply and completely accept myself."

No matter what, if you are putting attention on this process, then you are making progress. It doesn't matter if you keep to your plan exactly. What does matter is that you make a plan at all.

If you make a small effort every day you'll find that some days will be better than others, and that's okay. It's easy to forget, and fall back into our usual patterns which is why keeping a notebook handy helps keep you on track. So does scheduling your workout time just like you would any appointment, and then keeping it.

The goal isn't to be perfect -- it's to take action.

You can use a grading system, such as one point for achieving each item on your list, and tallying points at end of week. You could also color in squares on calendar, so when you achieve what you planned, you color it in, but if you didn't achieve what you planned, you don't color it in, or different shades of color. That way you can see at a glance how often calendar is colored, how many squares are missing, etc. You can also see as months go by how you are improving.

If you exercise five days this month, then 10 next, and 20 after that, you're improving. You're getting fit, and weight will be coming off. Having a visual display of your progress can help keep you on track. Remember, expect to be human (less than perfect) and you won't be disappointed.

If you believe you must have a strict plan, that's okay, as long as you're aware that a slip from time-to-time is not end of it. Slips are nothing more than a learning experience, then you go ahead to see if you can prove me wrong. That would be great if you never slipped. Just no matter what, no matter if it's been a week since you did anything on your list, it does not matter; just pick up where you left off and start again. Slowly you'll falter less and succeed more.

The goal is to build strength and fitness into your daily life. Better to go about it slowly and achieve small successes than to jump in with all your heart and never come back for day two.

Small Changes Equal Big Results

There are 365 days in a year. If you achieved your goals on 200 of them this year wouldn't that be an improvement over last year? As you improve, your weight will fall. That's how it works. That's why people who achieve their best weight and maintain it have learned how to stay "on plan" more often than "off plan." Eventually you don't really think of it as a plan at all but just how you are. It becomes your new way of life.

Use these five steps to get started on a plan, right now. Start by getting a small notebook, then starting writing down th days of week, thinking about your schedule and how you'll make some changes to your routine. After all, it's your present routine that isn't working, so you must make some changes. Make them fit, and then you'll fit into those small jeans in no time.

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of http://www.OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com

When I was a teenager I could easily eat 10 slices of white bread french toast and still not feel satisfied. How ridiculous is that? I could, on other hand, eat about three pieces of whole grain bread french toast and that was enough.

Many people think if it is brown it is healthier, but it is not true. If it is whole grain it is better than refined, but that isn't licence to eat lots of bread. A sandwich now and then is just fine, thank you. The best breads are heavy. Think of being a peasant sitting around a fire cooking a thick soup. What kind of bread would be best to sop it up? Some lame white bread that would disintegrate if liquid touched it, or a thick, hearty brown bread that could serve as a staple if need be? I'll take second.

My favorite thing to eat is brown rice with stuff. "Stuff" means any vegetable concoction, or sauce, or just something to sort of mix in there. Use a little oil, preferably olive or sesame for flavor. My favorite quick vegetable is steamed sliced carrots and onions. Both onions and carrots are naturally sweet and ultra delicious all by themselves. Once you learn to simply eat foods way nature presents them, you'll find your appetite stays more in line with better health.

I didn't intend to create a food rule book. My intention is to point out that you need not live on a skimpy portion of grains like 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 1/4 cup skimmed milk and a half a slice of dry toast for breakfast. Eat hearty. I'm an example of how hearty eating will enhance your health, and bring your weight into line, not opposite. I'll have one or two cups of oatmeal with raisins and a sprinkle of brown sugar (it won't kill you) or if you've grown used to it, no sweetener at all. Use milk if you like, or soy milk.

Lean Meats, Chicken, Fish: Support your local butcher and farmer. When you buy your meat from a local butcher you can be assured you are getting best available. Okay, it costs more than grocery store brand. If you want best, buy best. Avoid farm bred fish at all costs. Simply ask your meat counter to stock fresh fish.

Desserts, treats, snacks: It's okay to eat these things, but practice moderation. If you can't do that, and think you'll eat whole bag, then don't get them when you're alone. Share some with someone else. Buy smaller size package. Do whatever it takes, but don't tell yourself you can never eat any certain food again, because that just makes it all more difficult to handle it when time comes.

The Clean Diet is More a Way of Life than a Strict Set of Eating Rules

Most people will allow themselves one or more "cheat days" every week. The best plan is simply to choose eating clean as your primary eating style, and when you don't you don't but every meal stands alone. If you over ate at breakfast, you just eat your usual lunch. You don't try to "make up for it" by skimping on lunch. That's an equation that will never work. Just eat normally, and when you occasionally overeat, so be it. That way, rather than always thinking in terms of, "I'll start my diet again next Monday," you just get right back on your plan. While no foods are forbidden on a clean eating plan, common sense rules day.

See if eating a Clean Diet might work for you. Start by adding more fresh fruit, and a few vegetables. Buy frozen vegetables and add them to your other foods, such as when you eat a frozen meal for instance. If you want chips with your sandwich, take a handful (and a half, if you want) and put it on your plate, rather than bringing whole bag of chips to table. Decide in advance how many cookies you'll have. Will four be enough, how about five? It's still better than half a bag. Take it one day at a time, one meal at a time, and you'll find things happening in no time.

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of http://www.OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com