When you are ready to make the necessary behavior changes in your nutrition and exercise you need to set up a plan to make those changes. These are the key components:

• Set Your Goals – How much weight do you want to lose and by when? What is your reason to lose the weight? Consider not just the intellectual reasons but the emotional ones.

• List Your Pros & Cons – Changing your behaviors will not be easy. You need to understand the pros and cons involved. Make a list of your reasons to lose weight and your reasons not to. Your pros should outwigh the cons.

• Barriers & Solutions To Begin – Once you are convinced and motivated to begin your weight loss program, you need to identify the barriers to your starting your program and develop solutions for those obstacles.

• Challenges & Solutions – As you start your weight loss program you need to anticipate the challenges to sticking to your plan that you will encounter. For example, one could be an upcoming family reunion where you’ll be surrounded by an overabundance of food. It is best to plan how you are going to resist the temptation to overeat before you are faced with the challenge.

• Milestones – It will probably take months to safely reach your weight loss goal. Meanwhile you should set milestones you will work towards along the way. These don’t need to be weight loss milestones. They could be things such as exercising for 30 minutes daily for at least 5 days a week, or doubling the amount of vegetables you eat daily.

• Support Person – It is a good idea to identify a support person for your weight loss plan with whom you will share things such as your starting date and weight loss goal. This person needs to be willing to help you when you need some encouragement and celebrate your successes.