Losing weight is not a battle as much as it is a journey. These tips can help you learn how to lose weight effectively regardless of your personal circumstances. Follow the advice found here to make life-long changes in diet and exercise routines that result in a lighter, healthier you.

Once you have decided that you want to lose weight remember that you can exercise anytime and anywhere. When you head out to the mall park farther away from the entrance so that you can walk there. If you come to a place that has elevators and stairs, choose the stairs. All these little things will start to add up for you.

If you have a dog, and you’re trying to take off a few pounds, walk your dog regularly, at least four times a day. Even a quick walk around the block is 3/8 of a mile in our neighborhood; four times makes 1.5 miles, which is a very respectable amount and enough to keep the weight from creeping back up. Don’t walk your dog? Time to start. Don’t have a dog? Get one and take him or her for a nice long walk, every day. You and your dog will be glad you did, and you’ll both be healthier for it.

A useful tip for anyone attempting to lose weight is to avoid relying on processed foods that boast about being fat free. It is often the case that in order to remove the fat from such products manufacturers add extra sugar so that the items have a pleasing taste. This generally results in additional calories, often in excess of those contained in the regular, full fat versions of the same product. Those extra calories only serve to hinder weight loss efforts.

A simple way to stay on task when it comes to weight loss is to have someone promise to do these things with you. Having a friend that is also eating healthier and exercising along with you can motivate you to keep going, even if its under the obligation of your promise. Also, this way, not everyone around you is eating the fatty foods you can barely resist.

Do not avoid any kind of extra exercise that you can get throughout the day. Little things such as walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator or not fighting for that close parking spot the store can burn extra calories! Every step that you take throughout the day counts towards calories and those extra pounds.

One of the best ways to help you lose weight is to harness the power of visualization. By visualizing what we want out bodies to look and feel like in the future, we’ll be far better equipped to stick to our fitness goals. Visualization really is the key when losing weight.

One important weight loss tip to consider is to begin cooking your own meals as often as possible. Considering that most restaurants prepare food packed with sugar, sodium and carbs, eating out can be a serious pitfall to your diet. If you are preparing your own food, you can control what goes into it and what stays out.

When attending a holiday cocktail party, get a low calorie drink like seltzer water and fruit juice as soon as you arrive. If you sip slowly on your drink, you will probably not fill up on high calorie cocktails. Having one of your hands busy can keep you from sampling the snacks as well.

A great weight loss tip is to move around constantly. Even if you aren’t doing much, studies have shown that people who can’t keep still tend to be thinner. Therefore, you should take every opportunity to move. If you are sitting at a computer for hours, stand up and walk around every hour or so.

To stay accountable while you try to lose weight, keep a weight loss journal or blog. Studies have shown that people who write down their goals have a higher chance of attaining them. Looking over your journal and seeing the progress you’ve made is great encouragement when you’re ready to give up. It’s easier to avoid giving into temptation when you know you’ll have to write or blog about it afterwords.

When losing weight you have to exercise as well watch what you eat. Exercise plays only a small role in weight loss. Your diet is much more important. Weight loss is about 75 percent what you consume and about 25 percent exercise. Exercise is important for our bodies plays only a small part in getting the weight off.

Now that you can see how easy it is to make changes in your lifestyle, you can apply these tips to your life. These tips may seem simplistic, and though losing weight is, in fact, simple, it is not easy. You do, however, have the power to change your life.