How many times have you told yourself "I'll never be able to lose weight - what's the use in trying?" You're not alone in your struggle. Many Americans are confused about effective ways to shed unwanted pounds, and many misconceptions about how to effectively lose weight exist. So if you're feeling confused, read on!

To help you lose weight and make healthy food choices, get rid of the unhealthy choices in your life. Go ahead and throw away those junk foods that are likely to sabotage your plan. This way, they aren't sitting there tempting you all the time and you can choose the healthier foods you bought to replace them.

To lose weight stay away from processed foods. These foods are loaded with artificial ingredients and subjected to processes that remove almost all their healthy components. While processed foods are designed for convenience, economy and speed, they're not healthy and won't help you lose weight. The benefiters of processed foods are the sellers not the consumers. Stick to healthy, unprocessed foods for weight loss.

A great way to help you lose weight is to choose a day, once a week, where you eat whatever you want and don't follow your diet. When you've been dieting for a while you might notice that you hit a plateau. By eating whatever you want once a week, you actually end up boosting your metabolism.

One important tip for weight loss is this mantra: "plan, prepare, perform, and practice!" Weight loss doesn't happen by accident, it takes mental effort and deliberate steps in order to achieve the results that you want. Overcoming inertia and stepping out in action is one of the hardest and most rewarding parts. Once you start moving forward, the rest will be easier.

A good tip to help you lose weight is to perform a cardio session right after you lift weights. Studies have shown that you burn more fat when you perform cardio right after a session of weight lifting. This is great way to get the most out of your workouts.

Weight loss is all about consistency. Don't wake up one morning, think you are going to go to the gym one day, and be skinny the next day. Weight loss is about waking up every morning with the motivation and determination to keep going to the gym, to keep dieting, until you reach your target weight.

Running is an activity that is a wonderful tool when trying to lose weight. Running buy figur in a short amount of time, and will also help to build up your metabolism. Go for a run outside, and pay attention to the beautiful scenery around you. Before you know it, you will have worked up a nice sweat, and burned enough calories to aid in your weight loss process.

Trying to lose weight? Make sure you're drinking plenty of water, especially before a meal. Drinking a full glass of water before eating often helps many people eat less. And the next time you're tempted to reach for a snack, make sure you hit the water fountain - sometimes, when our brain tells us we're hungry, we're really just thirsty.

If you are having a hard time finding the motivation to lose weight, looking at some weight-loss success stories online can really up the motivation quotient. Seeing that this thing you are trying to do is completely doable and that many others have succeeded may be just what you need to give you that added boost.

If you are just beginning to make lifestyle changes as part of a weight loss program, chances are good that you haven't tried every sport, fitness equipment, and exercise class out there. With so many new unique and engaging ways to get fit, there's hope for even the most reluctant fitness junkie.

When you are at work try to ignore escalators or elevators and take the stairs when you are going up or down just a few flights. This will help you to burn calories and it should not be something that is far more than your body can handle.

By now you've realized that effective weight loss is not only a doable and manageable goal, but it's much simpler to attain than many people think. Simply by implementing a few strategies and tips, most people are able to lose weight at a healthy, steady rate, and are able to keep the weight off.