Weight loss can be one of the most difficult things to accomplish. Today's media and the marketplace can sometimes make the effort of weight loss even harder. Like it or not most societies in the developed countries are heavily motivated by the media. Television, radio, newspapers, direct mail, and the Internet all contribute heavily to our beliefs, our attitudes and ultimately our actions. So, when it comes to weight loss, how do you determine the right solution for your situation? Who do you believe and who do you discount?

Are we as a society obsessed with weight loss? Or, is there truly reason to take notice and lose a few pounds? While there are some people, especially females during the teenage years, who take weight loss to the extremes, for most of us losing some weight would be the healthy thing to do.

It's no secret that "thin is in", yet turn on the news channel and you'll see where researchers are finding more and more of our youth are obese and more and more adults as well as children are being diagnosed with the chronic disease of Type 2 diabetes, often as a result of obesity. We see hear that thin is better, yet we keep getting bigger and bigger. What's the reason?

The reasons are many. Primarily, our activity levels don't match the amount of food we eat. We are constantly being bombarded with quick food and lots of occasions to eat. For example, some friends invite you over. The chances are slim that there won't be food involved. You go to a sports event. What's on your mind besides the game? Food! Somehow, we have become conditioned to equate food with socializing. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, the amount of food we consume at these parties and events often times are a bad thing. If you are trying to lose weight, whenever you eat, remember; don't eat more than you will be active enough to use! Let's face it! Watching the Super Bowl on television is far less energy focused, than the guys playing in the game. They're usually drinking Gatorade, we're eating everything in site.

Were The Cavemen Fat?

Consider this: Our forefathers were constantly working to simply survive. The men were farming, hunting, and fishing for food. The women were busy preparing, the food, and the clothing as well as raising the children. There was constant activity without an overabundance of food. Our bodies were not designed to be sedentary. Yet, today with technological advances, and the average lifestyles we live, our activity levels have all but disappeared.

Let's explore this a bit further? We get up in the morning, jump in the shower, drive a car or catch the subway or bus to work, grab some food at the fast food place for lunch, come home pop in a frozen dinner, plop down on the sofa, turn on the TV and our day is done. Compare that to the days of old. First off, you had to draw the water for the shower, then you had to fire the stove to stay warm and to cook( the food was hunted and grown by hand). If you left your home for work, walking was a major way of transportation,?Need I say more? Our bodies haven't evolved to the point to where activity is not necessary. Yet, we are the least active of any society since mankind was placed on this earth. Food must be matched with activity. To lose weight, you must consume less food than the body needs. That's about the only way you'll burn off any fat.

Steps to Losing Weight

Enough preaching about activity. You want to lose weight and have more energy. First, I strongly suggest if you have more than a few pounds to lose, see your physician before you begin any weight loss plan. There are some medications, and diseases that can contribute to weight gain. If you know the facts before you begin you'll be able to better determine the best method for your weight loss.

Secondly, as you think about losing weight, carefully and honestly evaluate your current situation. Is it just a few pounds, say 5 or 10 you want to lose? Maybe it's 20 to 30? These amounts usually can safely be lost without the help of health professionals. If you need to lose 50 or more pounds, I strongly suggest you see your physician before you begin any weight loss plan.

Next, you need to evaluate why you've gained the weight. There are many reasons people gain weight. Some eat more than they need as a mental pick-me-up. Some eat because they have nothing else to do. Others don't really overeat, they simply make the wrong choices of what they eat. Then there's those of us who have put on a few pounds each year and now all of a sudden, nothing fits anymore. Whatever the case, you can lose the weight. It will take the right attitude, level of commitment and the right actions. Yes, there are plenty of diets and pills available to help you along the way. They aren't all bad, but do keep in mind that unless permanent lifestyle changes are made, the weight will come back when you stop the diets and the pills.

Diets and Pills

There are almost as many weight loss methods and diet pills available as there are people who want to lose weight.

There are diet pills that stop your hunger so you eat less and burn more fat. There are diet pills that cause the body not to metabolize all the food you eat, so it's passed out of your system and not stored as fat. Then there's the combination of these two. As you begin your search for the perfect diet pill, be careful as some can have harmful effects on your body.

Diet Pills work by shifting levels of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that control satiety (fullness) and desire for food. Some also slightly increase your metabolic rate - the rate at which your body burns calories.

Examples of weight loss diet pills include:

Diethylpropion hydrochloride (eg. Tenuate)
Mazindol (eg. Mazanor, Sanorex)
Phendimetrazine tartrate (eg. Bontril)
Phentermine hydrochloride (eg. Adipex-P, Ionamin)

All these can be used to help with weight loss. Be careful of pills containing ephedra, or caffeine. These can have negative and sometimes even deadly effects on the body. Use with caution.

Three Steps

Whatever method you choose to help you lose weight, here's three steps that will help.

Evaluate your situation and reasons behind the weight gain honestly. Sometimes it's difficult to accept the true facts about why we've gained weight, only by realizing and accepting the truth can you being to deal with it using a positive attitude.

Make sure your attitude is positive about the changes you make. Don't dread the changes or say things like I hate not eating the cake?. Instead whenever you have one of those kinds of thoughts think about how much happier you will be with your new slimmer body.

Visualize the positive effects your good actions are having. Get a mental image of the "new you." Whenever you're tempted not to be active or to eat the wrong things, picture the "new you" you will be if you overcome the temptation.

Don't believe the magical ads. You can't keep doing the same things, and expect something different to happen. You can use products to assist you with weight loss, but ultimately you must be in control for the weight to stay off without taking the diet pills.

Hilda Maria is a freelance writer with 5 children who knows the importance of a balanced diet for them. She enjoys providing useful knowledge about weight loss and regular exercise to her readers as well as to her children.