It’s that time of the year again, You look in the mirror and you realize you’ve gained a little bit of weight over the winter. Now it’s time to set up some strategies to transform that body before swimsuit season hits. Here is a list of suggestions to help you accomplish your goal.

First and foremost stop blaming something or someone else or anything else on how you look. You are responsible for you and what you eat or what you choose not to eat. You are where you are at because of you. When you except that you are responsible, for how you look, getting to your goal be so much easier.

You need to tell yourself that you can do this. Having self-doubt and talking yourself into being a failure will make you a failure. Put your big boy or girl pants on and get ready for the challenge. Rather than thinking of it as a diet just look at it as just changing some habits that will affect your lifestyle and make you healthier and thinner.

Do not think of this as a diet. Diet always have a negative connotation and people always feel as though they cannot stick to it. They feel as though they were in jail and are only allowed the terrible food and this is so not true. Lifestyle changes are for the better and if you want to live a long life it is necessary. Metabolic syndrome is at an all-time high. Change your diet to foods that contain all the colors of the rainbow. And by that, I do not mean the pretty packaging. Stay away from that processed food, it is horrible for you.

Your main goal is to have success and success means eating healthy for life. This isn’t something you’re just going to start today and give up after you’ve lost your weight. This is the change for the rest of your life, to keep the weight off and keep your body healthy.

It’s very important to find accountability. Whether it is a weight-loss therapist, or a nutritional therapist, your life mate or your best friend accountability has been proven to help with weight loss. Sometimes we all need a kick in the butt when with straight down the wrong path and your accountability partner should be someone whom you can accept that from. They will help you stay on track and rejoice in your accomplishments. That being said you do need to be accountable for you. You can’t put the blame on someone else. They are there to help you stay on track, you were the one who needs to stay there.

Don’t follow the crowd. New diets are popping up every day. If a diet is promising that you can eat anything you want if you just take their pill or drink their drink and you will lose weight, don’t believe them. The most important thing is to figure out which foods you can eat that doesn’t cause you to gain weight.We are all made differently so we will all process food differently. You may not be able to eat whatever everyone else is eating. So learn what you can eat that keeps you happy and the weight off.

Watch people who are successful and ask questions. How are they losing weight? What are they eating? What kind of exercise are they getting and how long are they exercising? Surround yourself with successful people instead of downers. They will truly help you on your weight-loss journey.

I don’t believe in the word willpower. But I do believe in habitual changes. When we continue to do something over and over it becomes a habit. Our mind doesn’t have to think about it, it just does it. This kind of gives your mind a break. So change your habits from ones that aren’t so good to ones that are better. For example, if every time you going to the grocery store the first place you go is to get a donut, don’t go down that aisle.Get your grocery shopping done and go home. Eventually, that habit will be changed and you will be thinner and happier.

Don’t lie about your food. If you think eating calories that no one sees is not really calories you are wrong. If you bite it write it. Keeping a journal every day allows you to see exactly what you’re eating and what changes you can make to live a healthier lifestyle. Lying to yourself about your condition, your commitment or your consistency to stick with it is only hurting you.If you lose weight don’t think that that is a reason to cheat. One cheat meal every two weeks is OK, but that’s a cheat meal not a cheat day. Be consistent with your nutrition and commit to it every day. Find some form of exercise that works for you and stick with it.

Set some goals and when you reach your goals give yourself a little present. Little goals eventually become bigger goals. Even if people are telling you otherwise persist through it until you succeed. Before you know it you may be even be purchasing a smaller swimsuit size.