I’m irritated, really irritated. In the last 4 weeks, I’ve gotten about 100 people asking me to be their friend on either Facebook or Twitter. When I go to review who these folks are, and why they would want to link with me, I realize they are selling Weight / Fat Loss garb. And the real grabber, in the headline of their bio, I read, “Let me tell you how I lost 25 pounds in 30 days!” What? Did you not read MY bio? Did you not see that I don’t buy in to that stuff? Did you not see that every ounce of me detests that kind of message? Did you not get from my brief bio that I stand as far away as possible from quick weight loss schemes?

You see, I lost 50 pounds over 25 years ago, the old fashioned way. I stopped eating fast food, I started riding my bike more and I stopped eating “Breakfast Jacks” while watching the Tonight Show. It wasn’t glamorous, it was healthy. In one year, December to December I lost 49 1/4 pounds and have never put the weight back on. Why? Because I didn’t drop it in 2 months, I didn’t simply seek out any method I could to drop the weight. I decided that my lifestyle was out of control and I needed to change it, pronto! But I also realized at that time, that any changes I made had to make sense and not kill me.

People have died in the name of weight loss, people have gone to extremes in the name of weight loss, people will risk their health to lose weight, I see it all the time. Charlatans prey on those desperate for weight loss. So people seek immediate weight loss schemes and buy in to the “fast and easy” weight loss methods at any cost.

For me, I stick to my same old story, “Change your lifestyle and the weight will follow!” I will never abandon my belief because for every email, tweet, friend request I get promising that if I try their product I can lose 20 pounds in 20 days, I just yell my message a little louder. Their approach is temporary and potentially unsafe, my approach is long lasting (if you’re ready and willing to change) and safe.

Look, we all know that weight loss occurs when we burn more calories than we consume, period, end of statement. Americans eat too much and move too little. The “magic” pills and diets simply reduce your caloric intake, in some instances dramatically so, no duh, you’ll lose weight. But then you want your life back, so you drop the diet or pills or whatever and the weight comes back full throttle.

Everything that I have created, everything that I sell on my website, makes no promises, it simply offers to help you along your journey to living a healthier lifestyle. If weight loss were easy, obesity would be non-existent. It’s not easy, I’ll grant you that. And any company that promises fast and easy is lying. If you really want to get rid of unhealthy weight, you must get rid of unhealthy habits, pure and simple. So here are just a few suggestions that may help you along the way. Oh, and by the way, in order to make changes happen you have to WANT them bad enough. I’ll talk about that in my next blog, “Weight Loss, do you really want it?

* Set Reasonable Goals- Set weekly goals for nutrition and exercise, 3 month goal, 6 month goal and 1 year goal.

* Each week, PLAN, PLAN, PLAN! You cannot be successful unless you plan out your week that includes both exercise and nutrition. What are you going to eat, when are you going to exercise?

* Don’t push pressure on yourself to change everything in a week. As you gained the weight, you didn’t wonder why it was taking so long to put on the weight, did you? So give yourself the same patience when changing your lifestyle, it takes time.

* Bumps in the road are normal, it’s not the end of anything. Lifestyle changes take time and will always need tweaking here and there, it’s life.

* You are where you are, now move on and move up. You cannot continue to focus on all that you haven’t done, it’s time to focus on all that is possible, today.

* Don’t buy in to any thing that promises you fast and easy, it’s nothing but smoke and mirrors.

* Is it really weight loss you want, or simply the byproducts? Often times people confuse weight loss with the things that being healthier brings, more energy, more confidence, less depression, more optimism, etc.

My goal is and always will be to tell you the truth and give you the best information I can. It’s my privilege and my passion.