More than half of us are trying to loose weight at any given moment. Many of us are veterans of many successful weight loss efforts, only to find out that we could not maintain the loss but gained it all back, and more.

If diets don’t work, what does work? Here is what we learned from the ‘success stories’ we had the pleasure of working with: There are three changes we have to make:

1. What and how we eat: Forget counting calories, forget diet-products and diets, period, for that matter. We emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and proteins, pretty much like our forefathers ate before ‘fast’ and ‘convenient’ became our mantras …. The problem is that this puts us at odds with our habits.

2. Exercise: We don’t know of any weight management success stories that did not involve regular exercise. It is fairly easy to get ourselves to go for a walk on a pretty spring day, wanting to get ready for beach season – but what when it is too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too dark, or just too much work …. The problem is that this puts us at odds with our motivational forces.

3. Controlling Emotions: Most ‘diets’ get derailed when ‘negative’ emotions come up. We feel bad because we are angry, depressed, anxious, stressed, or bored and we want to feel better. So what do we do? Without really thinking, we eat ( or drink, smoke, shop ….) It happens every time - we have to learn different ways of dealing with our emotions if we want to have a chance …. The problem is that this puts us at odds with our instincts.

Challenging our habits, motivational forces, and instincts is obviously not easy. It requires taking a close look at pretty much everything we do. However, those who have embarked on the journey consistently tell us that it is the most rewarding thing they have ever done in their life.