"Right, that's it, I'm starting a diet on Monday!"

How often have you said that to yourself? And how many times have you decided that this year will be the one you finally lose weight?

Do you know what goes wrong when you start a new regime full of enthusiasm only to ditch it within a few days or weeks?

One reason might be that you aren't mentally and physically prepared to make it happen. You have the best possible chance to succeed only by preparing yourself properly.

Good preparation means:-

1. Knowing your target

What do you actually want to achieve? How much weight do you want to lose and by when? Check that your target is realistic by aiming for no more than 1 to 2lbs a week on average.

2. Choosing a strategy

How will you lose that weight? A vague notion of eating less will not get you there. Choose a system to follow that fits in with your lifestyle and preferences or plan your own system from the knowledge and experience you have of what works best for you.

3. Making Plans

Decide what actions you need to take to be ready to follow your chosen system on day one. What do you need to buy? What do you need to find out? Who do you need to talk to to get support?

Write your plans down so that you can check the actions off as you complete them and then start taking those actions. If you need to look for recipes or shop for special foods, do that now. If you have decided to join a gym, visit and join and have your introductory session. If you need walking shoes or a tennis racquet get it now.

4. Building your Personal Motivational tools

Taking action to prepare yourself will put you in the right frame of mind to start your weight loss program when you intend to. Of course, it gets harder as you go along. Motivation dwindles for many people very quickly without regular input.

While your motivation is still high, write down a list of all the reasons you have for wanting to lose weight - a list you can refer to again and again if the going gets tough later on.

Also spend some time thinking about how you will look and feel and how your life will be when you succeed. Write down a full description as a second motivational booster for when you need it.

5. Committing to make it happen

By going through the planning stage you will become aware of the effort involved in losing weight. Are you prepared to commit to the changes you will need to make and the actions you'll need to take? Are you willing to do what it takes to achieve the benefits?

Many people start a weight loss program or diet without thinking this through.

If you're not prepared to follow your chosen strategy there's no point in starting. You're setting yourself up for failure and another blow to your self-esteem.

But if you know what you are planning to do, you're fully aware of what's involved and you're willing to give it time and energy and to make it a priority in your life you WILL succeed. So think it all through, consider the pros and cons and decide whether you're prepared to make those changes before you begin.

Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small