Establish a routine

Many people don't like to establish a routine. They think of it as a straight-jacket that inhibits their creativity.

Sorry, but that's a big mistake.

The only way to accomplish a goal in a timely manner with the least amount of wasted time, money and effort is to establish a routine and stick to it. Your mind and body become used to this routine, and the longer you follow it, the easier it will be.

Now of course, there are good and bad routines. (Think of a routine as a habit.) If you have a routine of having a donut for breakfast, two donuts with lunch, and three donuts with dinner, that's a bad routine. You want to cut that down to no donut for breakfast, half a donut for lunch (along with normal food) and a full donut for dessert after dinner.

Think of kids going to school. They have five classes a day. For each individual hour, they concentrate on one individual thing. After an hour, they go to another class, and tackle another subject, which refreshes the brain. What would happen if kids went to school each day not knowing what classes they'd be attending - they'd have to carry all their books instead of just a few of them, they wouldn't know what to study each day... it would be a mess.

So it is with your life and your goal to manage your weight - to lose a certain number of pounds and then - most difficult of all - keep it off.

It is a lot easier to do if you have a routine that you go through every day.

Get up at the same time every day, eat the same foods every day (or at least, one of a limited number of foods - all those that you know the calorie amounts of), exercise at the same time, play sports at the same time, and so on.

This is not to say that your routine is a straight-jacket that cannot be changed. As you work through your routine, keep notes on it and if some portion of it isn't working for you, change it.

But if you do establish a routine - you will be surprised at how efficient your life becomes. Not only in your goal of weight loss and maintenance, but also any other goals in life you might have - to learn a language, write a book, learn a new subject - all become so much easier if you set them to a routine.