Unlocking the Door to Lasting Weight Loss:

Let’s face it, losing weight is no small task. Our bodies have been programmed by tens of thousands of years of evolution to consume and store excess calories in fat cells. The fat cells get bigger and bigger, and you gain more and more weight.

This storing of excess calories is part of our drive to survive as a species. And it made a lot of sense when food, and the life-giving calories that it provides, was scarce and hard to come by. When food was at hand, your body needed to store excess weight for those times when food was harder to come by. This is how you survived.

Well, needless to say, in modern times much of the developed world is suffering from almost an over-abundance of calories. In our culture, food is now relatively easy to get and inexpensive. Calories are literally everywhere you look.

The problem is that our bodies have not yet evolved to deal with this new reality. We are still programmed, in other words, to eat like there’s no tomorrow—or at least like there won’t be any food available tomorrow. And our bodies are super-efficient at storing those excess calories.

It’s no wonder then that significant and lasting weight loss is an uphill struggle for most.

The best way to fight the fat and make the real progress that you desire is what I like to call the CMS approach. CMS stands for Consumption, Movement, and Support, and it’s these three items that hold the key to your weight loss success.

To lose weight, you have to eat less. I’d love to feed you pipe-dreams and outright lies about short cuts and miracle weight loss gadgets, but I think it’s best that we stick with the simple truth.

Consuming less calories than you expend will result in weight loss. This is the ultimate truth, but one that so many people choose to ignore. It’s not surprising. Eating less than your body has grown accustom to is hard. It takes diligence and constant effort.

I’ve found that one of the keys is preparation. You need to buy healthy food and prepare healthy meals. Always have healthy choices readily at hand. When you get hungry, you’re most vulnerable and likely to reach for a quick fix. Make sure you satisfy that hunger with the right choices.

If you’re prone to overeating at certain meals, then you need to get tough with yourself. Here’s what you do. You decide how much you’re going to eat before you even start eating. And you stick to it.

That’s right, don’t get caught in the trap of saying, "well, I’m not completely full yet. I could handle another portion." Remember, it’s not calories that’s the problem for most people . . . it’s EXCESS calories. These are calories over and beyond what the body needs to maintain health, build muscle, and provide energy. It’s these excess calories that end up as fatty tissue deposits on the body.

So you need to decide before you even begin what’s a sensible meal for you. I’m not talking about necessarily counting calories. I’m talking about taking reasonable portions on your plate, eating them, and then just being committed to the simple reality that you’re done.

What’s a reasonable portion? You decide. Just be honest with yourself.

For most people, a reasonable portion would be one potato, a slice of lean meat, and some greens. You can always use the old size of your fist example: that is, take portions that are roughly equivalent to the size of your closed hand. Forget about the all-you-can-eat buffets, at least for 6 days of the week—you can splurge a bit on the seventh day if you have to.

Because fighting the urge to splurge can be so tough, I also suggest that you look into using a natural appetite suppressant. When used appropriately, appetite suppressants can help curb those cravings and make you feel satisfied with eating less.

One of my favorite natural appetite suppressants is called In Control. This is a completely stimulant-free product that doesn’t make you feel nervous or jittery. It contains Hoodia gordonii and Glucomannan, the two most effective natural appetite controllers I’ve come across. They can give you that little extra nudge you need to keep your calories in check.

Read More Lasting Weight Loss Tips from Bob Myhal