Losing weight and becoming healthier is a goal that many of us would love to achieve. We enthusiastically dream about the wonderful results, plan our strategies, and start our diet and exercise programs. All usually goes well for a little while. Then, repetition, boredom, and seemingly slow progress starts to take its toll.

Here are five tips that can help you stick with your plan and lose that weight once and for all.

1. Be committed to your plan. Keep telling yourself that this is something you want more than anything else. Write down your reason for doing this and keep it as a constant reminder. If you have a picture of your goal, place it where you will see if often. What you hold in your mind tends to become your reality.

2. Dump the junk food. When hunger calls, we often reach for the handiest munchies we can find. If there is junk food in the house, that’s probably what we will grab. Throw out the junk food and replace it with healthy snacks like nuts, fresh fruit, raisins, fresh vegetable pieces (no dips). A sprinkle of lemon juice or Mrs. Dash’s herb seasonings can perk up the taste, and chewing adds its own satisfaction.

3. Going natural and going green are the new watchwords. Try to eat as many natural and fresh foods as possible. Really chew and savor each bite. Try new foods you have not eaten before. With the wonderful array of tastes and textures available, you will probably soon find yourself wondering how anyone could prefer a diet of fat and salt!

4. Stay hydrated.  A hydrated body is more efficient than a dehydrated one. Be sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and after exercise. A squeeze from a lemon wedge can add flavor to your water. Stay away from the sodas. Want something more satisfying than plain water? Try drinking a little grape juice or tomato juice or other fruit or vegetable juice. You’ll get filling nutrition and satisfying flavor as added benefits.

5. Avoid skipping meals. Eating several small meals each day will stabilize your metabolism so that you can burn calories more efficiently. This will also prevent your body from sabotaging itself by going into a starvation mode and building fat reserves of the smaller number of calories you are consuming.

After a few days, weigh in and see the results. Instead of checking your weight everyday, which can become discouraging, decide upon two or three days each week which will be your weigh-in days. Your new eating plan, along with your increased exercise program, should soon have you feeling much healthier and happier. And just think of the money you’ve saved from buying junk food! Maybe you’d like to treat yourself to movie or something else you’ve been wanting.