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 Successful weight loss generally means making changes in the way we live and the health choices that we make each day. When things are going well, sticking with these behavioral changes is usually manageable. However, when the going gets tough, our new behaviors may give way to old habits and we find ourselves struggling with setbacks in our journey to a healthier weight. Often, there is so much emphasis on winning in our lives that it is hard to recognize there is just as much to learn from setbacks as there is from success.
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 Many of the benefits we get from exercise are similar to the effects of some prescription medicines. Exercise can fight stress, relieve depression, strengthen bones, and improve the immune system. But, like any prescription medicine, it has to be taken in a measured dose and repeated regularly to work.
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 If you want to know how to lose weight and keep it off, why not ask 5000 people who have maintained at least 30lbs of weight loss for over 12 months? While you may not like everything the successful losers have to tell you, if you want to join them in success, here are some of the strategies they suggest you use.
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 Your doctor can advise you, your family can beg you, and your friends can urge you, but you are the only one who can change your weight by changing your behavior. It is human nature to wish for an easy fix, a magic treatment, or for others to lose the weight for us, but spending our energy on this type of wishful thinking distracts us from the real work at hand and makes us feel helpless to choose and control our own destinies.
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 An abundance of inexpensive, ready-to-eat food items that have been specially formulated with high fat and abundant sugar and salt have made it easy for people to use food as a tool to manage their moods. Food is so easy to come by that many people are not even aware of the fact they turn to food for comfort when they are dealing with something as simple as boredom or as complex as serious financial, health, or relationship problems.
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 Vitamins A, D, E and K are referred to as fat-soluble vitamins because they are found in animal fats and plant oils. They are absorbed into the body in the small intestine along with dietary fats. People consuming very low-fat diets (less than 10% of calories from fat), individuals taking certain medications including Xenical or Alli for weight management, and those with medical conditions that limit their ability to absorb dietary fats can develop deficiencies of fat-soluble vitamins.
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 In the early 1990s, new food labeling laws were developed and implemented to help consumers make smarter food choices and manage their weight.
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 Meal replacement formulas, often referred to as diet shakes or protein drinks, have been a staple of do-it-yourself, commercial, and medical weight loss programs for nearly three decades. Over the years, their formulation has changed as research develops and food processing techniques evolve.
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 Digestion is the process that converts the foods we eat into the individual nutrients our bodies require. It involves breaking down food and nutrients into successively smaller pieces until the nutrients are in a chemical form that the body can absorb.
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