Everyone wants to look better, feel healthier and live longer. For people who have excess pounds in their midsection, this becomes a mission that can often be difficult, if not downright impossible, to carry out. However, it doesn't mean that it can't be done and the results of a successfully-carried out fat loss program are so life-changing that many resolve never to go back to their old ways. The first step, however, is the hardest to take. The reason why many fail to lose the weight is that they are so afraid or so lazy to take that first step that it becomes impossible to proceed with the next steps.

To jumpstart your way to weight loss, setting goals should come first. They should be achievable, measurable and realistic. Since what you aim to accomplish vary from individual to individual, only you can set your own specific goals. But here's a general idea of what you should be striving for:

1. Strive to lose a number of pounds in a certain time period.

When you seek to lose those extra fats, make sure that they're doable and within healthy limits. Generally, a healthy goal to strive for is a pound a week. This is what your body can afford to lose without sacrificing your energy. Take note that you have to take into consideration your age, build and gender. There are many online tools that help you determine the ideal bodyweight to aim for. Remember that you're not going for thinness but fitness.

2. Seek to eat healthier food a meal at a time.

Resolving to change your eating habits can be the most challenging part of any fat loss program. That is why you need to do it gradually, one meal at a time. For example, if you normally eat two eggs, 5 bacon strips and 3 pieces of butter-and-syrup slathered pancake for breakfast, then maybe you can start by taking out one bacon strip and the butter from the pancake. Try to reduce a piece every breakfast and replace it with a healthier alternative such as a piece of banana or apple. Continue with the process until you're left with a fruit or two, wheat bread, one egg and a piece of pancake. Do the same for your other meals. Strive to replace your packaged and processed foodstuffs with natural fruits, vegetable, whole grains and lean meats.

3. For your exercise goal, just focus on moving.

It can be difficult for a former couch potato to start exercising. So if all you need to get started is to take five steps from your front door to the garden, then by all means consider that a success. Baby steps are better than nothing, and this is even more true with exercise. If you plan to undertake a walking regimen, start with a 10-minute walk for your first week, increase it for five minutes the next and so on until you can do a full thirty minute walk. If you'd rather count your steps, then even if your pedometer registers that you have only accomplished 100 steps, don't despair. Simply increase it to a manageable number of steps a day until you'll reach the recommended 10,000 steps. Don't bother yourself so much with getting there fast. Just be on the road to getting there and you eventually will.