With obesity rates continuously climbing the charts, and more people leaning towards being overweight, it's no surprise that weight-loss clinics and other similar service providers are popping up left and right. Even on the Internet you'll find a lot of weight-loss how-to's and diet plans that will help you lose weight.

Sure they work. There's no doubt about that. However, a lot of people tend to have their weight loss go up and down like a yo-yo. It's difficult to say that you're successful in your goals of losing weight if you can't keep the weight off, now, can you?

The trick to successful weight loss is to find one that helps you keep it off for a long time, if not permanently. To help you get started on shedding those excess pounds and keeping them off, here are some tips:

• See a doctor. Nobody else is best equipped to tell you how to go about losing weight safely and effectively but your doctor. They'll be able to give you helpful advise what to do and how to go about with your weight-loss goal.
• Do it with your health in mind, not just to get thin. Thin isn't necessarily healthy. You may be able to trim your waistline down a couple of inches, but still be unhealthy because of your poor planned weight-loss program.
• Commit yourself to the cause. Without commitment, you're bound to lay low on your weight-loss goals every so often. You may lose five pounds while you're in the program, but gain seven pounds after you slack off. If you're going to do this, see it through to the end. There's no use dieting and exercising for a few months if you're going to be pigging out and slacking off on the next few.
• Incorporate exercise with your daily routine. You can either choose to set aside 30 minutes every day just for exercising, or look for ways that you can have physical activities at work, school, or even at home. A good example for this would be walking to work, doing some gardening, cleaning the house, etc.
• Eat healthy. Avoid foods that are filled with artificial stuff. As much as possible, go with healthy, natural food items that are both delicious and nutritious. Take note that some food can even help in speeding up your metabolism to better burn those calories.

These tips may work for you or it may not. Again, the key to making you keep your excess weight off for the long haul is commitment and dedication. If you're truly focused on losing weight and becoming healthy, no amount of influence can sway you to veer away from your goals.