Following a weight loss plan, to some people, is almost like manufacturing a reason to make excuses. It was always the most common subject of conversation in the office where I used to work: if the subject wasn't the red day/green day discussion, a common mantra was 'food makes me happy. I'll just have one slice of cake/chocolate. That won't really matter' and, in the next breath, 'I went shopping the other day and the only dress I could find for the office party was in a size 18. So I didn't buy it'. Excuses such as these prevent us from following a weight loss plan and, before long, dropping our newly formed diet routine and starting to 'eat normally' again, putting on even more weight and becoming despondent.

So, how do we break the circle? Nobody pretends that following a weight loss plan is an easy option and you obviously do have to apply some discipline. There is a swathe of excuses from not having time to exercise (often true in most cases in this busy world) to having too little time to prepare healthy meals (again, at face value, often a genuine excuse). But, that is what they are, no matter how valid - excuses! Excuses can be overcome with a bit of forethought and a bit of discipline.

How about being afraid of failing so you don't start a weight loss plan in the first place? That is more common than you would think. You do need discipline of thought as well as action and, changing the way you think into a more positive mindset will help to increase your self-esteem and reduce the excuses. If losing weight is important to you, then you will find ways around the problems such as not having time to exercise or eat healthy food. An odd fact of life is, if you want something doing, ask a busy person! You will find that as you get into the routine of regular exercise, you will feel more energetic and get more things done.

Understanding the reason for making weight loss excuses helps to discipline yourself. You could join one of the many support groups if you are a 'joining sort of person'. Personally, I am not but, for others, this support is very successful. There are many clinically acceptable products on the market to help you lose weight, such as Proactol™, which is a fat binder made from non-soluble and soluble fibers which harvest any fats found floating around in the stomach. This changes their molecular appearance, making them too big to be absorbed into the intestine where the digestion process begins. As a result, the fat passes straight through the body and, in tests, Proactol™ has been shown to bind up to 28% of dietary fat from the diet.

Are all weight loss plans as good as each other? You want to feel good as the weight comes off. You certainly don't want to feel washed-out while you are losing weight. Nor do you want to be taking dieting supplements that are likely to have side-effects and make you feel quite ill in some cases. When you are following a weight loss plan there is no such thing as a quick fix. You need discipline and to be patient. Fast weight loss does not work because if you are losing too much weight too quickly you are damaging your body, not just burning fat but burning muscle tissue as well. Your body - every human body - is designed to metabolize fuel from food and metabolize fuel from stored body fat. However, this happens at your body's pace, not the pace you would like, or even the speed of weight-loss your friend might be lucky enough to experience.