Step 5: Figure out your weight management plan.

Now that you're actually committed to losing weight and you're ready to take the plunge, how are you doing to do it?

We're going to go back to the honesty issue again. Have you been honest with yourself and accepted that weight loss is a marathon and not a sprint? It doesn't happen overnight.

What do you expect out of your weight loss plan? Are your expectations realistic?

What are you willing to put into it?

How are you going to handle set-backs?

Is your weight-management plan livable? So, you've got a plan for losing weight. Great. What's your plan for making sure it doesn't come back?

This article does a good job analyzing different "diets" that are available.

I'd tried "counting calories" before, but it was REALLY hard for me. It seemed like I got barely anything to eat at all.

I'd tried atkins once. I lasted one day. I was freaking STARVING. I'd eaten food, I wasn't starving myself, but I didn't feel full. At all. I was ravenous.

Also, I don't believe in "fad diets." If the name "Fad" is in the title, that should be a pretty good warning sign. I don't believe in miracles or quick fixes. I believe in good 'ole work. (That being said, I've gotten on the scale and exclaimed "it's a miracle!" Because WW hasn't been work for me at all. It's easy." Quite frankly, the principle behind HCG scares me. I also just don't believe in diets. Once you're off the diet, the weight comes back. I needed something that was livable.

I chose Weight Watchers because I'd done it twice before. I was 13 and 16 years old. I was successful both times. But obviously, I'd put the weight back on. and I know exactly why that happened. My mother controlled my food when I was on WW before. My mother controlled my weight loss. Yes, again, it was me putting the food in my mouth, and I could have chosen other items when I was out of the house, but I didn't learn ANYTHING about healthy eating when I was on WW in the past.

I do WW online because I spend 40 hours a week staring at the computer, bored out of my mind. I work 80 hours a week, I so do not have time to go to meetings. I'm of the "internet generation," and I've had no troubles finding all the info and tips I need online. I love weight watchers because I have learned so much about the impact of what I eat. Is a piece of pizza really worth it? Um, yes, but not to the extreme that I used to take it. Can I eat a cookie? Yes. and I do. But one cookie instead of 4.