Most people know that eating healthier, in smaller quantities and exercising helps you lose weight. Yet 60% of Americans are overweight. Why is that?

Here are the top four reasons I have heard people give:

1. I don’t have enough time in the day
2. I really don’t want to work at it (it’s too hard or not fun)
3. Fast food/junk food temptations are all around me
4. I am afraid of failure

These are all honest and valid reasons, but if losing weight is something you really want to do, you can overcome these objections.

Let’s first address the time issue.

So many times I hear people say “I would love to exercise but I don’t have the time”, or “I would love to eat healthier, but I don’t have time to prepare healthy meals”. Yet these same people find the time to go to events or parties or get together with friends for a movie night. This is because they planned (scheduled) the time to do the things they really want. Well, if you really want to lose weight and eat healthier, you must schedule it (put it in your calendar as it if was an appointment). If it is in your planner like any other appointment (dentist, doctor, etc) then you will have the time for it. Remember you are doing this for you. If you really want to achieve something you must make time for it!

So you don’t want to go to the trouble of trying to get healthy because it is not fun or too hard?

First of all when you want to lose weight and get healthier you need to make a decision. You must decide that this is something you really want. You must decide to do whatever it takes to get healthy and lose weight. You must do it for yourself, not to please someone else or just to look good in a party dress. Otherwise, the results won’t last. Once you make the decision to get healthy, then you can move on to the next step, but until then, you cannot move forward. Decide now. What do you really want? When you have made the decision to lose weight and get healthy, stop making excuses and just get started. Make an appointment with yourself every day and just do it!

Are you keeping from starting on your weight-loss journey because you are afraid of failing?

Well, guess what? You will fail, many times! But if you don’t even try you will never succeed. Most successful people succeed because they don’t give up. They figure out what went wrong, start again, try different things and keep going until they reach their destination. It took me a lot longer to lose my weight than the average person because of my chronic illness, my elderly parents being in and out of the hospital, the hard time my eldest child was going through in life, my neck injury, etc. These things slowed me down, and sometimes I strayed from my journey, but I did not give up. I kept going, turned to my support system (which in my case was a weight-loss support message board community), and kept trying again and again. The key here is to keep going! We are only human, it is normal to stray and it is perfectly okay to make many mistakes. What is not okay is to give up the fight. Never give up!

Last but not least, the final reason for people not losing weight is because we are surrounded by fast food and tasty temptations.

In this busy day and age, we find ourselves stopping to pick up “junk food” for many reasons. We don’t have the time to make dinner since we have to take our kids to their after school activities, do other errands or had to stay late at the office. This goes back to planning and setting appointments even to prepare and make dinner. However, there will be times when you will need to pick up some fast food to feed the family. When you do, know that there are choices. Fast food restaurants are realizing that people are trying to get healthier these days. So they are now offering more healthy choices on their menus. Instead of ordering the same greasy choices you’ve ordered in the past, stop and think before you order. Pick the healthiest things on the menu. Skip the sauces and dressing unless they offer low-fat options. Keep some healthier choices at home so that when you get home you can add the dressing or dipping sauce. Cooking fresh at home is always best (and a lot cheaper than eating out all the time), but when you are in a pinch and must eat out, make smarter choices.

Yes all these suggestions require a little thought and planning, but eventually after doing these for a while it will become second nature and you will be making better choices without thinking about it. Changing your lifestyle to make healthier choices takes time, but it will be well worth the effort you put into it. Remember that anything worth having is worth fighting for. Remember, If you really want to achieve something you must make time for it! Repeat after me: “If it is to be, it is up to me!” So, what is keeping you from losing weight?

Angie Cyr is an Independent Million Dollar Body Coach and available for free mentoring and encouragement via E-mail. Find free weight-loss tips and sign up for her free monthly newsletter at her website: www.CoachChica.com