Our clients tell us that no matter how many times they hear weight loss tips, they can never be told them too many times. Here’s a few tried and true weight loss pointers.

Be honest with yourself when you set your goals. Make sure your goals are realistic, measurable and achievable. This means that you should set milestones along the way that will keep you motivated so that you can be rewarded for your progress. For example, a measurable and achievable goal is to lose one pound a week. You can weigh yourself at the end of the week to see if you met your goal and you can be motivated on a regular basis by seeing the results.

Share goals with friends and family. Having people you care about supporting you in your efforts will help you accomplish your weight loss and healthy eating goals. It will also hold you accountable – who wants to tell their mom, husband, wife, or best friend that you are giving up on your goals?

Make small changes. If you try to change too much too soon you can get discouraged, so start by making one small change a week. For instance, a change may be that you will choose fruit for dessert rather than ice cream. Or a change may be that you’ll start replacing full fat dairy products with reduced-fat ones.

Keep a food journal. This can be especially helpful in the beginning and it helps to hold you accountable. Plus, it helps you to find patterns in your eating that can reveal to you why you eat when you’re not hungry or why you overeat. Research shows that people who write down what they eat lose twice as much weight! So get writing—woohoo!

Eat consciously. Why are you eating? Is it because you are hungry? Or are you just bored or sad? If you’re not hungry, find something else to do besides eat.