Losing weight is not always about dieting.

Of course there’s nothing wrong with following a specific diet on occasion, however they are best used just temporarily.

It is better to adapt a lifestyle so that eating well comes naturally to you and doesn’t require a second thought or trendy label.

Check out some ways below to keep the weight off with a few daily changes:

Control your surroundings

This is especially important advice if you are struggling with your diet.

We are influenced by businesses, people and organisations which profit from our bad habits.

If we are not paying attention, then we will do exactly what they want us to do; stay away from them, at least for now.

We will eat the popcorn in the theatre, buy several boxes of cookies from school catalogues and keep refilling our plates at the all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch.

Then there’s the Cadbury bar we grab while standing in the checkout line; the container of ice cream we bought because we saw it on a commercial and then polished off.

The average person will do these things even though they desperately want to lose weight.

Why? Because we’ve all been influenced so much that we feel deprived whenever we try to go without. If you desire to be leaner, you have to think ahead to those situations which might cause you to fail, and avoid them until you can control your behaviour no matter what you’re surrounded by.

Remember the consequences

Sometimes we lie to ourselves even when we know the drawbacks of eating a certain way because we feel satisfied or energised after.

It’s important to remember just how quickly those feelings disappear and how we are left full of regret. To stop eating a certain way, you’ve got to pause and reflect on the result.

Spend time actually thinking about it, then choose how to eat by choosing which consequences you want to avoid. If you know that eating Cheez-Its are a trigger, don’t even start.

Skip the first bite. If overeating makes you feel bloated, then change whatever normally pushes you in that direction.

The desire for more will fade if you give your meal plenty of time to digest.

In order to change your habits, recall what happens when you eat a certain way.

Remember how good you feel when you make better choices and how bad you feel when you make the wrong ones.

Find incentives

Think of things that go beyond looks. Even if a better looking body is what you desire the most, it may not be enough of an incentive to keep you from making poor choices when you get the chance.

It’s better not to think of “health” as your incentive; it’s too much of a generalisation to make you want to change.

Regret is often my incentive. Yesterday, I ate too many homemade cookies.

One would have been fine, but I had three! Next time you eat junk food, let the deliciousness disappear from your mouth completely, then think of how short-lived the actual treat was.

Yes, there are times when delicious treats are really worth it, but the less often we have them, the more special they are when we do.

Habitually eating bad food is not worth it

You will enjoy it less, which means you might as well be eating fish and broccoli habitually, since you will have developed pretty much the same appreciation for it.

It’s impossible to be perfect all the time, however keeping some of these things in mind can help us have the success we desire.

Stay focused and B-Active For Life!

• Betty Doyling is a certified fitness trainer and figure competitor with more than a decade of experience. Check her out on Facebook: www.facebook.com/B.ActiveForLife