Losing weight can only come from a change in your eating habits. You will find in your meals all the protein, complex carbohydrates, fatty acids, fibers, minerals, and vitamins that you need to be and feel healthy.

Choosing lean cuts of meat and poultry as well as using healthy cooking methods for fish is a good source of iron and proteins without consuming a high quantity of saturated fats.

A large variety of vegetables will provide fiber and vitamins with a low amount of calories and a small portion of starch (source of complex carbohydrates) at each meal will provide an important source of energy, which suppresses hunger.

Dairy is the main source of calcium, which is important to fight osteoporosis, and should be consumed low fat or fat free.

It is important to focus on what is good for you without losing the pleasure of eating. A very strict diet, which will be difficult to follow and will make you feel hungry and frustrated, is not recommended. It can lead you to give up and go back to your old eating habits. In addition, fast weight loss involves the loss of water and muscle. Muscles are very important to have nice body shape, tone, and a higher base metabolic rate (calories burnt at rest). Exercising on a regular basis is a great way to improve your base metabolic rate and achieve a leaner figure.

The goal of a successful program is to help you loose pounds and stabilize your weight instead of gaining all the pounds back as soon as you stop paying attention to what you eat. Once you reach your healthy weight, it's time for a stabilization phase, where you keep eating healthy and well balanced but will reintroduce in your diet a little more vegetable oil for cooking, a desert once a week, a little bit more starch.

Keeping your mind busy by exercising, reading, and taking advantage of your free time with new activities will help you forget that you are dieting. Having your new healthy habits become part of your way of life in a very natural way is the key to your success.