I spent some down time with friends in Hawaii a week ago, and the issue of weight and health put in an appearance. We all, we would consider, are pretty healthy people in terms of being about the right weight for our height and age, we get a reasonable amount of exercise, none of us smoke and the maximum any of us drink is two or three glasses of wine on any one day.

I have to say, of the four of us, I don't think any could say that we always had such healthy habits. Habits tend to alter as the years go by. One friend had lost a considerable amount of weight over a period of a couple of years and is still very aware of keeping his fat content to a fairly low level. Two of us are more aware of keeping our carbohydrate intake at a "managed" level. All of us seek to ensure that we get a reasonable amount of exercise.

A discussion was triggered about what had instigated these habit changes. Those who did not drink alcohol at all had come to a realization that they had at one point drank too much, and felt that it was out of hand. It was easier for them to stop completely than to just drink in moderation. I myself limit what I drink because I quite simply don't feel good if I overstep the mark - my heart beats faster, adrenalin courses through my body and I cannot sleep; it's easy to cut back when you know that's what could happen!

In terms of eating habits, the "fat counter" had started off by counting calories and successfully lost weight, and so simply kept on doing what had proved to be successful. It was the same with the "carb counters".

What about exercise? One of us liked cardio work and yoga, one runs and lifts weights, one likes to use a recumbent bike and work with weights, and as for me, I play golf. We are all different. Different things work for different people. There is no one recipe for success which works for everyone. What is sauce for the goose might not be sauce for the gander!

The common thread for us all was that we at some point made a firm decision to change. We wanted to be healthy, to feel well and to look our best. And we wanted this enough to do something about our habits.

Diets work when you want them to work enough. You will end up following the "diet" (or I would prefer to call it "eating style") which suits your own lifestyle and preferences best. You will also end up doing the exercise which you like and which fits into your lifestyle and makes economic sense to you. The "how you go about it" is far less important than the making of the decision.

Your motivation comes from within. The real reason why the friends I was with began to change their habits was because they had met later in life and had made a joint decision to do everything they could to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible. They wanted to do their best to ensure they had as many good quality years as possible together.

This is what made the effort "worth it". It was also what made them feel that these habit changes were easy and pretty much effortless. The moral of the story is that we do what we want to do, and that we find it easy to do the things which we want to do.

The key to easy weight loss, stopping alcohol abuse or exercise motivation is to get your mind around the issue. If you are having trouble translating what you think you should do into wanting to do whatever it is, then hypnosis can be a very great help.

Hypnosis is a state of relaxation which allows you to access your subconscious mind. With hypnosis you can change habits more easily, and open your mind to wider opportunities and make habit change a whole lot easier.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in weight loss hypnosis downloads for health, well-being and happiness.