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Everyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows that the really big issue is motivation - where do we find it, how do we keep it going, and what do we do when it slips!

To be successful at losing weight you must find your own motivation. More importantly, you must keep motivated, even when times get tough! Read through the tips and tricks and other resources below to help you find and maintain your motivation.

* Set your goals and work out a realistic timescale for achieving them. Commit to them 100%.

* Put it in writing! Scribble down in as much detail as possible why you need to lose weight, how much you are going to lose, when and how. The more you commit to paper the better. Carry a notebook around with you and use it to record thoughts and ideas, recipes, quotes - whatever will inspire you and keep you going.

* Tell a friend or member of the family and ask them to help you stick with your plan.

* Remember that you are losing weight and improving your health "one day at a time". You can stick at anything for one day!

* Don't dwell on the junk that you are taking out of your diet. Instead, celebrate the healthy foods that you are putting in.

* Make bullet points of your main motivational issues and write them on a stack of cards. Display the cards where you will see them regularly - on your bathroom mirror, in your purse, in your car.

* Create a "mantra" to repeat to yourself when times get hard. For example, "Every day I am improving my health, my looks and my well-being. I am getting stronger in every way."

* Consider asking for sponsorship from friends and family for a good cause. Perhaps you can raise money for starving children while you get your own eating under control?

* Start a file or scrapbook of articles, recipes and any other interesting titbits you read.

* Start another file of fashion and wardrobe ideas. Plan what you will need to buy when you shrink a size or two!

* Buy a piggybank and fill it up with a particular sum for every pound you lose. You can use it towards your new outfits!

* Find someone to share the experience with, and laugh your way through the tough times.

* Learn from other successful slimmers. Read other people's stories, join a club, find a chat room, or start your own email group.

* Motivate yourself with our collection of weight loss quotes, available free to subscribers to the weekly Losing It My Way ezine.