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It seems ironic that losing weight is such a simple process but as a society we continue to get fatter and fatter. Let's face it, we all know the basics of what we need to do, we just don't do it! If you eat less and exercise more you're going to lose weight! The problem is how many people actually do these things? What's stopping people from doing the easiest things that they know will get them results? Why don't they simply make a conscious effort to reduce the portion sizes of their meals or get up a little earlier to go for a walk around the block? Jim Rohn (a US personal development speaker) answered these questions well when he said, 'The things that are easy to do are also easy not to do!'

The reason why people don't do these simple actions to get the results they want is because they haven't created a 'Weight-Loss Mindset'. A 'Weight-Loss Mindset' is simply having the motivation or drive to do what is necessary on a daily basis in order to get the results you want. The motivation comes from within; intrinsic motivation. Motivation is the fundamental difference between someone having a flimsy hope to lose weight and someone having a burning desire to do whatever it takes to get the excess flesh off their body! It is the difference between someone getting up in the morning to go for a walk when the alarm goes off and someone hitting the snooze button, rolling over and going back to sleep!

Many people who have achieved their weight-loss goal often comment that they experienced a 'defining moment' in their life that 'flicked the switch' in their mind; a moment that marked a shift in their mind about weight loss. It may have been a marriage breakdown, the loss of a parent, a negative doctor's check-up or even an innocent comment from one of their children like, 'Mummy, you're fat!' Any of these situations may cause an immediate shift in a person's perception of weight loss.

Unfortunately though, these are the exceptions rather than the rule. Human beings, the resilient creatures that we are, will put up with a lot before we'll do anything about it. Often we wake up in the morning after sleeping well only to feel more tired than before we went to bed but we'll put up with it. We'll look in the mirror and feel disappointed with what we see but we'll put up with it. Our joints and lower back ache all the time but we'll put up with that too. Yes, we're willing to put up a lot before we'll take any action.

Whatsmore, even if we do muster up enough motivation to do something about it, as soon as the going gets a bit tough or 'life' gets in the way, we 'drop the ball' and go back to old habits. Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, they're easy to get into and they're hard to get out of!

So how do we create a 'Weight-Loss Mindset'? Is it something you're either born or not born with or can it be created? The fact is, just like athletic ability we all have some but to varying degrees. Some athletes are born champions and, despite their lifestyle habits sometimes, they achieve massive success with little effort. These people are very rare indeed. On the other hand, there are those people who can improve their ability through hard work, dedication and perseverance, but even on their best day they may have trouble holding their place in the high school's 3rd XVIII football team! These people are also extremely rare.

Most people however, will fall somewhere between these two extremes both in athletic ability and in their ability to create a 'Weight-Loss Mindset'. The big difference though, between improvement in athletic ability and improving your 'Weight-Loss Mindset' is that with an athletic endeavour you are limited by the physical capacities of your body, whereas when you are dealing with your mind, which is intangible, your ability to improve is infinite.

Now I know most people don't have the opportunity to have a defining moment but there is another way to create intrinsic (internal) motivation.

The first step in creating a 'Weight-Loss Mindset' is to get clear about what you want to achieve. Be as specific as possible. For example, if you want to achieve a bodyweight of 60kgs, write that figure down. There is a famous saying that says: 'Begin with the end in mind.' It usually applies with business but it is also particularly appropriate when achieving physical goals.

Then set a time-frame within which you will achieve your goal. Make the time-frame realistic with your expectation to lose around 0.5 kilo per week.

Then establish strong, emotive reasons as to why you want to change. Create 10 positive and 10 negative reasons. The positive reasons are the benefits you will gain by achieving your weight-loss goal. For example, a positive reason may be, 'achieving this goal will give me more energy so I can play with my kids for longer.' The negative reasons are the consequences you will experience if you don't achieve your goal. For example, 'if I don't achieve this goal every time I look in the mirror I will feel disappointed with the shape of my body.' Base all of your reasons around your core values, the things that are most important to you. Your values may be things like, health, family, achievement or security but there are many more.

Once you have listed your positive and negative reasons, create an affirmation, which is a positive statement that reinforces your goal. It should be brief (1-2 sentences), specific, positive, written in the present tense, personal and should contain 'action' or 'feeling' words. It may be something like: 'I weigh 60 kilograms and I look and feel fantastic. My size 12 jeans are falling off me!'

The final step is to create a habit of reading your reasons and your affirmation twice a day; once in the morning as soon as you get up and once before going to bed at night. It may be best to keep your list of reasons and your affirmation on your bed-side table. Think about each reason as you read it and take a minute to visualise a situation where it may be appropriate. As you read them try to create as much emotion as possible. The more emotion you create, the more you will build a 'Weight-Loss Mindset'.

Once you have done all the goal-setting stuff the next step is to create a workable plan. Examine your current lifestyle and determine where improvements can be made. Then consider all the principles that will help you achieve the results you want and then decide what principles suit you and which ones you will incorporate into your lifestyle. Remember of course that any principles you decide to use have to be sustainable. If you can't see yourself doing these things for the rest of your life then you're going to find it tough to stick to them long term and therefore the results you achieve will be short term as well.

Before you put your plan into action, there are a couple of things you can do which will 'add fuel to the fire' so to speak and make your 'Weight-Loss Mindset' a burning desire. The first thing to do is to take 'before' photos. These photos get the 'wheels in motion' because with 'before' photos come 'after' photos. So now, you need to start doing activities that will get you the results you want in order to have impressive 'after' photos.

Next, weigh yourself, take some girth measurements from around various body sites and get your skinfold measurements done. These may be performed at most gyms or rec centres for a nominal fee (make sure the same person performs the measurements throughout). The measurements provide you with an objective starting point of where you are physically and as you progress along the path towards your goal, you will be able to objectively monitor how you change over time. This is very motivating.

Photos and measurements don't lie. There's no way around it. If you do the wrong things, they will show up in your results. However, if you perform the necessary daily actions to help you progress towards your physical goal, these will also show up in your results.

Once you have completed all of these tasks, you will be ready to go! Nothing is more powerful than having your goal well-planned. I guarantee that if you are committed to do each of these steps fully, you will be rewarded by achieving and even exceeding your physical goals as well as gaining all the benefits associated with improved body functioning and physical health. Go for it!