There are many elements involved in an individual’s ability, or inability, to lose excess weight [fat]. Genetics, lifestyle, stress and the rest of a busy life can undermine your best intentions. But the solution is much simpler than most people think: Exercise your body; Eat right, and; manage your energy through proper sleep and stress management and you will have the best chance of moving ahead with your journey.

Below are eight reasons you may be carrying excess weight, assuming you’re exercising several times a week. Take a look and make the adjustments needed to help make the difference you’re looking for!

5. You Think Fitness Trumps Fatness: Exercise alone won't make you thin. A recent study of military personnel who increased their exercise during a 3-year period found that they gained weight despite their extra efforts. Why? Food, most likely. They simply ate more than they burned off.
Solution: Controlling portion size is absolutely essential to weight loss. And the best way to control portion size is to limit how often you eat out. According to the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, a single restaurant meal often could feed an entire family. A pasta dish at an Italian restaurant might include eight 1-cup servings. A rib dish might have a pound of meat--more than five servings. A side of fries might include 70 of the little devils, which is seven servings. And a nut-filled cinnamon bun in a mall food court could total 1,100 calories--more than half the calorie intake on a typical weight-loss diet. This brings us to our next point...

7.You're Cocky: I've seen it many times: A guy or gal drops 10 or 20 pounds and starts thinking he's Joe or Jane fat -loss. Next thing you know, you’re back to beer and pizza…and your original fat weight.
Solution: Don't give it back. With each inch of fat you trim, sit down and reassess your diet and exercise program. If you calculated your food intake and exercise volume when you started, run a new set of numbers, based on your new weight and activity level.

I know it’s not easy to make the right choices all the time, so take some of the heat off yourself and don’t expect perfection every waking moment. But the reality is that you have choices- choices on how to spend your time, money, and effort to live a healthier life.

How often are you running out the door on your way to work, having skipped breakfast because you didn’t want to wake up a little earlier to make something to eat, only to find yourself in the drive-thru line at McDonalds… waiting for 15 minutes for a fat and sodium riddled muffin sandwich!

Lifestage Fitness was created by combining the best attributes of most contemporary fitness centers with unparallelled personal fitness services.

Joe Ranieri is a 30-year veteran of the health and fitness industry, and is owner of Joe Ranieri’s LifeStage Fitness, an individualized fitness and nutrition training facility in suburban Chicago. Joe has helped hundreds of exercise enthusiasts of all ages and ability achieve their fitness goals using his simple, realistic approach to proper nutrition and exercise. Joe can be reached for questions regarding your desire for a healthy lifestyle through his email at joe@lifestagefitness.com.

Understanding that life-changes do not occur overnight, Joe Ranieri provides a real-world approach to making regular exercise and proper nutrition second nature – an easy, sustainable way to gradually, and permanantly, help you help yourself.

• 45 Day Slimdown - Part 1
• 45 Day Slimdown - Part 2
• 45 Day Slimdown - Counting Calories
• Surviving Fad Diets - The "Lose Weight Fast" Scheme
• Get Rid of Excess Fat - Part 1
• Get Rid of Excess Fat - Part 2

• Childhood Obesity - Leading by Example
• Childhood Obesity Step 1- Portion Control
• Eliminating Childhood Obesity - Do's and Don'ts
• Eliminating Childhood Obesity - More Do's and Don'ts

• Manage Holiday Eating - Part 1
• Manage Holiday Eating - Part 2
• Manage Holiday Eating - Part 3