That’s it. The entire struggle that has plagued us for so long, is resolved in four sentences. When you eat more than you burn, you will gain weight. When you eat less than you burn, your body will break down fat stores resulting in weight loss.

It is as simple as that. There are no tricks. There are no shortcuts. Wanting to lose weight? Burn more calories than you consume.

As some of you know, I lost 25 pounds over the course of a year. I started at 137 and worked my way down (slowly, but surely with MANY plateaus along the way) to 110 pounds. The self confidence and amounts of energy I have now was worth every. Single. Rough patch I faced along the way.

The ONLY thing holding you back from losing weight is yourself. I hate to break it to you, but it’s true. I yo-yo’ed with my weight for over 4 years until I finally committed to leading a healthier lifestyle. I thought I was incapable because my metabolism wasn’t high enough. I simply ‘couldn’t’ afford the time to exercise. I had to study instead of cooking a nutritious meal. I couldn’t stick to a schedule. I had jogged for two minutes so I deserved that double cheeseburger with a large fry and Coke.

Every excuse that could possibly be thought of, I used.

And truth be told, none of them were ever true. They were an easy exit. A way out. A way for me to give up without feeling guilty. The second I truly committed to living a healthier life, the second I started losing weight.

Truth be told, you are in control of your weight. The only thing that is beyond your control is a pre genetic disposition to certain diseases. Aside from that, you control your food intake, you control your exercise level, you control how much you sleep, etc.

If you’re struggling to lose weight, the most important thing to remember is that you must burn more calories than you consume. Unfortunately, losing weight doesn’t come easy for a lot of people. Sticking with healthy habits and seeing it past the finish line are the keys to losing weight.