Weight loss is not easy. But if you’ve been working for months with no noticeable gain, there is a reason why. Find the reason, and fix it!

1. Our culture is sabotaging your efforts. Fast food on every corner. Cheap, available junk food at every turn. We live in a zero impulse control society, and eating healthy must be a conscious, active choice in such a tough environment. How to fix it: surround yourself with a different kind of culture. Find communities on LoseIt.com, Prevention.com, and Tumblr.com to immerse yourself in. Try to get those in your household to adopt healthy lifestyles as well, and find a workout buddy. A healthy lifestyle requires support, so find some!
2. You keep losing motivation. If you’re a victim of the start-and-stop yo-yo diet, you could be damaging your metabolism. So pick a goal, and achieve it for good this time by staying motivated! How to fix this: Print out your favorite Reality Checks and hang them on your wall, where you’ll see them each day. Write down your monthly fitness goals, and see if you’ve achieved them by the end of the month!
3. You keep giving in to cravings. You gave up soda last week, but this week you’re guzzling root beer. How to fix this: Each day you eat healthy, put a star on your calendar. Set a goal each month on how many gold stars you want to reach. Start low (maybe four, or five) and build up. Once you reach a certain number, reward yourself with a non-food related item, like new running shoes! Also, check out 6 tips to banish cravings.
4. You need more intense workouts. Sure, walking is good exercise. But if you’re spending three hours at the gym walking on a treadmill on no incline, you are wasting your time. 30 minute interval workouts or circuit training that is high intensity burns calories even after the initial workout, and provides a much needed metabolism boost. When you cut calories, your metabolism naturally slows down as a defense mechanism, and in order to lose weight you need to make your workouts more difficult to keep dropping pounds!