If you are one of the millions of people today who need to lose weight, you might have asked yourself some of these questions:

• What is the quickest way to lose these pounds?
• Can I lose the weight without having to workout every day?
• Do I have enough time to exercise?
• Will the weight come back after awhile?
• Will I ever be able to look like I used to?

Don't depend on media advertising to answer your questions.

If exercise is considered an option for weight loss we usually want to get it done as quickly as possible. This is boring stuff to most overweight people. Regular exercise! That's why we put on the weight in the first place. We have always found it easier to neglect exercise. It is a chore!

Well, so is weight loss. But...

The ads on TV say we can... fast!

All the ads on TV, radio, and in newsprint usually say we can lose weight fast by whatever program they are advocating. Weight loss program merchants will never say their service/product takes time to produce results. It wouldn't sell.

Each one is an illusive shortcut to weight loss.

The sad thing is that these ads always work to get us to buy in, but many of us find ourselves having to keep trying on the message of one ad to the next, and they all don't fit.

It took time to gain weight

It will take some time to undo the damage, but it can be done with permanently rewarding results.

Most of us trying to lose weight never even noticed we were getting fat until one day when we discovered that we couldn't fit into our clothes. At first it was barely noticeable. Then the mirror started telling us what we always find hard to believe - "you are getting fat."

Many of us can't even recall when that actually happened. It happened slowly. It happened largely due to the way we live our lives. Much of our weight problem today is because of our lifestyle. Our fast-pace inactivity.

What if some fad diet causes us to lose 10 pounds in as many days? Fine. Now here are some questions to consider.

1. Are you going to continue with that diet for the rest of your life in order to keep the weight off?
2. How does that weight loss method affect my health? Are there any side effects?
3. Would I have eliminated the cause of my weight problem, or am I just on a fat-slim cycle?
4. Have I done anything to the habits that led to the condition in the first place?

Sadly, most of us tend to attribute our weight and size to our genetic inheritance instead of our behavior. We can control the latter but we cannot do anything about our genetic makeup. So forget what ever "fat trait" our parents gave us. We are in charge of our habits.

With that attitude, we can avoid taking the futile shortcuts to weight loss and permanently re-program our lifestyle to a healthy way of being. This is not short, it takes time. But it sure does give good results for a long time.

Bentley Thompson

Bentley Thompson works with an Atlanta-based engineering consulting firm as the director of Ground Penetrating Radar services. He is very passionate about health and healthy living.

In his spare time he reads health books and periodicals. His hobbies include computer networking, the Internet, and music.

For years he spent several hours per day at the computer but has recently developed diabetes. Now he manages his illness with daily exercise and diet. He shares his "come-back" experience on one of his his websites.