Before you go out to search for a job, you probably take stock of yourself. This means assessing your talents and abilities, your personal preferences, and your social skills. Once you've completed your personal inventory, you are ready to look for the job of your dreams.

The same sort of plan of action can help you as you begin your weight loss program. You'll need to do a little research on yourself. You'll need to write down things about your activities, goals, interests, and try to combine them into a workable diet and exercise routine.

It can be difficult--sometimes painful--to conduct such a self-evaluation. But it can be quite beneficial for your long-term health. Before beginning a weight loss program, you need to ask yourself some questions. In some cases, they may be hard questions. But they will help to ensure the success of your weight loss regimen.

The National Institutes of Health have said that obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. This means that your personal inventory has life-or-death consequences. This means that you'll need to be brutally honest with yourself. Otherwise, your health could suffer in the long run.

A number of diets take a cookie-cutter approach. As a result, you may follow them for a time, but then tire of them. That is why it is so critically important to have a personalized weight loss plan. This may mean that, once you conduct your inventory, you'll need to conduct a registered dietician to find the diet that's right for you.

In your inventory, determine how you are currently doing, as far as diet and exercise are concerned. You might consider giving yourself a grade of excellent, satisfactory, or needs improvement. Determine how many years you have been overweight and note whether you are constantly on a diet. Also, make note of whether you tend to gain back weight once you've lost it. Then, determine what your weight loss goal is. Remember that a realistic goal is to lose about two pounds a week. Finally, determine how best you can reach your goal.

You may also want to take a family history. This is important when you go to a doctor, and it's also critical when you go to see a dietician. Note whether any members of your family are overweight. Do you have a family history of heart attack? Diabetes? Cancer? Osteoporosis? What is your Body Mass Index? Is it where you would like it to be? What is your cholesterol level? Is it considered to be dangerous by your doctor? What is your blood pressure? Could it be improved? Are you under a great deal of stress? Do you generally follow good health habits? The answers to these questions can help determine your personal health risks.

You'll also want to determine how much physical activity you engage in. For instance, does your job require you to bicycle or run? Do you currently take part in at least 30 minutes of exercise several days a week? Do you engage in stretching exercises? Do you lift weights? Are you involved in sports? Do you use exercise as a means of relaxation? Do you dance in order to have a good time? Again, the answers to these questions will help to determine your current physical activity level and what you need to do in the future in order to increase your activity.

Granted, your personal inventory could leave you a bit demoralized. After all, you may not be eating the way you should. Your family might have a history of disease and obesity, and you may not be doing as much exercising as you should. The idea of the personal inventory is not to make you depressed. Rather, it's simply information that you can use as you try to plot your roadmap to weight loss success.



You might consider taking your personal inventory from time to time. That way, you can see how much progress you're making. Such progress could inspire you to set new goals for both diet and exercise. Keep in mind that you're never too old to learn something new about yourself. The key is to take that knowledge and use it for effective action.

About the author:

As a Teacher of Sport and Physical Education, Tony Robinson has a keen interest in Health and Weight Loss issues. For handy hints and tips for weight loss visit http://www.weight-loss-arena.com