This is the first post in a series of posts for all of you out there that have fallen off the wagon of losing weight as a New Year’s resolution. No, you can’t forget about it and make it next year’s resolution. Nice try. Been there – done that.

If dieting were an Olympic sport, I would have won more gold medals than Michael Phelps.

I lost weight using every diet fad or weight loss program I signed up for. I also gained back every pound and more. When people ask me how much weight I’ve lost, I’ll tell them, “1,247 pounds – the same 20.”

I wasn’t alone and neither are you. Statistics show that 95% of people gain all of their weight back. The New England Journal of medicine states that most people gain one-third of their weight back in the first year and all of their weight back within three to five years.

These odds are pretty daunting, that only 5% of people lose their weight and keep it off. But losing weight and keeping it off is tricky. It’s not just about calories in and calories out. Diets do work in slimming down. I’m living proof of that. I was an extremely successful dieter.

It wasn’t until I changed my thinking that I was able to graduate from a loser to a winner. It wasn’t until I understood why I used food and why I ate too much, that I was able to change my behavior to get the ultimate results I always wanted and end my struggle with weight forever.  To find out the ten steps that worked for me, check out my book, The Freedom to Eat.