The quickest way to lose weight and keep it off is to do all of the following:

Create a good self-image: A person who’s been overweight for a while needs to develop a vision of herself as a healthy and vibrant person. Improving the self image is a spiritual process that can take many forms; meditation, yoga, dance, or sports may have a role. Counseling may even be necessary to correct a poor self-image that relates to relationship problems with others.

Eat a healthy diet: The Standard American Diet (SAD) produces obesity. The large portions in most restaurants produce obesity. Americans should eat moderate portions based on the Mediterranean Diet.

Eat less and slow down: We often eat for emotional reasons that haven’t been dealt with. Eating a small amount of a treat makes one feel good. Eating a great deal of the same food makes one sick and fat. Eating slowly can help the body to feel satisfied without overeating. Again, counseling can help with unresolved psychological problems.

Stop eating close to bedtime: Don’t eat for the last five hours before you lay down to sleep. Don’t drink for the last two hours. Digestion systems need down time to recover. Many of us are used to eating throughout the evening while watching TV. This is a recipe for diet disaster.

Exercise more: The energy output through exercise must always be greater than the energy that is taken in through food and drink. There’s no way to have quick and sustainable weight loss without sufficient exercise. Increasing the metabolism through exercise is critical. A doctor should approve changes in an exercise routine, especially if one is obese.

Manage stress: As the American economy is destroyed by corporations sending their work overseas, stress has become epidemic. The poor and middle class who have had their jobs evaporate are more likely to be obese than the wealthy. People who are underemployed are afraid of falling behind in their bills. People who have better jobs are afraid of losing them. There is a huge amount of change in society and people are turning to food as an escape from the fear that unmanaged change creates.

Manage underlying diseases: Hypothyroidism and other diseases can lower the metabolism and contribute to stored fat. This is another reason to talk to a medical professional about problems with weight loss.

Stop blaming genetics: There is a slim chance that there could be genetic factors that keep people from losing weight. A few people have genes that lead to extra pounds but mostly we inherit a poor self-image and the habits of overeating and under-exercising from our parents.