Weight Loss Boss is a book  by David Kirchhoff, President and CEO of Weight Watchers, It is about  the struggle of losing weight and maintaining it by the head of one of the most successful weight loss brands in the world.

Kirchhoff’s advice and tips are realistic and practical for everyone, and his rules pave the way for a sustainable, healthy lifestyle.

Here are 5 steps he talks about that you can use to set yourself up for your own success:

1. Willpower is overrated

When you rely on willpower alone you set yourself up to fail. Routine and habits will win out over willpower and this is why diets don’t work. They rely on short-term changes that no one can keep up!  I talk about this all of the time in my blog.  You have to prepare yourself.  At least once a week, you have to go shopping and buy all you need for the week to stay on track.  You need to have some ideas about the foods you need.  Most of it is protein choices, fruits and vegetables.  You also have to know what days and times you can exercise.  If you plan your everyday routine around exercise, nutritional meals, and reaching realistic goals, you set yourself up for success.

2. Create Good Habits

A good habit doesn’t require willpower or discipline. By definition, a habit comes automaticly and you don’t have to think about it. With a bad habit, you probably don’t think about it until you suffer the repercussions. Kirchhoff outlines the Formula for Behavioral Change created by B.J Fogg, a professor at Stanford. If there’s a habit you’re trying to shed, you need to be motivated to lose it. You need a reward (not food!) to make it worthwhile; you need the steps to get rid of it in the simplest way possible.. Finally, you need a new habit starter trigger. This can be anything from a personal trainer, exercise buddy, or  friend–who will remind you, or use your Google calendar or IPhone alarm clock to remind you and get you going.  It takes 4-6 weeks to internalize that trigger mechanism and establish a habit, and now is the best time to start!  So start and keep it going until it sticks.  Wallah-a new habit!

3. Managing your Environment

Kirchhoff says, “Out of sight, out of mouth” and don’t bring it in to your house or your office. Make the better alternatives for yourself easily accessible, and learn to predict what David calls “hot states” and “cold states.” Hot states are when you’re tossed into a situation where temptation is all around you, like a buffet at a busy conference that is filled with foods out of your normal routine that will kill your calorie budget and make you feel horrible afterwards. The best way to deal with these situations is with a plan when you are in a cold state, before temptations present themselves. Most of the time you can predict your “hot states” – our brains can get us in trouble with cravings, but they can also help us behave. The longer you’ve been practicing your routine, the less you’ll be prone to give in to a hot state situation.  I actually HATE buffets.  They are triggers for gluttony.

4. Build a Support Network

We tend to think that we’re the only ones who are having a hard time, and everyone else eats well and exercises without any effort. Wrong! Opening up about your experience helps to hold you accountable for your actions. Before writing Weight Loss Boss, Kirchhoff started a blog called “Man Meets Scale” to share his struggles and triumphs with weight maintenance. He found that men and women opened up, and found encouragement to keep going and keep sharing. The more people who know about your goals and struggles, the more people are able to help and support you in your journey.  This is why I discussed my weight loss work and accomplishments on my Facebook and started a blog.  Some people NEED to go to meetings.  I started to enjoy going to Lindora for weigh ins and their positive encouragement.  I love the encouragement I get from my online support too.  And I have a couple of friends who work out with me or discuss working out with me and it is very motivating for all of us.  I also LOVE going to my yoga and Pilates classes because I have bonded with people there and we are all in it together!

5. It’s about Food & Exercise

It’s one thing to lose the weight, but how do you keep it off for the rest of your life? He talks a lot about maintenance: I am in the middle of that right now. THe key to maintaining weight loss is  continuously setting new goals and being accountable are the keys to maintaining weight loss. It’s a sobering truth that if you struggle with weight, you will always struggle with weight, but that doesn’t mean you’re doomed to live a life without enjoying food!   This is why I constantly look up new recipes, do them and write about them.  The best thing you can do for your relationship with food is to love food that loves you back. Stay away from the “bad girlfriends of food,” as Kirchhoff  calls them. They’re the ones that give you a quick thrill and make you feel like crap afterwards, leave you wanting more and are TERRIBLE for you in the long run. “Settle down” with great food, and you’ll be in a happy and satisfying commitment for life.  Make great food taste good and have fun with it.  Experiment.  I am learning to cook this year for the first time in my life and it is kind of fun and not as bad as I thought it would be.

All proceeds of “Weight Loss Boss” the book go to benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign, a nonprofit dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America. You can check out “Weight Loss Boss” on Amazon and where books are sold. For more information visit www.ManMeetsScale.com