If you’re like most women trying to lose weight, you probably think you must restrict calories, exercise till you drop, deprive yourself of the food you love, and cut off all social contact. Believe me, you are not alone.

The law of attraction says, whatever we think about we draw to us. It’s a concept as old as time, and as a holistic nutrition coach I believe it’s an important principle to consider if you want to lose weight.

Here’s tip #1. Instead of focusing on what you can’t have, turn your attention to imagining how great you’ll look and feel when you eat food that’s really good for you (and tastes good too)!

You’ll likely be most successful when you take your weight loss journey in small steps. If you need to lose 30 or 40 pounds, spread that weight loss over at least one year. Weight accumulates slowly and losing it works best if you do it gradually.

Start visualizing yourself as someone who knows how to make good choices and is relaxed in her relationship with food.

It will free you of all the guilty chatter that goes on in your brain about that ice cream you ate or that you aren’t as slim as your friend. The chatter is self-defeating and it’s time to let go of it if you want to be successful in losing weight.

Here are some other tried and true tips I share with my clients:

Make Food, Not Calories, Your Focus

The diet industry, quite unfortunately, places our focus on calories. When you want to lose weight, focus on highly nutritious food and eat enough but not too much.

An apple and one small cookie have about equal amounts of calories. The apple has 1100 nutrients in it and lots of fiber to fill you up while the cookie has sugar in it, not much else except flavorings, and one small cookie is never enough.

Stop Talking About Food

A client told me that four of her friends are on an expensive commercial diet plan they have paid for many times over.

They habitually drop 10 pounds and gain it back within two months, along with a few pounds extra. While dieting, they constantly talk about food. It may explain why they gain the weight right back when they stop the diet. They feel deprived and are left longing.

Stop Weighing Yourself Daily

It’s common for dieters to weigh themselves daily. This draws you into a laser focus on weight that can influence your having a good day or a bad day. Instead, learn those internal signals that will tell you when you’ve had enough food.

Be Inspired by Others

Listen to others’ stories on how they made lasting changes in their lives. It may be about weight loss, recovery from illness, or finding their passion and acting on it. Read results like these women describe to inspire you.

Manage Your Stress

Stress slows the metabolism, so you have energy for emergencies. Most of today’s emergencies do not require physical strength, so we really don’t want to slow our metabolism. It causes weight gain.

Learn to manage your stress in a way that works for you: meditation, walking, running, talking, or writing.

How often do you make use of these secrets? Are there others that you have found helpful in the war against weight? What is your experience with diet plans? Please share in the comments below.