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"Today, Melina Jampolis, M.D., a health expert for CNN.com and a San Francisco-based physician, who hosts Fit TV&amp;amp;#8217;s Diet Doctor, shares the inspirational weight loss advice from the winners of Weight Watchers Inspiring Stories of Change Contest--6 women who as a group lost nearly 500 pounds. Here are three things that Melina wanted to share ... 1. Treat each day like a blank page and don&amp;amp;#8217;t get wrapped up in what might have happened before. &amp;quot;Theresa, a nurse who made the decision to lose weight to set an example for her teenage daughter who also struggled with weight, found that keeping a food journal was the key. Research shows that keeping a food journal can double your weight loss and I love the positive approach she has taken towards tracking her food, viewing each day as a clean slate rather than letting a few indulgent meals completely derail her.&amp;quot; 2. Stay motivated by focusing on goals outside of weight loss. &amp;quot;JoAnn, who lost 111.5 pounds using Weight Watchers Online, stayed motivated by focusing on clothing size, measurements, and fitness goals like pushups, situps, and wall sits that were checked every 6 weeks at her gym. She also made sure to share goals with friends who helped her stay on track. There are so many reasons why the scale may not cooperate from week to week including hormone levels, travel, eating a salty meal, or gaining muscle, so it is critical to have non weight loss goals to help keep you motivated.&amp;quot; 3. Only start what you believe you can finish. &amp;quot;Tamara, a teacher who lost over 122 pounds and had failed at weight loss more times than she cared to remember, promised herself that she would not start anything in terms of diet and exercise that she was not willing to continue.&amp;quot; She also made sure that her exercise program was very doable and was not something that she dreaded on a daily basis. Thanks, Melina! Gals, what weight loss motivational tips would you add? What has worked for you? P.S. Eat this, lose weight, say researchers. 4 health and fitness myths--have you fallen for these? Plus, the surprising thing that may be making you fat! More Ways to Get Glamour Visit Shopglamour.com for cute stuff starting at just $10! Enter the latest Glamour sweepstakes! Follow us on Twitter Add us to your iGoogle homepage Photo: iStock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2010/04/weight-loss-motivation-from-6>