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eight loss is always a hot topic. Forget the word diet. Start thinking about making a commitment to healthy living, which includes eating a variety of foods and participating every day in physical activities that you enjoy. Remember that a healthy body comes in many shapes and sizes and there are many factors that make it easy or difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

Patsy is a 29-year-old switchboard operator in Edmonton, Alberta. Over the past 13 months, she has been on a journey toward a healthier lifestyle. As she shares her story, our Healthy Eating and Active Living experts provide practical tips for healthy living.

I started to gain weight in the later elementary years. I don't know what happened. I wasn't obese, but I became chunky. I had a couple of bad experiences in elementary school-people teasing me, but nothing too horrible. In junior high when I started to have my growth spurts, I lost a lot of the weight. I think I just stretched out. During high school, I was much the same size, pretty thin, and fairly active too.

			Environmental factors
			Technology encourages us to move less. Just think about it- the phone, the remote control, the elevator, the escalator, and the car?plus all the e-mails that you send to your colleagues instead of just walking over to see them. You tell yourself that you're saving time, but you are also less active. The wide choice and availability of food causes us to eat more. It seems as if companies launch new products on the market every week, while fast-food outlets open on every street corner. Marketing campaigns are very enticing, and the portions are getting bigger. Consider the large 500-mL soft drink and a large order of fries that you can get for just a few pennies more? When we are stressed and in a hurry (as we often are today), we often grab what is quick and available - which are often less nutritious, higher calorie snacks and fast food.

After high school, I don't know whether it was just my activity that wavered, but I gradually seemed to gain weight. I couldn't even tell how much weight, but slowly, each year, I gained. All of a sudden, I was 22 and I was fairly big.

At 22, after a romance breakup, I did a whole lifestyle change. I went back to school and got back into going to the gym, and eating well. I lost quite a bit. And then again, I fell out of my workout routine, started dating Roger, and with our opposite schedules, it was hard. A lot of times, I would forego the gym to go out with him. Slowly over time, the weight kind of just crept back up on me.

Patsy now weighed about 104 Kg (230 pounds). She had reached a point where her weight was above a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI). Her weight gain had begun to affect her health. It had also affected her self-esteem.

If you want to lose weight, begin with realistic goals Life happens. If you fall out of your routine, don't worry. Get back into your routine as soon as you can.

I just wasn't happy with myself. I would sit there and say, "I'm fat." I hated shopping, because nothing fit. I was going to the gym, 'cause I've always liked going to the gym, but I just wasn't seeing the results I wanted to see. I knew I had to do something, different. I wanted to change.

The wedding was an incentive for me. I wanted to look and feel the best I could. I had to do it for myself. I didn't even know if I would make my goal weight by my wedding, I was hoping I would, but I wasn't being unrealistic, I thought "If I'm not there, I'm not there." The wedding was a little extra push to help keep me going.

If you want to lose weight, begin with realistic goals.

			Social Factors
			An obsession with thinness Our society places a lot of value on beauty and thinness, which we can associate, (in spite of ourselves), with success, power and love. Societal values can be huge obstacles for women and men learning to accept ourselves for who we are and not what we look like. A desire to be thin can make us change our eating habits and become more physically active. Often, however, these changes are extreme and don't last very long. When we try short-term "fixes", we don't really make any changes that will last. We revert to old habits and can fall into the yo-yo diet trap (we lose and gain weight?).

I had tried doing it on my own. I was going to the gym faithfully, and gave it about a year. I just wasn't seeing the results. It didn't matter how much I went, month after month, it was the always the same thing.

I had heard good things about this support program. I could still eat normal, everyday food. It wasn't a diet, but a lifestyle change.

You learn how to pick better foods, and how to control portions. The program also encouraged exercise even if it was just a little bit. I thought well, it doesn't hurt to try it.

• Find a quality weight loss support program.
• Be active, even if it's just a little bit.
• Think of something that you enjoy doing physically, such as walking, gardening, or playing a sport.

At first, I only told my family, and my boyfriend/fiancé. I didn't tell people at work. I wasn't embarrassed about it, I just thought I would try it before telling everyone in the whole world and then deciding that it wasn't for me.

It was also a personal thing. I thought, "I'm doing this for myself, so I don't need to tell everybody." As I went along, people began to notice.

			Factors involved in maintaining a healthy weight
			Healthy eating and physical activity are two important factors to help you to maintain and/or lose weight. These factors are easier to change when you have the resources to do it like money, support and time. Other factors that can affect your weight loss experience are: your age, your sex, your genetics, your culture, where you live, what you do for living, and childcare and household responsibilities.

My immediate family and my boyfriend were really supportive. I would even hear Roger talking on the phone and he'd say, "I know her and she's going to do it. It may just be a matter of time, but she's committed." It was very nice to hear that he believed in me. He knew I would accomplish my goal.

With such a long process, it was nice when people still remembered to say, "Oh, you went to your meeting yesterday. How did it go?" If I was frustrated because I had gained a pound, they would say, "O.K., but how much weight have you lost altogether? Look how far you've come."

In the past, I wouldn't think in terms of a permanent change. It would be more like going on a diet to lose weight and eventually going off the diet. I would lose the weight, but gradually over the years, I'd go back up again. This time, I began thinking that I had to change, permanently. I started changing things without even realizing, and gradually one day I realized that it had become a habit. I had made the change.

Throughout the whole thing I was very committed. I wanted to do this for myself and it is a step-by-step process. The wedding is now coming up, and will pass, and I'm not going to say "O.K. my wedding is now over, diet's over, and I'm going to eat whatever I want to, and not exercise anymore." No, it's a lifelong commitment.

Get into the habit of adding physical activity into your day even if it's only for a short time (10-15 minutes). Every minute makes a difference.

			How does weight gain affect health?
			Your health, to a large extent, is determined by education, income, and risk factors, such as obesity. Weight gain can lead to obesity and is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Of course, everybody wants to see 5 pounds off the scale, or more, but I tried to be realistic. I was happy when I'd lost 2 pounds in the week.

I never really thought that I was going to fail. I was still going to the gym and just found I changed my eating habits. When you first start, you really are into it and you're eating more fruits and veggies I did a lot of reading on my own on the Internet and stuff about different foods. And you go to the grocery store, and start looking at the labels. To fill me up I need a good meal so I'd have some chicken and potatoes and my veggies.

Patsy reached her goal weight in 9 months. Today, she is leading an active and healthy lifestyle.

There were lots of changes in me. Clothes kept getting bigger. I had to go out and buy new clothes.

People started noticing that I had lost weight, probably after I had lost about 20 pounds. A couple of people at work noticed that I changed my eating habits a little bit. When we had donuts in the office, I wouldn't have one. People would come up and ask me what I was doing that was different. They'd say, "Hey, good for you! Keep it up. Looking good!"

The biggest benefit to me is a better self-image. I feel better about myself. I still have days, like everybody, where I wake up and it doesn't matter what I put on, "I feel fat."

I am still the same person, but I think I am more confident in myself. I like myself better and I feel better for what I learned.

I do the grocery shopping. During the week when I'm working, I have my breakfast, and bring my lunch to work so that I know what I am eating. I have everything in my plastic container- chicken, rice and vegetables or a pork chop or a nice sandwich or salad. Everything is done the night before and ready.

Sometimes, I buy little treats, I personally enjoy the mini flavoured rice cakes, and popcorn. You have to make changes but you can still treat yourself. Once in a while I have a little piece of cake and ice cream. I don't cook separate meals for myself.

You have to remember it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change so you learn how to adjust your lifestyle.

A lot of times, it's just about going out and reading the labels. I might have some sauces sometimes, but I rarely eat cream sauces anymore. I still have mayonnaise, but I get the low fat or calorie wise. And you don't need butter and all the extras on top. You can substitute. Instead of having the sour cream on your baked potato, you can have salsa, and there are a lot of different things you can experiment and try. I eat more vegetables and fruit. I'm more conscious about Get those five vegetables a day.

• Satisfy your cravings.
• Balance your meals.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables.
• Overcome evening cravings for sweet or salty food.

You don't have to join a support program, but you have to be active in whatever way you can. I know I have to keep up with the gym. I don't have to go five days a week, but even just three days a week, just to keep active.

I'm now into the routine, even at work on my lunch break, to walk around the block. It's a nice break, you get out of the office, you're outside and you can clear your mind and spend time by yourself. And I do that regularly. Unless it is 40 below, but even then I walk inside the hospital up and down the stairs and floor to floor.

Exercise is a release. I get to go there, it's my time. I do what I want. I put on my music, and my headphones and I go! And I like it.

• Make exercise a priority, a worthy investment into your health.
• Plan physical activity into your day.

I always said to myself and even said to my family, "I don't want to do that again! I don't want to gain the weight." I don't want to go back down that road again. Hopefully, with the help of the program as well as the knowledge that I have learned, I won't.

If I come back (from my honeymoon) and I've gained that little bit of weight, that's life!
I'll just get back into my routine- going to the gym, and eating well.