Do you struggle with an ingrained habit of munching on high-calorie foods while you are at home? There's an easy way to break this habit - and in fact, it can be kind of fun to do it.

Many weight loss plans encourage you to remove fattening, high-calorie foods from your home so you won't be tempted to eat them. However, if you live with other people this may not be possible. Besides, removing the foods completely is not really a good way to strengthen your willpower. Being able to turn them down while they are staring you in the face is the true test of strength, right?

Many people who start a diet (change their way of eating) are doomed to failure before they even get started. Most often this is due to a "negative diet mind-set" that they develop as they prepare to change their lifestyle habits. If you think this may apply to you, take a look at the three major mistakes that a negative diet mind-set often causes:

When it comes to losing weight, you really need to be motivated to stick with a healthy eating and exercise plan long term. Not only while you are actively losing weight, but after you've reached your weight loss goals too -- after all, if you go back to your old habits, you'll quickly regain all of the weight you lost.

When you first start a weight loss plan, you're already motivated. You aren't happy with your weight and you firmly decide to do something about it. That initial burst of motivation may last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, but eventually your determination is going to weaken and you may need a little bit of help to get it back up to a helpful level.

Here are a few good ways to keep your motivation strong:

Dieting and losing weight can sometimes make you miserable, and not just because you are trying to change your eating habits. Many people fail to realize that there are often hidden purposes that their weight serves, and when they start losing weight, they suddenly realize that they feel very uncomfortable.

This discomfort is often enough to make them start sabotaging their weight loss so they can go back to their former state of feeling comfortable, even if they truly believe that they want to lose weight.

What kind of hidden purposes can your weight serve?

You've heard it before, patience is a virtue - but did you know that it can also help make your weight loss faster and easier?

Here's how:

Reduced Stress

First, by trying to hurry your weight loss, you will inevitably stress yourself out. And you know what happens when you're stressed out, right? You hinder your body's fat burning processes. The more stressed out and impatient you get, the slower your progress is going to be.

Do you worry about how you will afford a new wardrobe after you finally reach your goal weight? New clothes aren't cheap, and if you have a substantial amount of weight to lose, you will probably have to buy everything new, from underwear on up to winter coats and possibly even new shoes!

No need to feel anxious about that, however. Here is a great way to start saving for your new wardrobe while also motivating yourself to keep moving down the scale to your goal weight.

Self-nurturing is a very important activity while you are trying to lose weight, simply because many of us gravitate toward food as a way to nurture ourselves - even though excessive eating really does more harm than good in the long run.

When you stop eating all those "comfort foods" you may find yourself feeling adrift and unsure of what to do to make yourself feel better. The ideas below can help you feel more calm and balanced and reduce any stray cravings for unhealthy foods that may tempt you to ditch your diet:

When it comes to weight loss, willpower usually plays a very large role.  Without willpower, you find it all too easy to keep slipping back into old habits.  Every little temptation translates into extra calories in your mouth, and extra fat on your hips, thighs and stomach. Willpower is the inner strength that can help you move beyond old, destructive habits and begin forming healthy new habits.  But how exactly do you do this?  If you don't yet have strong willpower, you may be wondering how to develop it.

Most of us have done it at one time or another; scarfed down a big meal when we're upset, angry or depressed about something. Have you ever noticed that you don't feel so good after eating when upset? There are several reasons why it's never a good idea to eat when you are angry, sad, stressed or laboring under any kind of negative emotion:

When you think of a person who is "naturally thin," you probably imagine a person who eats whatever and however much they want, and they never gain an ounce, right? That may be true for a few rare people - but more often than not, a "naturally thin" person simply has different lifestyle habits that set them apart from people who are overweight. Just like certain habits will make you more likely to gain weight, there are other certain habits that make you more likely to lose weight (or maintain a lighter weight). Once you understand what these habits are, you can start practicing the "thin" habits and gradually become one of those "naturally thin" people. Below are 3 habits of naturally thin people that you can adopt starting today: