Lots of people start working out to lose weight. And for some people, once they start exercising, especially if they’re doing it for the first time, the pounds just melt off. But if you’re like most folks, it will take just as much diligence at the dinner table as it does at the gym. And studies have shown that it takes both exercise and healthy eating to shed pounds and make that weight loss last. (Cook quick meals at home that taste great and fight fat! Sign up for Chef’d and get all the ingredients and recipes delivered to your doorstep.) Here’s how to lose weight and keep it off when you start to work out:

  1. Do some detective work. Take some time to identify the most likely culprits for the unwanted weight. Are fried or sugary foods too tough to resist? Is it hard to avoid noshing whenever free food is within arm’s reach? Are you too tired and busy to shop and cook healthy meals? Or do emotions—like boredom, anxiety, nervousness, depression, and joy—send you straight to the fridge? For most people, a wide variety of factors lead to unwanted pounds. The answers can lead you to your best first steps. If intense emotions are driving you to eat, identify alternate routes that will offer relief without derailing your weight loss goals. You might reach out to a friend, get more sleep, or sink into the distraction of a good book or movie.
  2. Get moving. It’s difficult to lose weight by just cutting calories. Reducing calorie intake through diet and exercise is the most effective way to shed unwanted pounds and keep them off. It’s ideal to develop a regular exercise routine of three to four times a week. But also try to incorporate more activity whenever you can. Take the long way to the restroom, take the stairs rather than the elevator, park your car as far as you can from the front door. Set a timer to chime every hour so that you get up from your seat. MORE: 6 Biggest Dieting Myths Affecting Your Weight Loss
  3. Plan ahead. Everyone has their weak moments—situations where it’s tough to make healthy choices. Make a list of those occasions and settings where your diet tends to take a detour. No healthy lunch options at work? Pack your own. Devour everything in the fridge in the 10 anxious minutes after you walk in from work? Have a snack on the way home and pre-cook a dinner you can reheat right when you get there. If you go off the rails late at night, think of another activity far from the kitchen that helps you relax. Try a book, a shower, a call to a friend, a hot bath, a fun movie. 
  4. Fill up on fruits and veggies. Photo by Tamara Staples/Getty Images Compared with other foods, produce is low in calories and high in nutrients, fiber, and water, all of which will help you lose weight without being hungry. Fill half your plate at every meal with fruits and vegetables. Divide the other half between whole grains, heart-healthy fats, and lean protein—lean cuts of meat, beans, tofu, or low-fat dairy—to keep you feeling fuller for longer. MORE: A Beginner’s Guide To Running Shoes
  5. Don’t drink your calories. Stick to calorie-free beverages like water or hot tea. A 20-ounce soda can pack 240 calories and 65 grams of sugar. Even a 16-ounce hot chocolate with fat-free milk can have up to 360 calories. Add whipped cream, and you have an entire meal’s worth of calories before you’ve taken your first bite. If you love specialty drinks, choose a smaller size with fat-free or low-fat milk and skip the whipped cream and syrups.
  6. Don’t do anything drastic. Everyone wants to get thin now. But crash diets that promise to help you do that—by limiting you to a small group of foods, drastically reducing your calorie intake, or requiring you to buy certain engineered foods—won’t work. Even if you lose weight fast, you’ll likely regain the weight and then some. If you want the weight loss to last for life, you need to make changes that you can sustain for life.
  7. Set smart calorie targets. Eating three meals each day keeps your metabolism revved, keeps you burning calories, and prevents you from getting so ravenously hungry that you eventually eat everything that’s not tied down. If you restrict your meals to fewer than three per day, you’ll be more likely to go overboard as soon as anything edible is within arm’s reach. Women should aim for 300 to 500 calories a meal; men should have 400 to 600 calories per meal. When it comes to snacking, shoot for 100- to 200-calorie snack(s).
  8. Keep track. Photo by Ezra Bailey/Getty Images Studies show that people who track the calories they consume lose weight and keep it off more than those who don’t. And there’s good reason. When you have to track your calories, you see the sources of empty calories that are low on nutrients. To accurately track calories, you have to measure out portions—another practice that’s proven to aid weight loss.
  9. Do not make weight the only measure of success. Even as you get fitter, you may not see results on the scale. Keep in mind: Muscle weighs more than fat, and hydration, hormones, time of day, and other factors can all have an impact on the numbers on the scale. Don’t measure success with the scale alone. Are your pants getting looser? Do you have more energy? What about your blood pressure, cholesterol, and other markers of chronic disease: Which way are they moving?
  10. Just practice; don’t try to be perfect. Realize that it’s okay to indulge on occasion; one extra treat will not doom your dieting efforts. Everyone goes overboard from time to time. When you do, try not to wallow in guilt or anxiety about it. You can’t control the past; all you can control is the choice you can make right now. Work in enough foods that feel like rewards so that you don’t feel deprived and primed to binge on a regular basis. Remember, it takes time, effort, and practice to form new, healthy eating habits. This post is adapted from the Runner’s World Big Book of Running for Beginners and the article “10 Guarenteed Ways To Lose Weight This Week” originally ran on Fitbie.com. MORE: Training Tips for Your Best Race Ever