One of the biggest problems you will face in your weight control diet battle is that of calorie amnesia. This phenomenon is widespread and just as widely denied.

"I can't lose weight. I don't eat much, just 3 good meals and 2 glasses of wine a day - no snacks at all".

Familiar story? If you want to lose weight and keep that weight off, you can not allow yourself to believe the fibs that are oozing from your food obsessed brain. You can't keep deluding yourself if you truly want a change of size, shape and fitness.

If you are a person who "doesn't eat much" but still can't lose weight, two distinct denial channels may be operating together.

Firstly, you are not counting the 3 tiny wafer thin double chocolate and cream cookies you guzzled for morning tea or the 5 slender hot potato chips you pinched off someone else's plate at lunch or the delicate little after dinner pre-bedtime treat just to help you sleep. Remember them? They remember you and are snuffling into a comfy spot for themselves just above where your hipbone should be right this very minute.

Secondly, just how much is a "good meal"? How big is your wineglass? When I first started to seriously diet for life, I was floored by the amazingly small amount of my favourite things that made up a huge number of calories. Over time, as I've weaned my tastebuds off a daily intake of sugary, salty and fatty treats, I noticed that the food I learned to love was really quite bulky for the number of calories it contained.

If you don't measure what you consume both in type and portion, you will never succeed in a permanent weight loss venture. You have to be informed. If you use guesswork, you will rarely guess right but don't blame yourself; its just human nature. Losing weight and keeping it off is way too important for you to be fluffing about with fuzzy maths.

It takes awhile to get used to measuring the weight of your food, calculating the calories and checking out the proportions of carbs, protein, saturated (bad) and unsaturated (good) fats and essential nutrients. It is worth the effort, because without this accurate information, you are just deluding yourself.

There may be another reason that you are frustrated with your current weight.

It could be that you eat well and in moderate proportions, but are still inexplicably overweight.

If you are fat and fit and not overeating it is entirely probable that back in the mists of time you had a temporary but extensive binge coupled with a big pause in your regular exercise regime. This overindulgence over a significant period may have been due to an extended holiday, a pregnancy, a sickness or other significant change in your life.

If this is the case, you are in a good position to lose weight and keep it off, because you are currently eating properly and doing enough exercise to maintain your current weight.

All you need to do is to cut your calories back a bit and exercise a little more each day and you can kickstart a drop in weight. You are the type of person that could benefit from a fast weight loss diet or a low carb diet, knowing that it will be for the short to medium term and then you can return to your normal habits without regaining fat.

Mind you, the above situation is fairly rare; if you are overweight and "cannot" lose it, you are most likely to be suffering from calorie amnesia.

If you do suffer from calorie amnesia (and let's face it - who doesn't?) you are in dire need of a basic food and exercise diary to keep you honest. While you're at it, invest a small amount of cash in an easy reference calorie counter book. Have a look at my website if you'd like a few tips on some low priced options that will do the job admirably.

You'll be amazed at how much more disciplined you can be with your weight control diet and exercise program when you record your daily calorie intake and output.

If you are really serious about losing weight and gaining lifetime fitness, you must never forget to remember what you eat.