If you’re like millions of Americans, you not only made resolutions for a better 2009, you pledged to lose weight before the year comes to an end. If so, good for you!

As many have come to find out, however, keeping that resolution isn’t always so easy. Here are a few tips that will help you stick to the resolution and have you in shape by the time your neighborhood pools open this spring!

Set Attainable Goals

It certainly won’t do anything for your confidence if you are aiming for unreachable goals, because you will inevitably fail and quit trying. The easiest solution? Set ambitious goals that you know are possible. Sure, it would be great to shed 40 pounds by mid-February, but results like that are extremely rare and, if not carefully monitored by a physician, can be dangerous.

Set Benchmarks

Since the biggest goal in your weight loss is often months away, figure out ways to measure your success as you go. It’s easy to lose motivation when the results are so far away, because the goal seems abstract. It is much easier, however, to challenge yourself to a certain number of exercise sessions each week, or see how many days each week you can stick to a low-calorie diet. Another great way is to set goals for weight loss every couple weeks or by month. Breaking the bigger goal into smaller ones helps you actualize the efforts you must take each day and you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment each time you meet them, further reinforcing your positive behavior.

Reward Yourself

Find non-food rewards to indulge in, and don’t allow yourself to stray from them only once you’ve met a benchmark goal. Some examples may be a shopping trip, new book, or massage only when you’ve exercised 5 times in the week.

Tell Everyone You Know

Telling friends and family about your goals creates a sense of accountability that will help motivate you to accomplish it. It’s much harder to fail several people’s expectations than just your own, and you may even get an extended support network to help you out along the way.

You’ve probably heard a lot about Hoodia, one of the active ingredients in Amfedrine™, but what is Hoodia?

In nature, it is a spiny plant that looks and acts a lot like a little cactus. It grows mainly in desert climates and can reach about three feet tall.

Recent studies show, however, that this otherwise unremarkable plant has some incredibly dramatic effects on the human appetite. It should come as no surprise since African natives have been using it for thousands of years, but western medicine just recently learned of Hoodia and its power to suppress appetites.

But while Hoodia is found all over the world, there is only one type of Hoodia plant, called Hoodia Gordonii, that actually works with the brain to tell it to stop eating. This species of Hoodia is only found in the deserts of Southwest Africa, in the countries of Namibia and South Africa.

While other diet pills and weight loss supplements claim to contain Hoodia, most are using different species of the plant, found outside Africa in places like Mexico or China, or are just making false claims about their product. Amfedrine is proud to have certified Hoodia Gordonii from Southwest Africa.

Amfedrine does not contain any stem, flowers, or any other part of the Hoodia Gordonii plant that does not contain the active ingredient that suppresses the appetite. When you take Amfedrine, you can rest assured knowing that you are getting the full benefit of this amazing new discovery.

As you probably already know, aerobic, or “cardio” workouts are an essential tool for any weight loss program. Recent studies, however, indicate that incorporating anaerobic workouts, like lifting weights, can help you reach your weight loss goals as well.

Every muscle in the human body requires energy to move, and when you work out, you lose weight by using more energy to move more muscles. Weight training helps burn more calories by building muscle mass, so the tissue being exercised by lifting weights becomes bigger and stronger.

Larger muscles require more energy to move. Therefore, when you workout with increased muscle mass, you are actually burning more calories during your workout than you would with smaller muscles.

Incorporate weight training into your cardio workout by carrying a set of dumbbells, or use a “circuit training” method that alternates aerobic and anaerobic exercises for the maximum fat-burning effect. An example of a circuit training workout might include five-minute sprints between pushups, abdominal crunches, and weight lifting exercises.

By maximizing your workout, you can spend less time achieving the body you want. An additional bonus of weight training for weight loss is that your everyday movements like going to work, preparing dinner, and the rest will also be burning more calories per hour as your increased muscle mass requires a few extra calories as well. So be sure to incorporate weight training as a part of your workout plan to achieve weight loss results a little faster.