Sick of bad advice and broken promises when it comes to weight loss? Then tune out the diet gurus and infomercials and listen to the real experts on losing weight:  women who have shed pounds and kept them off for at least a year. Together the 36 women on these pages have literally lost a ton of weight – 2,029 pounds (920kg).  They did it using a range of strategies, such as joining Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, following low-fat diets or The Zone, or hiring a dietitian. And every single one got some form of regular exercise. So whether you want to drop those last 10 pounds or 100 or more, use their advice to slim down—and keep weight off for good.

Make Exercise a Must

Changing your diet is one part of the weight loss equation. The other? Regular exercise.  It was the one common denominator in all 36 women’s success stories. Here’s what worked for them:

Get out and move. I always convinced myself I didn’t have time to exercise. I dieted and I’d lose weight but it didn’t stay off until I started walking three times a week.
Lisa Hodgson, 32, lost 37 lbs 

Be consistent. Choose an exercise that you can incorporate into your life every day so it becomes routine. I run and lift weights. When you’re consistent, you’ll be rewarded for your discipline with weight loss.
Tonie Mori, 49, lost 17 lbs

Get a dog. I hadn’t really exercised a lot before but I got a dog three years ago and now I take him for a walk for 45 minutes to an hour every night after dinner. It has really helped me because the dog wants to go even if the weather is bad so I don’t have an excuse.
Nancy Gibbons, 49, lost 25 lbs

Lift weights. I would go to the gym and only do cardio. I’d spend an hour on the treadmill or the bike and it never made any difference. Lifting weights gave me tone and all of a sudden I had a better shape, clothes fit better, and I lost weight.
Nicole Jolly, 33, lost 13 lbs

Wear a pedometer to be aware of your activity. They say you need 10,000 steps a day. I walk 18,000 to 25,000. I work on the third floor of a brownstone building so I can do 8,000 steps before 9:30 in the morning.
Lisa Greenburg, 41, lost 80 lbs

Mix it up. I run and walk but I throw in other activities too, like canoeing, yoga, and hockey. If you keep mixing up your workouts, you won’t get bored.
Sandi Cooney, 40, lost 30 lbs

Hire a personal trainer. I set up appointments for every Wednesday and Sunday. When you have set appointments, you’re more committed and you don’t want to break them. That helps a lot. You don’t want to disappoint your trainer and you feel bad if you have to cancel.
Vicki McNeil, 47, lost 103 lbs

Stay active on the road. When I’m on vacation or traveling for work, I always maintain my activity. I pack my running shoes and walk on the treadmill in the exercise room at the hotel. And if I know they don’t have fitness facilities, I bring my own Pilates DVDs and play them on my laptop in my hotel room.
Janet Walker, 30, lost 50 lbs