I resisted contact lenses for years.

I knew as soon as I started high school that I needed them, but after a childhood of watching them irritate my father’s eyes, I didn’t want anything to do with contacts. I held off as long as I could – all through high school, all through college, and after – but finally succumbed to corrected vision earlier this year.

It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. So much has changed since the contacts my father wore. They’re now healthier for your eyes, more comfortable to wear, and easier to care for than ever before.

Everybody likes hearing secrets. Everybody also likes to look and feel their best. Therefore it stands to reason that everyone likes hearing secrets about how to look and feel their best, right?

Right.

That’s why I already spilled 5 secrets to weight loss – none of which were “The secret to weight loss is that there is no secret!” – and why I’m about to spill 5 more.

A crueler writer would kick this off with a classic bait and switch: “The secret to weight loss is that there is no secret!”

But I am not a cruel writer, and the real secret to weight loss is that there are a few secrets to weight loss. The most important secret is simple…so simple, I think, that most people forget it. The #1 secret to weight loss is this: burn more calories than you consume. If you do that every day, you’ll lose weight…it’s that simple.

Doesn’t seem like much of a secret, does it? And yet hundreds and thousands – and maybe even millions – of people can’t seem to figure it out.

So let’s break it down into more digestible (pun intended) pieces…5 smaller secrets to weight loss that will make the big secret a whole lot easier.

I don’t have time.

I can’t afford it.

I love food too much.

I don’t know where to begin.

Everyone has excuses for why they’re not losing weight, but the truth is there’s only one thing standing in the way of your weight loss goals: YOU. Any excuse can be overcome. It won’t necessarily be easy, but isn’t your health worth it? Here’s how to beat some of the most common weight loss excuses:

New York Times reporter Rachel Swarns traced Michelle Obama’s ancestry in her book, American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama. Now Ancestry.com is giving her husband a turn, unearthing a surprising discovery about President Barack Obama’s family history.

If there’s one thing we’re willing to drop some dough on, it’s weight loss. Dieters can spend thousands on gym memberships, healthy eating programs, and weight loss surgeries, all in the quest to find their fittest, slimmest selves.

With the climbing rates of people who are overweight or obese, researchers are desperate to find more effective – and more cost-effective – ways to help people get healthy. Now they’re turning to the World Wide Web, which recent studies show could be the easy, accessible, and affordable option they’re looking for.