When David Bowie penned the song "Changes," he was commenting on how challenging change can be. If you're like most folks, you too have a hard time making changes, even when you know you should.

For example, while 51 percent of Americans say they'd like to lose weight and get healthier, only around 26 percent are actively trying. And just about 20 percent of those who do she weight lose 10 percent of their body weight and keep it off for a year.

No wonder researchers keep trying to identify changes that will help you become successful weight-losers and healthy weight-maintainers.

Some smart and simple changes include: eating a diet lower in calories and bad fats; eating breakfast; maintaining a consistent eating schedule; and recruiting a weight-loss or exercise buddy.

But how do you successfully follow through with those desired changes?

A study in the journal “Frontiers of Psychology” gathered had 44,000 people try different techniques that might make it easier to successfully accomplish weight loss. They found that the biggest boost came from using a brief self-talk ("I can do it!") just before doing the task.

Researchers suspect that the pat-on-the-back works best because it stimulates pleasant emotions, arouses interest in success, and increases intensity about meeting your goal.

So adopt a mantra or make your own. Try "I can make this change, and I can make it stick!"

Or before every meal or when confronted with between-meal snacks, tell yourself: "I'm makin' it stick, because I can. I can do this!" It works!