4 Best Stretching Exercises for Better Flexibility

4 Best Stretching Exercises for Better Flexibility

4 Best Stretching Exercises for Better Flexibility

Completely free weight loss diet plan

The idea behind this completely free weight loss diet plan is quite simple... it's the ANTI-fad diet. It is the complete opposite of every borderline idiotic and completely unnecessary diet program in existence. It is based strictly on common sense and the simplest and healthiest way the human body was meant to lose weight. It is not based on fancy gimmicks and making sales. The Lose Weight Diet is free. There is nothing to buy or sign up for first. Every single piece of weight loss information you will need is here (free) for you to read, understand and put into effect.

Is The Lose Weight Diet for everyone?

It's mainly for people who, ya know, want to lose weight. That's pretty much the only requirement here. Oh, and it's also for people who don't want to waste money. If you fit that description, The Lose Weight Diet is definitely for you.
In the shortest form I can explain it, The Lose Weight Diet is four things:
1. Simple
2. Safe
3. Effective
4. Free
If that sounds ideal to you, then sit back and relax. You've found the right place.

What makes it so simple?

The Lose Weight Diet is simple because it isn't based on a gimmick or a fad. Like I said, it is the anti-fad diet plan. It cuts right to the chase and eliminates all of the unnecessary tasks most commercial weight loss diet plans require you to do. After all, it's those unnecessary tasks that are supposed to make their diet program stand out and appeal to you in the first place. Why? So they can make money.
On the other hand, The Lose Weight Diet is all about facts and common sense. It's simply about what works and what doesn't. To sum it all up in one simple sentence, this weight loss plan revolves around reducing your total calorie intake by a small amount, and then just making sure the calories you do consume come in the form of a well-balanced diet consisting of good sources of protein, carbs and fat.
Basically, it's the practical type of diet most often recommended by doctors and experts who aren't trying to sell you something.

Why is The Lose Weight Diet free?

It's free because I am just like you. I'm not a personal trainer, or a nutritionist, or a doctor, or a fitness celebrity. I'm just a regular guy who's been into diet and exercise since 1999 and wants free truthful information about the things I'm interested in.
That's why you're here, isn't it?
Because you're interested in weight loss. Because you want to lose weight without handing over "3 easy payments of $19.95." Because you don't enjoy being sent from page to page of a web site only to end up at a paragraph telling you to "get your credit card ready" so you can "learn all of this and MORE in my weight loss book!" Because being constantly bombarded by hundreds of gimmicky fad diets and commercial weight loss plans gives you a headache. Yeah, I figured so. I feel exactly the same way. That's why The Lose Weight Diet is free.

Who created The Lose Weight Diet?

Your body did. Like I said, this weight loss plan is based solely on how the human body loses weight. It has always been around. It's as simple, safe and effective as any weight loss diet could possibly be.
I know what you're thinking. If what I'm saying is true, why haven't you heard of it before? Simple... because it's never been sold to you. It's never even had a name! It's just how the human body was naturally designed to lose weight, and it's hard to sell a weight loss diet based on that alone. Not to mention, it's pretty hard to sell something that is free.
And me... I have nothing to do with it. All I did was finally give it a catchy name. A phrase people can refer to it as. Something they can respond to their friends with when they ask how they lost weight. "I'm on The Lose Weight Diet." Before that we'd just have to describe what this diet plan is. Now it has a four word title. It just makes it sound more real and official in an industry where every other weight loss program has it's own fancy name to identify it by.
The only other thing I did was give it this web site. The information about the type of diet The Lose Weight Diet is based on is already around. It's not new. I just wanted to give it sort of an official home. A place where people know to go to learn everything they need to know about it, for free. A place people can refer their friends to rather than giving them a name of a book to buy or a program to join. "Everything you need to know is at www.TheLoseWeightDiet.com." It only helps add to the simplicity of this weight loss plan.

What's the deal with the name anyway?

I came up with the name "The Lose Weight Diet" sort of as a joke. It's so damn literal. Weight loss diet plans like The "Atkins" Diet and The "Zone" Diet and The "South Beach" Diet make me laugh. Who cares about some Dr. Atkins guy or some zone or some beach? Cut through all of the useless marketing junk. Your goal is to lose weight, plain and simple. Thus... The "Lose Weight" Diet was born. Slightly funny and very literal. It's the anti-fad.

Start NOW!

Enough already. You've read more than enough information about The Lose Weight Diet to decide if it's right for you. If you don't think it is, fine. I don't mind. Feel free to try any of the hundreds of other weight loss plans around. Go buy their books and their products and their memberships. I honestly don't mind at all. In fact, I wish you the best of luck.
However, if you feel The Lose Weight Diet is indeed right for you... let's get started. I have broken it all down into 3 phases. In order to fully understand and fully follow this weight loss plan effectively, you MUST read through each phase in order. Do not skip anything or jump ahead. Just sit back and relax. You're only 3 steps away from losing weight... for free. Start here:

Phase 1: How To Lose Weight

Completely free weight loss diet plan

How to Lose Weight Fast: 5 Easy Ways to Lose Weight Quickly

The funny thing about weight loss is, there is really only 1 actual "thing" that causes it. It's the 1 thing that The Lose Weight Diet is all about, of course. What there is a lot of, however, are ways of actually making and ensuring that this 1 thing occurs, and occurs consistently.
Below is a list of exactly that... my picks for the 5 best ways to lose weight.

1. Pay MUCH more attention to calories than anything else.

It still baffles me to this day that people who want to lose weight spend an insane amount of time worrying about carbs and/or fat and/or protein. Or worrying about eating whole wheat bread instead of white bread, or brown rice instead of white rice, or doing any of the other millions of things that are great ideas for improving your overall health and the quality of your diet, but will usually do nothing whatsoever to help you actually lose weight.
Now, don't misunderstand me here. Making sure you get your carbs, fat and protein from high quality sources is a fantastic idea and I completely recommend it. And, paying attention to how many grams of carbs, fat and protein you eat each day is also a good idea for a variety of reasons. However, none of this causes weight loss.
Once again, there is only 1 thing that causes weight loss, and that is creating a caloric deficit. This means that whatever calories are needed to maintain your current weight, you just need to be a few hundred calories below that number on a consistent basis. So, if you maintain your current weight eating 3000 calories per day, you will lose weight by eating 2500 calories per day. That's it. That's weight loss. Make a small, gradual reduction to your calorie intake, and watch the weight come off. Simple.
Yet, it's a concept people can't seem to grasp. They continue to worry about eating less carbs, or less fat, or more protein, or healthy foods instead of unhealthy foods, good carbs instead of bad carbs, and so on and so on and so on. This is all well and good, but if you want to lose weight, all that matters is calories.

If eating 3000 calories per day causes you to gain weight, it won't matter if those calories come from nothing but cheeseburgers and cookies or salmon and brown rice... if you are consuming too many calories, you will gain weight no matter where those calories are coming from. The same happens in reverse, too. If eating 2500 calories per day causes you to lose weight, it really won't matter much whether those calories come from healthy foods or unhealthy foods, good carbs or bad carbs, high fat or low fat... if you are eating the amount of calories that causes your body to lose weight... you will lose weight. Period.
Yes, you should definitely try to eat as healthy as possible and pay attention to getting all of the little details right. It's important. However, in terms of just weight loss, all that matters is calories. So, before focusing on anything else, focus on calories. They are the one and only key to weight loss, thus obviously making this one of the best ways to lose weight.

2. Stop drinking calories.

As I just mentioned (and Phase 1 of The Lose Weight Diet explains in detail), the key to weight loss is just making a small reduction to your total calorie intake. One of, if not the easiest way of doing this is by not drinking calories... ever.
If you currently drink regular soda, fruit juice, sports drinks, alcohol or any other form of liquid calories on anything close to a regular basis, and you cut it all out from of your diet, I can almost guarantee that it will create enough of a daily calorie reduction to cause you to start losing weight.
No exercise, no eating less. Just a switch from drinking stuff that contains calories to drinking stuff that doesn't (water would be the best option, but there are others). It doesn't get any easier than that, which is why avoiding liquid calories is an obvious choice for one of the best ways to lose weight.

3. Have realistic expectations and set realistic goals.

All doctors, nutritionists, trainers and experts pretty much unanimously agree that weight should be lost at the rate of about 1 or 2 pounds per week. If you understand this, and expect this, you will most likely go on to lose weight without any problem at all. However, if you are a normal person who watches TV, reads newspapers and magazines, goes into stores, or goes online, then there is a really good chance that you expect MUCH faster results than this.
And, herein lies a VERY big problem.
Expecting unrealistic weight loss results will cause most people to go on to waste a ton of time, effort and money on things that will never actually cause these unrealistic results to occur. Do you know what happens next? More time, effort and money gets wasted on trying to find other ways to make it happen. And this cycle continues on and on and on until an insane amount of time ends up passing during which no weight has actually been lost.
Why? Because instead of actually doing the very simple things that cause weight loss at its ideal 1-2 pound per week rate, you're busy searching for a way to do it faster, and such a way doesn't actually exist. Doing so is just a complete waste of time, effort, and most of the time, money. Not to mention, if you expect to accomplish something that can't be accomplished (like losing 10-20lbs per week or anything equally unrealistic), you are just setting yourself up for disappointment and failure. And, more often than not, that tends to lead to the "giving up" of trying to lose weight, only to repeat the same cycle over again sometime in the future.
So, do you want to know one of the very best ways to lose weight? Sets goals that can actually be reached, and have expectations that are realistic. If you don't, you will just end up disappointed, or even worse, in the exact same position you're currently in years and years from now.

4. Track everything.

A lot of people think they are eating perfectly and that their diet isn't a problem. Then I recommend they start tracking their diet. And, guess what they realize? Their diet is the problem. They are eating way more calories than they thought (the big problem) and their diet as a whole is a lot less "perfect" then they thought it was. Do you know how they could have avoided this? By tracking their diet.

How do you do this, you ask? Simple. Go to a free site like a Calorie Counter and track it. Create an account (it's free) and then search for and add all of the foods you eat each day. a Calorie Counter will then add up and track all of the totals for you and give you a very clear view of exactly what you are eating, and exactly how much you are eating. When you realize that this is the key to losing weight, it always amazes me to come across people who don't do it. And, more often than not... those people aren't losing weight. Strange coincidence, ain't it?
And the tracking doesn't end with your diet either. Track your workout just the same. The only way you can increase strength, build muscle, improve endurance, flexibility, and any other physical trait you can possibly think of is by constantly striving to surpass what you were previously able to do. Lifted 20lbs for 8 reps last time? Your goal is to lift 20lbs for 9 reps this time, or perhaps 25lbs for 8 reps this time. Only able to jog on the treadmill for 3 minutes without having to stop to walk? Your goal this time is to jog for 3 minutes and 30 seconds before stopping to walk. This is progress, and this is the only way to create progress. By pushing yourself beyond what you were previously capable of.
And, the only way to do this is by accurately tracking what you previously did so that you can beat it the next time.
That's not all. Track your progress. Track your weight, your measurements, take pictures... whatever. The problem with trying to judge your own weight loss progress is that you see yourself every day, all the time. This makes noticing small gradual improvements harder for you than anyone else you know. So, what do you do? You track it. You weigh yourself first thing in the morning on an empty stomach once a week and keep a log of it. You take measurements (waist, arms, legs, chest, whatever you want) every week or 2 and keep a log of it. You take pictures of yourself every few weeks. You do all this so you can see with absolute certainty that your body is progressing in the right direction no matter what crazy things your eyes tell you when you look in the mirror every day. Not to mention, being able to actually see the progress you are making is more motivating than anything else you can imagine.
So, one of the best ways to lose weight? Track everything.

5. Stop looking and ignore EVERYTHING.

Yup, simple. There's what works, and is free, and safe, and simple, and effective... and then there's everything else. Ignore it all. Every single bit of it. There is nothing else out there. There is no magic pill or supplement or product. There are no hidden secrets or special methods. There is no better, faster, easier way. What there is however is a ton of stuff, a ton of people, a ton of companies, a ton of diets, a ton of programs, a ton of articles, a ton of magazines, a ton of web sites, a ton of supplements, a ton of products, a ton of everything that just doesn't want you to know this.
Why? So you read what they're writing, listen to what they're saying, try what they're offering, and, most important of all... buy what they're selling.
Instead of doing any of this, ignore it. Ignore it all. It will do nothing but get in your way of actually losing weight. It will cause you to waste time, waste money and waste effort. It will confuse you, create unrealistic expectations, and prevent you from doing what you need to be doing. This is why ignoring it all is one of the best ways to lose weight, period.

6. Bonus Tip: Follow The Lose Weight Diet

I know this was only supposed to be a list of the 5 best ways to lose weight, but I had to through a bonus "best way" in. And that "best way" is: follow The Lose Weight Diet. It's free, simple, safe, and effective. No gimmicks. No fads. No BS. Just weight loss, the way it was meant to be done. Enjoy your results.

How to Lose Weight Fast: 5 Easy Ways to Lose Weight Quickly

How long does it take to get abs if you workout everyday

Building abs isn't easy work - not if you want them to last, anyway.
Because there's no point starting a fitness journey without a realistic expectation of how long it'll take to achieve your goal, we quizzed elite Personal Trainer Henry Barratt on how long abs really take to develop.
And as you can probably imagine, Henry couldn't make generalisations for one and all. "There is no hard and fast rule for timings when it comes to developing visible abs because each body is different and we are all starting from different places," he says. But - and it's a good but - he does give us a simple way each individual can work out a rough idea of how long it might take them personally to build abs.

"In order to have visible abs you need to be aiming for a body fat percentage of around 16-19% as a woman," says Henry. Once you've worked out what your body fat percentage is (you can do this on specialist machines you'll find in some gyms, or by using calipers and a simple online calculation), you'll be able to establish how long it'll take to get down to abs-level of body fat.
"It is safe to lose around 1-2% of body fat per month so depending on where you start, this should give you a good indication of the kind of timeframe you are looking at to start developing visible abs," Henry explains.
So if your current body fat is 25%, you can estimate it'll take around 6 months to get visible abs. If your body fat is nearer to 30%, your journey to getting abs would likely take nearer a year.

The first four weeks

In order to reduce body fat to a percentage that would make abs visible, you'll need to prepare to increase your physical activity and overhaul your diet.
"The saying, 'Abs are made in the kitchen' is absolutely true," explains Henry, who adds that you need to go into calorie deficit in the first four weeks to see any results. "Cut out the big five - sugar, white bread, white rice, white pasta and potatoes - cut out alcohol completely for this first month and cut down to only one coffee per day," the trainer says.
Exercise-wise, Henry recommends doing full body workouts in the first month, "with a focus on engaging the core in every exercise".

"You want to be training 5 to 6 days a week to raise metabolism and working for 30-60 minutes in each session. In other words, aim for higher in frequency, less duration and higher intensity ideally," says Henry.
Within the full-body workouts, Henry says it's important to include abdominal exercises in each session that focus on the front abs (leg extensions, elbow to opposite knee crunches, etc.) as well as oblique exercises (wood chops, side planks, etc.)
"Make sure you sweat in each session to flush toxins out from the body to help with fat reduction," he adds.

From then on

While you don't need to maintain the intensity of the first four weeks forever on your quest for abs, you do still need to work hard. "You need to be clean eating 6 days a week (85-90% of the time) and training a minimum of 4 times a week for 30 mins at a high intensity," Henry explains.
Food-wise, the trainer advises keeping 'the big 5' aforementioned foods to a minimum (as well as alcohol) while building abs.

But the main thing Henry urges is that, to develop and maintain abs that are going to last, you have to be willing to change their habits and lifestyle. "Quick fixes aren’t the solution," he says. "You must be looking at this as a 12-month journey for true, habitual change."
Still want to give it a go?

How long does it take to get abs if you workout everyday

How to Get a Six-Pack - Best Ab Workout Tips

It's the one common thing everyone would probably agree on wanting, yet they'd all disagree on how to say it. For example, some people may want washboard abs, others may prefer a flat stomach. You might want to get six pack abs, but your friend might want ripped abs. Person X would love to have chiseled abdominals, yet Person Y would rather have a slim sexy core. No matter which way you say it (and for the record, I find 99.9% of these ways absolutely hilarious) they all mean the same thing.
The big problem here is that a lot of people don't seem to actually understand what that is and, even more so, how exactly to get it. So... let's change that.

What is needed...

Having the flat stomach and six pack abs of your dreams requires just two things:
1. First and foremost are the actual abs themselves. Technically your abs are already there, however you will want to work on building and strengthening them. I'll get to all of that stuff (workouts and exercises) a little later.
2. But second and easily the most important part of this equation, you need to get rid of the fat that is on top of your abs so they can become visible.
...and this is where all the problems lie.

The myth of spot reduction.

See, some people may think that it's the ab exercises and the ab machines themselves that will burn the fat that is on your stomach. If you think this is true, you believe in the impossible myth of "spot reduction." Spot reduction is the idea that you are able to directly target the fat of a certain area of the body simply by doing exercises for that specific area. This is completely untrue and impossible. While you can certainly target specific muscle groups, there is no way to "work" or "target" or "burn" specific areas of fat.

Exercises work muscles... not fat. In this case, ab exercises will give you great, strong, sexy, washboard, ripped abs, but they won't have any direct effect on the fat that is covering them. No amount of ab exercises (no matter how fancy or expensive the machine is or how effective it claims to be) will directly target the fat on your stomach. It's just not possible. They will only work the ab muscles. If there is any fat on top of those muscles (which is usually the case), your wonderful abs will remain covered by it and will therefore be unable to be seen.
And, by the way, this doesn't just go for abs either. It's true for the entire body. All of the chest, back, tricep, bicep, shoulder, and leg exercises in the world won't have any effect on the fat on that body part. Whether you do high reps instead of low reps, machines instead of free weights, you will still only be working the muscle, not the fat that is on top of it.

How to lose the fat on your stomach.

Getting back to getting the six pack abs of your dreams, don't let what I just told you discourage you from working your abs. This is still very important and should be done. However, the true key to having a "flat stomach" and "six pack abs" is losing the fat that is on your stomach. And, since you are now aware that ab exercises are not what's going to accomplish this, you may be wondering what will.
But um, you shouldn't be. After all, you're at a web site whose entire purpose is doing just that.
See, the only way to lose the fat on your stomach is to... lose fat period. You know, through a proper diet and/or cardio exercise. You can only lose fat from the body as a whole, and as you should have already learned by now in Phase 1 of The Lose Weight Diet, the only way to do this is by burning more calories than you consume.
You remember that whole thing about being 500 calories below your maintenance level through a proper diet, cardio exercise or a combination of both? We'll, that is what causes the body to lose fat. Eventually the fat that you lose will be the fat that is on your stomach. When this happens, your wonderful six pack abs will be visible and you will have the flat stomach and ripped washboards and sexy cores and all sorts of toned sculpted chiseled things... of your dreams.

Ab exercises and workouts.

Now that the important part is out of the way, let's get down to exercises and workouts. First of all, I would suggest working your abs no more than 2 or 3 times per week, if even that much. There is no need to work them any more than that. I know, a lot of people work their abs every single day. These people are wasting their time and are the people who aren't aware that spot reduction isn't possible. There's people like that in every gym. Ignore them.
I personally only train my abs directly twice a week, and that's what I typically recommend.

And about reps, there is no need to do 100 crunches. Abs are a muscle just like any other muscle. Do you do 100 reps on the bench press? I didn't think so. Instead of wasting all of your effort on doing an insane number of reps, focus on doing slow and controlled reps where you are really being sure to contract and squeeze the ab muscles each rep. Remember, this isn't what's going to give you a flat stomach and visible six pack abs. This is just what's going to make your abs strong, which is still a very good thing.
Now, if your concern is that doing 20 or so reps (instead of your usual 1,000,000) of something like crunches will be way too easy for you, make it harder. One way to do this is to add weight. Try holding a weight either on your chest or behind your head when doing crunches. When you get to a point where that feels way too easy as well, increase the weight a little. If this sounds at all familiar, it's because this is the same method used for building and strengthening every other muscle of your body. Abs are no different.
As for ab exercises themselves, you probably noticed I've only mentioned crunches. That's because they are simple (no equipment needed) and equally as effective as any other ab exercise. Do them to the side, do them with your legs in the air, do them weighted. It's all fine and good and effective. I'm also a fan of hanging leg raises, jack-knife crunches (doing a crunch while pulling your knees towards your face), side bends and some sort of weighted twist. I very rarely use any kind of machine.
Oh, and speaking of machines...

Fancy ab machines.

You know all of those fancy ab machines that are advertised on TV all the time that promise six pack abs and a flat stomach and sexy abdominals and ripped abs and all of those other wacky adjectives I mentioned earlier? Well, they are all pretty much useless. They want you to think spot reduction is possible, which it isn't. They want you to think their machine will remove the fat from your stomach, which it won't. They want you to think all of the people in the commercial with great abs got that way by using their product, which they didn't.
There is enough deception and lying in each commercial that it could pass for a 30 second soap opera. You don't need these ab machines. They don't do anything special. They are no better than any of the free exercises I mentioned before. Everything they show or say is a complete lie. Save your money.

The End.

Well, that's about it. You now know everything you need to do as well as everything you don't need to do in order to get the six pack abs and flat stomach "of your dreams." Just build and strengthen the ab muscles by doing normal non-fancy ab workouts, and then just lose the fat on your stomach through a combination of a proper diet and cardio exercise.

How to Get a Six-Pack - Best Ab Workout Tips

Rapid Weight Loss: Is It Safe? Does It Work?

 Lose Weight Fast - Is quick weight loss possible?

I think it's pretty safe to assume that no one wants to lose weight slowly. No, they want to lose it fast. But, in order to truly understand quick weight loss, you'd really first need to understand that there are two different kinds.
There's the impossible kind, and then there's the unsafe kind.
Let's start with the impossible.

The impossible way to lose weight fast.

Wait. Hold on. What?!?
Are you serious? You really thought this article was going to be about the amazingly safe and very-much-possible ways that you can actually lose weight fast? HA! I don't mean to laugh, but... HA! Sorry. It doesn't mean you are stupid for thinking that quick weight loss is actually possible and/or safe. It just means you watch TV, read magazines, and are a normal human being living on the planet earth.
You see, it is the jobs of so many people to put the idea of quick weight loss into your head. They spend millions of dollars trying to do just that. They want you to want it, hope for it, and believe in it. Oh, and they also want you to buy whatever weight loss or diet pill, product, or supplement they are trying to sell you in order to make these supposed rapid results happen.
This is the type of quick weight loss that I have nicknamed the "impossible" type. It's the type that only exists in some sort of diet product fantasy world where lies really do come true. In the real world however, they are just plain old lies.

You can't really blame these people though. Ok, you can. But I mean, how many diet pills do you think they'd sell if they claimed they would make you lose weight slowly? Or if the big tag-line of some fitness product was "Buy this fitness product so you can lose weight at the normal recommended speed!!" They probably wouldn't make too much money like that, and, if you didn't already know, weight loss is all about making money.
That's typically why the only real time you see, hear, or think the phrase "lose weight fast" is when something is being sold to you. For example, how many amazing before and after pictures have you seen? And, after seeing them, how many times have you wished that you could get those same results just as quick and easy as they say they did?
Well, here's a quick tip. As soon as before and after pictures are presented to you in an attempt to prove some type of diet or weight loss product actually works (and works fast), you should run far, far away. Stop watching, stop reading, stop listening. It's all lies. Every person, every word.
- They are paid actors and models.
- They all looked that good long before whatever quick weight loss product they are advertising was even invented.
- The pictures are fake.
- They are heads on different bodies.
- They are 6 months apart instead of 6 weeks apart.
- The lighting has been changed.
- The person is flexing and smiling instead of slouching and frowning.
- They were ugly and pale, now they're pretty and tan.
- The "after" picture is really the before picture, and they then had this in-shape person purposely gain weight to create a "before" picture.
Something, somehow, in someway, is a lie.
Equally fake are the claims that they were able to lose weight fast. "I lost 30 pounds in just 2 weeks!" The only way you're going to lose that much weight that fast is if you are involved in some kind of chainsaw accident. Seriously, any weight loss claim that seems way too good to be true always is. Remember that.
As unfortunate as this may sound, there is just no way to lose such crazy amounts of weight in such short periods of time. It's just impossible. The only people that will tell you anything different are the wonderful people trying to sell you something. They will throw pictures, testimonials, money back guarantees, celebrities, and the kitchen sink at you in order to get you to believe it.
And, just so you know, this whole thing about fast weight loss being impossible isn't just my own personal opinion. Even the government is in full agreement. There are many articles on the Federal Trade Commission's web site that basically confirm everything I just said. For example, this one and this one.

The unsafe way to lose weight fast.

And then there's the unsafe kind. The unsafe kind involves doing all sorts of crazy, unsafe, unhealthy and all around dangerous things for the sole purpose of losing more weight than you should in a very short period of time. Typically this type of quick weight loss is mentioned as a result of diets that involve eating mostly one specific "special" food.

As you should already know, your body needs a lot of things. For example, protein, carbs, fat, and vitamins. Eating one "special" food will not allow you to get the nutrients your body needs daily to function properly. Not to mention, all you really end up losing on these types of crash diets is water, not fat. When your diet returns to normal, so will your weight.
The other supposed way to successfully lose weight fast is by reducing your calorie intake by way too much, way too quick. Yes, The Lose Weight Diet is all about calorie reduction, however, it's all about an extremely slow and extremely small calorie reduction. We're talking 500 calories below your maintenance level. That is what will cause you to lose 1 or 2 pounds per week, and this is the rate that all the experts recommend and consider safe and healthy and just plain right. And when I say "experts," I'm referring to doctors and other highly trained smart people who aren't trying to sell you something.
On the other hand, these way-too-low-calorie diets go much lower than that, much faster. This is unhealthy and potentially quite dangerous. For one thing, your body will go into a state where it purposely stops you from losing fat because it senses something is wrong and tries to keep you alive. Reducing your calorie intake by too much too quickly greatly increases your chances of losing muscle instead of fat.

The bottom line...

There is no diet pill or supplement, there is no fitness product or machine, there is no weight loss program or system... there is just nothing that will make you lose weight fast in a manner that is A) actually possible, or B) actually safe. What does that mean to you exactly? Well, it means that if you started reading this article with the hopes of learning how to lose weight fast, you should now remove the idea from your mind completely. It either can't happen, or it shouldn't happen.
Instead, focus on your diet and your workout and the idea of losing a perfectly fine and healthy and expert recommended 1 or 2 pounds per week. Trust me, soon enough you'll be done losing weight and you'll be pretty happy that you didn't waste any time, effort, money, or health on trying to do it any quicker than it's meant to be done.

Rapid Weight Loss: Is It Safe? Does It Work?

How To Lose Weight - FREE Weight Loss Tips For Losing Fat Fast

Welcome to The Lose Weight Diet's free list of weight loss tips. The purpose here isn't to just give you a big list of tips, but to also help you separate the useful tips from the useless ones.
I consider a weight loss tip to be anything that could in any way be helpful to a person looking to lose weight. It could have something to do with your diet plan or workout program, or maybe just the mental aspect of weight loss such as staying motivated and sticking to your diet. It could just be some way of improving your lifestyle so that it becomes more ideal for losing weight.
Really, any piece of information that could positively benefit someone trying to lose weight will be included on this list. Also, along with each weight loss tip will be sort of a "tip review." By that I mean I will include my own common sense opinion of the usefulness of that tip. You're welcome to disagree with this opinion of course, however in most cases you'll probably be thinking the exact same thing.
This list of weight loss tips will be updated on an ongoing basis, by the way. So, whenever something new pops into my head or somehow comes to my attention, I'll be sure to add it to this list.
Tip rating system:
A - Would probably be useful to everyone, and I myself do it.
B - Could be useful to some people.
F - Useless, or stupid, or unsafe, or any combination of the three.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

This is one of the most popular weight loss tips on this list. I've seen this one everywhere. But, let's be honest here... unless you live or work on the 400th floor, taking the stairs instead of the elevator isn't going to do much for you in terms of losing weight. Sure, you'll walk a little extra, and that's obviously always good. But uh, 1 or 2 flights of stairs a few times a week won't have much (if any) effect on the weight loss of most people.
Tip Rating: B
I gave this one a B instead of an F because I don't want to sound like I'm discouraging extra walking of any kind. Yes, walking is great for everyone. However, don't expect an occasional flight of stairs to make 20 pounds disappear.

Workout early in the day so there is less chance of missing your workout.

I do this, but not out of fear that I may miss my workout. However, I can see how this would happen to people. Something might come up, you might get tired, you might forget, who knows. What I do know is that there are more possible reasons for why a person would miss a workout at 6pm than there would be at 6am. Your alarm clock rings off, you eat, and you go workout. There's very little time in there for something to get in the way or for you to come up with an excuse. So...
Tip Rating: B
This weight loss tip has a lot to do with your schedule, though. I realize that a lot of people workout in the afternoon or at night because they just can't workout any other time. This tip is more for the people who have the option of getting their workout in early if they wanted to.

Keep a workout and diet log or journal.

I'm a big fan of this one. Progress is made by improving upon what you've already done. This applies to workout progress, too. Want to get stronger? Want to increase muscle? If so, you're going to need to make progress. To do that you're going to need to keep track of how much weight you lifted and how many sets and reps you lifted it for on each exercise. By knowing this information, you'll know exactly what you need to do in your workout the next time in order to improve on it.
Were you able to do a certain exercise for a certain weight for 8 reps? Next time try doing 10 reps of the same weight, or try adding 5 pounds and getting the same 8 reps. This type of progress is what causes muscle and strength gains, and it is only possible when you know exactly what you did the previous workout so you can improve it.
As you learned throughout The Lose Weight Diet, one of the most important parts of your weight loss diet plan is keeping track of how many calories and grams of protein, carbs and fat you're eating each day. No matter how great you think your memory is, keeping a log of it all (on paper, on the computer, on fitday.com, etc.) is the only way you'll be able to keep track of it as accurately as possible.
Tip Rating: A
There is no reason to not do this one. It's extremely important.

Plan and prepare your meals in advance.

You know what makes sticking to your diet real easy? When you plan what you're going to eat in advance and, if possible, have it ready for you. For example, I know I'll be eating egg whites as part of my breakfast every single morning. By knowing this I can figure out how often I need to buy eggs so they're always in the house. I never wake up wondering what I'm going to eat or if I'm going to find something I SHOULD be eating. I also know I'm going to eat tuna fish, whole wheat bread, brown rice, chicken breasts, nuts, vegetables, etc. every single day. I have it all ready and waiting at all times.
By planning what you're going to eat in advance and having it prepared for you when possible, you greatly lower your chances of eating something you shouldn't be eating.
Tip Rating: A
Everyone reading this needs to stay as strict and consistent as they can with their diet plan, and this tip helps that happen.

Sleep enough!

Hold on. If you're thinking "Wait, are you saying I can lose weight just by sleeping? AWESOME!!!!" you'd be slightly mistaken. Sleep alone will not cause weight loss. It will however help. There are a bunch of science-y reasons for this, and if you are in the 1% of people reading this who want to know those reasons, email me and I'll explain. If you're in the other 99%, just know that sleeping enough will indeed help your weight loss.
That's not all though. You know what it feels like when you're tired? You become lazy. You don't feel like doing anything. Well, when you're goal is losing weight, you can't be lazy and you can't feel like not doing anything. Sleeping enough will eliminate this problem.
Tip Rating: A
Yes, you just read "sleep enough" on a list of weight loss tips. This one is really as easy as they get. You have no excuse.

Keep junk food out of your house.

You know all of that really tasty junk food that is high in saturated fat and useless calories that serves no positive purpose other than being yummy? Good. Then you also probably know you shouldn't be eating any of it. One way to stop eating junk food is to stop putting yourself in a position to eat junk food. By having these types of foods in your house you are obviously going to be much more likely to eat it than if they weren't there. So... throw out/give away whatever junk food you have in your house now and don't buy anymore.
Tip Rating: B
This tip isn't for everyone. It's mainly for 3 types of people... those a little low in the will power department, those who eat when they're bored, and those who live alone or live with people who don't eat junk food. I mentioned the 3rd type because I know a lot of people live with family/friends who eat junk food all the time therefore making it impossible for you to just stop having it in the house. I know what that's like.
For me, I have the will power to not care or let it bother me at all. If you're like that too, great. If not, you have 2 choices. TRY to get like that, or try to convince the other people in the house to cut down on the junk food. Even if they don't care about weight loss, junk food is still unhealthy for them whether they are trying to lose weight or not.

Drink hot water.

They say drinking hot water instead of cold water will help speed up your metabolism and help you burn more calories.
Tip Rating: F
Stupid, stupid, stupid AND useless. I'm not saying that this isn't true. I'm not saying that hot water won't have a different effect on your metabolism than cold water. What I am saying is that any supposed benefit would be so slight that it would be a complete waste of time and effort to even give it another second of thought. These are weight loss tips, not time loss tips. If you want to lose weight, focus on your diet and your workout. If you want to burn your tongue, drink hot water.

Eat right AND workout.

Like I mentioned back in Phase 1 of The Lose Weight Diet, it is technically possible to lose weight through JUST your diet plan or JUST your workout. However, for best weight loss results and for best all around health, you should do it through a combination of both. This will also make it easier to keep the weight off once it's gone.
Tip Rating: A
What more needs to be said? Do both.

Set realistic goals.

No one wants to just lose weight, they want to lose it FAST. They want huge results... quickly. The only problem is, weight loss doesn't happen fast. Results don't come quickly. The reason you need to know this is because setting goals that can't be reached will make you very depressed and discouraged when you realize you didn't reach them. You are basically setting yourself up to fail.
Forget everything you've ever seen or heard. Every advertisement for a weight loss program, pill, machine, or product of any kind is lying to you. The people who claim to have lost huge amounts of weight in insanely short periods of time are lying to you. Those amazing before and after pictures are lies. Yes, really. Like I mentioned in the lose weight fast article, the only way you are going to lose 40 pounds in 1 month is if you have some sort of chainsaw accident.
When you set realistic goals, like losing 1 pound a week or losing 6 pounds a month or losing 60 pounds a year, goals that can actually be reached, you are setting yourself up to succeed.
(I'll admit that whole "setting yourself up to succeed" line was pretty lame, but really, it's true.)
Tip Rating: A
Weight loss is all about persistence. And, setting crazy goals that you can't reach and then not reaching them is an extremely common reason for a person to give up. To avoid that, set realistic goals.

Change how you eat your food.

This one is actually a compilation of similar weight loss tips all revolving around ways people trying to lose weight should eat their food to almost "trick" themselves into not eating more than they should.
For example, eat slower. The faster you finish your food, the more likely you are to eat extra food. Chew slowly. Put your fork down after every mouthful. Take a minute break in the middle of eating. Take smaller bites. Drink water before/during eating so you get full faster. Instead of starting off with your full serving amount, take half a serving and then go back for seconds. Use smaller plates. Etc., etc., etc..
Tip Rating: B
As much as I really want to give this one a giant F, I can't. You see, to me, this tip is stupid and useless. I know there are people out there who feel the same way. But, for every person like us there is probably someone else thinking "Ya know, if I took smaller bites it probably would feel like I ate more than I actually did." I can't really argue with that. If you think something will help you, go for it.

Workout on the same days, at the same times.

Working out is obviously an important part of weight loss. And, the best way to stick to your workout is to turn your workout into something that just gets done without really thinking about it. Make it a regular part of your life. You know how you just know to brush your teeth after you wake up? In that same way you should just know to workout. It needs to become part of your normal routine. The best way to accomplish this is to workout at the same times, on the same days.
If you workout on random days at random times you become more likely to miss a workout. If you train yourself to workout on a strict schedule, it will become much harder for you to break from that schedule. That of course means you won't miss workouts.
Tip Rating: A
This one obviously depends on your own personal schedule, but no matter what kind of schedule you have, you should try to workout on the same days of the week at the same times of the day. For me it's to the point now where I know what day it is by what I did in the gym that day. "What day is it? Oh right, I did chest and triceps. It's Monday." When your workout becomes such a regular part of your life, you'll see how hard to becomes to miss one. 

How To Lose Weight - FREE Weight Loss Tips For Losing Fat Fast

The Best Weight Loss Supplements Fish Oil, Protein Powder and Multivitamin

 Alright, fine. You want an article about the best weight loss supplements? I'll give it to you. But before I do, there's something very important I need to explain first.
My definition of the best weight loss supplements may differ from a lot of other people's definitions. What do I mean by that, you ask? Quite simply, they MUST meet the following 2 requirements:

1. First, they must be scientifically proven to be useful or beneficial in some way. I don't fall for stupid marketing crap and false claims. I only believe science, facts and real world results. You should too.
2. Second, they must be completely safe. If it's even remotely dangerous or unsafe in any way, I'm not interested. The reason for taking supplements is to help improve our bodies, not hurt them.  
   

With that being said, here's what I feel are the Best Weight loss Supplements...

1. Fish Oil

While this list isn't in any specific order, fish oil would still be at the very top of my list of recommended supplements. Why? Well, how shall I put this. Hmmm. Alright, I got it.
Fish oil improves our body's ability to do damn near everything!
And yes, that includes lose fat. Now how's that for a description?
You know how there's "good" fat and "bad" fat? Well, fish oil contains the omega 3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are the VERY BEST fats. What makes them the best, you ask?

What are the benefits?

Well, for starters, the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil have been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, lower blood pressure, decrease inflammation and joint stiffness, and treat various mood disorders. Fish oil has also been shown to either help improve or prevent Alzheimer's disease and dementia, depression, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, hyperactivity, ADHD and more.
Many people who take it also report an overall improved sense of well being and mental clarity.
Not bad, huh? But, you're probably wondering what specifically makes it one of the best weight loss supplements, right?

How does it help with weight loss?

Well, while it's not some magical pill that will actually cause fat loss itself (there is no such thing), it WILL help your body do everything required of it (lose fat, build & maintain muscle, recover from exercise, etc.) just a little bit better. This includes improved insulin sensitivity and calorie partitioning (meaning calories would be more likely to be used for something useful rather than get stored on your body as fat).
I've also seen 2 studies now, one published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the other in the International Journal of Obesity, and both came to the conclusion that people lose more weight when they combine proper diet and exercise with a fish oil supplement, as opposed to people who just eat right and exercise correctly without fish oil.
The difference wasn't super huge, but it definitely exists. And when you add any possible fat loss benefits to that long list of general health benefits I mentioned earlier, you can clearly see why fish oil is at the top of my list of recommended weight loss supplements.

What is the best brand?

As for fish oil brands, I use and fully recommend Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega.
As someone who is extra cautious about supplements and what I put into my body in general, I spent a lot of time doing a lot of research on fish oil (including reading 2 different independent lab tests) before coming to the conclusion that Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega is honestly as high quality as fish oil supplements get. I personally order it from right here for the best price I've seen it sold for.

2. Protein Powder

Protein is an essential part of every diet no matter what your goals are (weight loss, building muscle, just being healthy in general, etc.), as it plays a key role in muscle, cell and organ function as well as being present in bone, skin and hair.
That's all well and good, but you're probably wondering what specifically makes protein powder my pick for being one of the 3 best weight loss supplements, right? I actually have 2 really good reasons.

How does it help with weight loss?

First, protein is satiating (which is a fancy word for "filling"). Studies have been done and all modern research shows that protein is much more filling than either fat or carbs, and this makes it an extremely important factor in controlling your appetite and avoiding hunger cravings. It's one of the main reasons most weight loss diets are high in protein. It will keep you fuller longer, and that will prevent you from eating something you shouldn't or just eating too much in general. But wait, there's more!
The second reason protein powder is on my list of best weight loss supplements is that, in addition to being necessary for building and repairing muscle tissue, protein is also a requirement for maintaining muscle. Your goal might be "weight" loss, but it's really fat that you're looking to lose, not muscle. Ensuring you eat enough protein each day is key in preventing muscle loss.
For all of these reasons and more, it is recommended that the average healthy adult diet should contain AT LEAST 0.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight (so the minimum for a 200lb person would be 100 grams of protein per day). But again, that's just a minimum.
Someone who is working out and getting in shape and actively trying to lose fat or build muscle has higher protein requirements than the average person. The most common recommendation in this case is close to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (a 200lb person would shoot for 200 grams of protein per day).
Now a lot of people are going to see that protein recommendation and think "Wow, how am I supposed to eat that much protein each day? I'd have to do nothing but sit around cooking chicken and fish." Here's where protein powder comes in, and here's why it's on my list of best weight loss supplements.
While you should get the majority of your protein intake from high protein foods (chicken, fish, turkey, lean meats, egg whites, etc.), protein powder is a quick, simple, convenient way to ensure you get enough protein each day. Take a scoop, pour in any liquid you want (water is fine), mix with a spoon for about 10 seconds, and taaadaaa, you have yourself an extremely low calorie, muscle protecting, hunger preventing serving of protein.
And not only that, but all research shows that a whey protein shake along with some type of carb source is the ideal meal for right after your workout. Why? Because your goal at this time is to get nutrients into your body and digested as soon as possible, and whey protein powder is the fastest absorbing source of protein. Plus, the fact that it's in liquid form (instead of a whole food) allows it to be digested by your body and shuttled to your muscles even quicker.

What is the best brand?

As for a specific brand, I use and fully recommend Designer Whey Protein Powder. I've been using this brand for nearly 8 years now because it's very high quality, mixes easily, and tastes better than any protein powder I've ever tasted (I like the strawberry and chocolate flavors). I personally always order it from right here for literally $15.00 CHEAPER than GNC sells it for.

3. Multivitamin

This one shouldn't really surprise anyone like the first 2 supplements might have. We all know what a multivitamin is. We all know they contain the vitamins and minerals our bodies require to keep us alive, healthy and functioning properly. This is all very obvious information, right? So then, what the hell is it doing on a list of the best weight loss supplements?

How does it help with weight loss?

Simple. In order to lose weight, we need to be alive, healthy and functioning properly. If a multivitamin contains the things our bodies need to help make this happen, then it indirectly helps make weight loss happen. Obviously we were meant to get these important vitamins and minerals through the foods we eat, but unfortunately, the average person these days doesn't eat the way the human body was meant too. This usually leads to most diets being low in many of the good things it shouldn't be low in.
And that's where a multivitamin comes in. It sort of works as your diet's backup plan. That's exactly why I take one. My diet is quite good. I eat better and healthier than most of the population. But, I still love the idea of taking a multivitamin each day to serve as my little nutrition insurance policy making sure my body gets everything it needs everyday.
Maybe the average out of shape person sitting on the couch all day could get by without it, but as someone who works out pretty hard on a regular basis, I like knowing my body is pretty much guaranteed to have all of the vitamins and minerals it needs to keep me healthy and functioning at the highest possible level. That's why I take a multivitamin, and that's why it's on my list of the best weight loss supplements.

What is the best brand?

As for the best multivitamin brand, based on an independent lab test I saw, it appears that many of the basic multivitamins on the market are just fine, including the cheaper store brands. Of course, many of the brands tested contained more or less of certain vitamins and minerals than they were supposed to, which isn't so great.
So if you'd feel better getting a specific recommendation from me, here it comes. I personally use and fully recommend GNC's Mega Men for men, and for women I like GNC's Women's Ultra Mega. Both passed all independent lab tests just fine and both contain sane amounts of what we need on a daily basis.
If you're over the age of 50, GNC also makes a "50 Plus" version of those same multivitamins (and they also passed the same independent testing), so those might be a more beneficial choice for people that age. Mega Men 50 Plus is the men's version, and Ultra Mega 50 Plus is the women's version.

What about side effects? What about other supplements?

So that's it. That's my list of the best weight loss supplements. The way I see it, there's really only 2 questions you might still have at this point.

Are there any side effects?

The very easy answer is NO. Did you seriously think I would recommend unsafe weight loss supplements? Of course not.
Fish oil (which just comes from fish), protein powder (which is just protein), and multivitamins (which contain the vitamins and minerals found in the healthy foods we are supposed to be eating) are all perfectly safe for the typical healthy adult. Obviously if you have any known medical issues, are taking any kind of medications, or are pregnant or nursing, you should definitely check with your doctor first.
But if you are just the average healthy person... these 3 supplements are as safe as it gets. In fact, I'd even say they are the 3 safest supplements there is.

What about other supplements?

Honestly? They are all complete and utter garbage. Some are unsafe, some are absolutely useless, some are a combination of both. Either way, 99% of the weight loss supplements (or really ANY kind of supplements) on the market these days are crap and should be avoided completely.
No matter what it claims on the bottle or in the ad, no matter what you hear from the idiot in the supplement store or your friend at the gym, no matter what before and after pictures you see or what testimonials you read... this is it. These are practically the only 3 safe and scientifically proven supplements in existence for someone whose primary goal is weight loss or just being as healthy as they can be.
I've personally taken all 3 of them myself for years now, and fully recommend you do as well.

The Best Weight Loss Supplements Fish Oil, Protein Powder and Multivitamin

Continue Losing Weight And Keep It Off

(If you somehow got here without reading Phase 1 and Phase 2 first, you're going to be a little lost. It's ok, just go back and read them here: Phase 1: How To Lose Weight  and 
Phase 2: Create Your Weight Loss Diet Plan)
In Phase 1 and Phase 2 of The Lose Weight Diet, you learned basically everything you need to know in order to lose weight safely, effectively, and oh yeah, for free. At this point, you also know what your own personal weight loss diet plan should be. You're pretty much set and ready to go. However, before you do, there's a few other things you're going to want to know.
In Phase 3 you will learn how to make sure you continue losing weight and, even more importantly, keep the weight off for good. I'm also going to give some additional pieces of weight loss information that didn't fit in anywhere in Phase 1 and 2 as well as answer a couple of questions you may have thought of throughout the course of The Lose Weight Diet.

Continue Losing Weight

What I'm about to say may scare you a little. However, it shouldn't. It is completely normal and is supposed to happen. At some point, you MAY stop losing weight. I can't tell you when exactly, but unless you have a really small amount of weight to lose, there is a chance that at some point your weight loss might come to a stop. Hang on, calm down. It's no big deal. Seriously... if it does happen, it was supposed to happen. The reason for this is because as you gradually begin to lose weight, you're body will start to change. Yeah, you'll look better, you'll be healthier, you'll feel better, but one other change will come to your calorie maintenance level.
For example, let's say you started at 200lbs and you calculated your maintenance level to be 3500 calories (these are just made up numbers). You then figured that in order to start losing weight, you'd need to eat 3000 calories per day (500 below maintenance). Since then, you've consistently lost weight and are currently down to 185lbs. But... your weight loss has stopped. It's been 3 weeks and you haven't lost even half a pound.

What this means is that your calorie maintenance level, which was 3500 calories when you were 200lbs, has changed now that you're at 185lbs. Your maintenance level has become lower. It is now 3000 calories. So, what do you do? Simple, reduce your calorie intake by an additional 250 calories. In this example, you'd start eating 2750 calories per day for now on. (3000 - 250 = 2750) OR, you could continue to eat the same number of calories (3000 in this example) per day, but just burn off the 250 calories through exercise.
Keep in mind though that this may not even happen to you. If it doesn't, cool. If it does, just make the simple 250 calorie adjustment (through diet and/or workout) to make sure you continue to lose weight.
I would recommend giving it 2-4 weeks of seeing no weight loss whatsoever before you make this adjustment just to be sure that you are indeed no longer losing weight. Sometimes your diet could have been off a little that week, or maybe you missed a workout or two. Something like this could make it appear as though you are no longer losing when in fact you just weren't as consistent as you should have been.

Weighing Yourself

Many times throughout The Lose Weight Diet I've made a reference to your weight. What I didn't do however was mention HOW you should weigh yourself. First and foremost, you should weigh yourself once a week. No more, no less. You should also keep some kind of written/typed log of your weight each week so you can properly track your progress.
The other important weighing tip is to ALWAYS weigh yourself first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Weighing yourself any time later in the day is useless as there could be a 5-10 pound difference at different times during the day. Also, if possible, try to do it on the same day each week wearing the same amount of clothing (preferably as little as possible). I do it every Wednesday morning right after I wake up.

Tracking Your Progress

One of the keys to successful weight loss is accurately tracking your progress. While weighing yourself every week is one of the best ways to do so, there are 3 other ways.
One way is to have your body fat percentage tested on a somewhat regular basis. Some gyms do this, and some doctors, nutritionists, and personal trainers can do this for you as well. You can also buy body fat calipers and perform the test on yourself. A scale can only tell you if you are gaining or losing weight. Your body fat percentage can tell you if that weight is fat, muscle or water.
A second way to track your progress is with a tape measure. Measure your waist, arms, legs, chest, neck and really wherever else you want. I do this every other week and keep a written log of it. Like weighing yourself, you should also try to do this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
A third way is with pictures. Once a month I take a few pictures of myself in the same few poses every time. Since you see yourself many times every single day, it's a little harder for you to notice any changes. But, with pictures, you can literally look back and compare and see every bit of progress you've made.

Keeping The Weight Off

Here's a pretty nice problem to have... what to do when you are finished losing weight. Sounds great, doesn't it? Don't worry, you'll be there soon enough.
Once you've lost all of the weight you were looking to lose... nothing changes. Your diet stays the same. Your workout stays the same. You shouldn't be surprised to hear that. Remember when I mentioned how weight is gained? By going OVER your maintenance level, right? So, once you lose weight and you've decided you're happy at your current weight... you can't go back to your old eating habits. Going back to what you used to do will only turn you into what you used to be. What you used to be is gone and needs to stay gone permanently. So, what do you do?
Well, you no longer want to lose weight, and you certainly don't want to gain weight. This means it's time to maintain your current weight for good by being equal with your new calorie maintenance level.
If you are still losing weight at the time you decide you've lost as much as you wanted to lose, it means you're still below maintenance level. You need to be even with it. So, add about 250 calories to your daily diet and monitor your weight for 2 or 3 weeks. Are you maintaining yet? If so, you know how much you need to eat from now on. If you still lost, add another 250 calories and give it another 2-3 weeks. If you gained, slightly reduce your calorie intake and see what happens.
Basically, your goal at this point will be to find the right number of calories you need to eat each day in order for your body to maintain its new lighter weight. Once you find it, you'll be able to keep your weight from changing... permanently.

4 Questions You Probably Have

Question: You have talked a lot about food and what we should and should not eat. What about drinks?
Answer: As far as (WATER) drinks go, there is (WATER) really only one drink that (WATER) you should be (WATER) drinking. Can you guess what it is? Something tells me you can. Yup, it's water.

Soda, sports drinks and most fruit juices contain lots of empty calories in the form of sugar. Doesn't sound too ideal for weight loss, does it? On the other hand, water contains zero calories and zero sugar... and your body needs it. If you want the good stuff that's in fruit juice, eat the actual fruit. For drinks, drink water. Milk wouldn't be TOO terrible (especially skim) and if you HAVE to drink soda (which you shouldn't) obviously diet would be better than regular. But honestly, water is all you should ever drink. It's all I ever drink.
Most people know about the "8 cups of water a day" rule (half a gallon), and I guess that would be an okay starting point for the average person. However, someone losing weight and working out should be drinking more than that. I'd recommend getting closer to 1 full gallon a day if you can.

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Question: The Lose Weight Diet has a lot to do with calories. It also has a lot to do with protein, carbs and fat. How do I know how many calories and how many grams of protein, carbs and fat are in the foods I eat?
Answer: The first obvious answer here is to check the package your food came in. If you're eating something that came out of a box, bag, jar, can, bottle or container of any kind, it very likely has all of that information right there on it.
However, I am fully aware that a lot of the things we eat don't have this information on them, and that doesn't even include when we go out to eat. Luckily however, there is a solution...
Search for all of your foods on a Calorie Counter (aCalorieCounter.com). a Calorie Counter is a completely FREE web site that allows you to type in the name of the food you want to look up (apple, chicken, corn flakes, french fries, etc.), hit search, and then see its complete nutritional content instantly. Calories, protein, carbs, fat and a whole lot more, all for free.
I should know, I made the site. After years of using other people's "calorie counter" type sites, I decided to make my own better version. It's the perfect side-kick to The Lose Weight Diet. Be sure to check it out.

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Question: I realize that this is The Lose Weight Diet, but what about working out?
Answer: As you've already learned, it is indeed possible for weight loss to happen through your diet plan alone. I hate to even mention that, because every single person reading this SHOULD workout. Your weight loss will happen faster and easier if you did it through a combination of diet AND workout rather than just one of the two.
Still not good enough for ya? How about this... besides being great for losing weight, exercise (of any kind) is fantastic for your health!
Still aren't sold on working out? Ok, how about this. In addition to being the KEY to maintaining lean muscle while you lose fat, working out (specifically weight training) is the difference between losing weight and looking "skinny," and losing weight and looking "lean" and "fit" and "toned." Seriously. You'll get "sexy washboard abs" and "toned arms" and "defined legs and shoulders and blah blah blah." Are you sold now? Good. You should be.
Of course, the next step is to figure out how to put together the most effective weight training program and/or cardio workout possible. You know, the workout that will work BEST for the results you want.

Continue Losing Weight And Keep It Off

Create Your Weight Loss Diet Plan

(If you somehow got here without reading Phase 1 first, you're going to be a little lost. It's ok, just go back and read it here: Phase 1: How To Lose Weight)
In Phase 1 of The Lose Weight Diet, you learned how to lose weight. You learned that the key to weight loss is being in a calorie deficit, which means you are burning more calories than you are consuming. You learned that to do this, you just need be about 500 calories below your calorie maintenance level. You also learned that while this is the only real requirement of weight loss, making sure these calories are coming from the right food sources is also important.
Now, in Phase 2, you're going to learn how to put this information to use and create your own weight loss diet plan. The very first thing you're going to need to do is figure out what your calorie maintenance level is...

Calculate your daily calorie maintenance level.

Your daily calorie maintenance level is the key number in creating your weight loss diet plan. It is based on many factors and is specific to each person. For example, you and your friend might be the same height and weight, but you might have maintenance levels that are hundreds of calories apart. Since the effectiveness of your weight loss diet plan depends a lot on this number, it is important that you figure it out as accurately as possible.

  Basically, you would start eating a certain number of calories each day and then closely monitor what your weight does when consuming this many calories. For example, if you maintained weight eating this certain number calories per day, you have found your maintenance level. If you gained weight, lower your calorie intake a little and see what happens then. If you lose weight, then you know you're already below your calorie maintenance level.
If you want to give method #2 a try, I'd suggest using your current calorie intake as the number of calories to start the "test" on. To figure this number out, pick a day and eat like you normally would. The only difference is you will be keeping track of the number of calories in everything you consume. At the end of the day add it all up. Do this for a few days and then take an average of all the days. This average is the average amount of calories you are currently taking in each day and would make a perfect starting point for method #2.
Which method you decide to use is up to you. Feel free to use both, by the way.

Create your weight loss diet plan.

Now that you know what your daily calorie maintenance level is, it's time to officially create your weight loss diet plan.
To do this, just subtract 500 from your calorie maintenance level.
For example, if you figured your maintenance level to be 3000 calories per day, you would now start eating 2500 calories per day instead. It's really as easy as it sounds. Just subtract 500 from your daily maintenance level and then start eating this new amount of calories each day. By doing so, you would officially be in a calorie deficit. And, as you know, a calorie deficit is what makes weight loss happen.
As for how and when you should consume those calories, that's completely up to you and your own preferences. Eat them all in 3 big meals, 6 small meals, every 2 hours, every 5 hours... whatever. It literally makes no difference whatsoever how you do it as long as your total calorie intake is the same for the day. You may have heard differently... like how eating 5-6 smaller meals magically "speeds up your metabolism" or something along those lines. But the truth is that it's all nonsense.
I know everyone used to suggest (and many still incorrectly do) that a higher meal frequency was better for weight loss (hell, articles I wrote years ago may still even contain that recommendation), but research in recent years has proven it to be a silly myth with no scientific evidence at all. So, the key is to do whatever is easiest and most enjoyable for you. Whatever meal schedule is most likely to allow you to consistently eat the right total amount of calories per day... THAT'S what you should do.
All that's left to do now as far as your weight loss diet plan goes is make sure that the calories you are consuming each day are coming from the right food sources...

Protein

Besides just being a requirement for overall health and function, protein is an extremely important part of The Lose Weight Diet (and all weight loss diets) because of the roles it plays in controlling hunger and maintaining muscle while fat is lost. As far as food sources go, the best sources of protein tend to come from anything that used to be alive, or anything that came from something that used to be alive. Some high protein foods include:
chicken
fish
lean cuts of meat
turkey
eggs and egg whites
milk
Protein can also be found in all types of nuts, seeds and beans. And of course, there are always protein supplements in the form of powders, shakes and bars.
As far as how much protein you should include in your weight loss diet plan per day, that depends on the person. For example, the average person who doesn't exercise at all needs less protein than someone who does. Something in the range of a MINIMUM of 0.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight might be alright in this case. For example, if the person weighed 180lbs, you would do 180 x 0.5 = 90 grams of protein per day.
However, someone who does exercise should eat somewhere in the range of .6 - 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight. In this example a person weighing 180lbs would look to eat between 108 - 180 grams of protein per day. This is what I'd recommend most often.
The only other thing you need to know about protein is that 1 gram contains 4 calories. So, for example, if you were to eat 100 grams of protein per day, that would account for 400 calories. (100 x 4 = 400)

Fat

Despite any crazy ideas that have been put into your head, fat isn't all bad. Some types are definitely terrible for you (trans fat), some types are much less bad but still not great (saturated fat), and some types are actually good bordering on REALLY good (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat). "Bad fats" can be found in all of the usual junk foods that you already know you shouldn't eat. "Good fats" on the other hand can be found in foods like:
fish
nuts and seeds
olive oil

(*Important Note* Practically every single person reading this should be taking a fish oil supplement. It's the most scientifically proven supplement there is, with a seemingly endless number of benefits. Put it this way, it will improve your body's ability to do damn near everything (including lose fat). As for how much fat should be included in your weight loss diet plan... about 25% of your total calorie intake should come from fat.
To figure this out, the first thing you need to know is that 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories. So, if an example person figured out that their daily calorie intake should be 2500 total calories per day (again, just an example), they'd find that 25% of 2500 is 625 calories. They'd then divide 625 by 9 (because fat has 9 calories per gram) and get 69. Which means, this example person would eat about 69 grams of fat per day.
And of course, most of this fat should come in the form of the "good" food sources listed above.

Carbs

Now that you know how much protein and fat your weight loss diet should include, it will be pretty easy to figure out how many carbs you should eat. Quite simply, the rest of your diet should be carbs. Once you factor protein and fat into your total calorie intake, whatever calories are left over to reach the number of calories you figured you need to eat per day... those calories should come from carbs.
1 gram of carbs contains 4 calories. So, for example, after factoring protein and fat into what you calculated your total calorie intake should be (500 below maintenance level, remember?), let's say you are 1200 calories below that number. In this example you would need to eat 300g of carbs per day. (1200 ÷ 4 = 300)
And, just like fat, not all types of carbs are equal. More complex, lower glycemic, nutrient-rich foods are much more ideal for appetite control and overall health than simple, higher glycemic, highly processed junk. Some sources of the "good" carbs are:
fruits and vegetables
beans
brown rice
oatmeal
sweet potatoes and white potatoes
whole grains and 100% whole grain products
The "bad" type of carbs would be the typical snack/junk foods like crackers, pretzels, chips, cookies, etc. as well as white bread and white rice, candy, and drinks or food high in sugar. While you should definitely try to limit these "bad" carbs as much as possible and get most of your carb intake from foods on the "good" list, eating some white bread or pasta once in a while won't kill you.

Remember...

Remember, the most important part of The Lose Weight Diet is making sure you are 500 calories below your calorie maintenance level. Everything you just read about protein, fat and carbs was to give you an idea of how to divide those calories up so that your weight loss diet plan is as balanced as possible. The guidelines mentioned aren't just ideal for weight loss, they're also ideal for good health in general.

The end of Phase 2 of The Lose Weight Diet

You have reached the end of Phase 2. Right now you should not only know how to lose weight, but you should also know exactly what your specific weight loss diet plan should be so YOU can lose weight. You know how many calories you need to eat, and you know where those calories should come from. For the most part, you're done. Take a breath. It's a good feeling, isn't it?
All that's left now is some final information to not only make sure you continue losing weight, but to make sure you keep the weight off once it's gone. That's what Phase 3 will explain. Also, any questions that may have popped into your head during Phase 1 and 2 will be answered in Phase 3. So... let's go...

Phase 3: Continue Losing Weight And Keep It Off

Create Your Weight Loss Diet Plan