• Moderate calorie restriction.
• Regular aerobic exercise, combined with strength training.
• A low-fat/high fiber diet.
• Behavior/lifestyle change to include these 3 factors.

Many people choose to do only one component of these. They may lose weight, but at some point the weight loss may be slow and stop, and they may have trouble keeping if off. Let's illustrate some examples:

1. A person who diets, watching both calories and fat, may not perform regular exercise. Result: Metabolism will lower with a decrease in calorie intake. Weight will "plateau" after initial weight loss due to the body's adaptive process.
2. A person who does not watch calories, yet eats anything as long as it is low-fat or fat-free. Result: Calorie intake will be excessive and therefore, extra calories are stored as fat. The human body will convert any calories it does not use to fat. "Fat-free" does not mean "calorie-free!"

As you can see, the combination of decreased calories, exercise and low fat diet provide the most effective way to lose weight. Safe weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week for the average person. Some weight loss plans claim you can lose 5 or more pounds in a week. This would most likely be fluid loss and not true fat loss. Don't be fooled by these claims!

The traditional weight loss method emphasizing a well-balanced diet with a variety of foods including grains, fruits & vegetables, dairy and meat/fish, low in total fats, saturated fats and trans fats in addition to being physically active can result in long lasting weight loss and improved health. This doesn't sound too exciting, and let's face it - fad diets sure do know how to hook us, don't they? However, the traditional weight loss method stands the test of time for a simple reason: It works!

Can You Lose Weight Where You Want?

If you have excess weight only in specific parts of your body, you still must look at yourself as a whole. It's not possible to spot reduce; in other words, you can't dictate that you only want weight to come off one place or another. In most cases your so called "trouble spots" is where the fat will come off last, so be prepared to lose weight in your fingers (rings fall off) and your face (friends may ask if you're feeling all right) first. There is hope for losing that belly fat though.

Work Toward Building Muscle and Reducing Body Fat

If you work toward building muscle and reducing body fat you will eventually tackle those trouble spots though, and develop a better physique in the process. Muscle tissue is active meaning it requires calories to be maintained. If you were stranded without a food supply, eventually your body would turn to its own muscle tissue as a source of nutrition first (muscles are protein) while saving the fat stores for last. Simply put, fat is nature's way of ensuring survival during times of famine. That's why the prevalence of heart failure kills someone who is severely malnourished. By building more muscle you become a more efficient energy burning machine which translates to mean you can eat more food! That to me is a good thing.

The More Active You Are, The More You Get to Eat!

That explains why some people can eat so much more than others yet not gain weight; your efficient energy burning friend simply has a greater proportion of muscle to fat than you. Muscle is more dense than fat. It's often said that a pound of muscle is heavier than a pound of fat, but the truth is a pound is a pound. What they mean is a one pound volume of muscle is a smaller package than a one pound volume of fat, or put another way, fat is billowy and fluffy while muscle is sleek and compact. Lady No. 1 weighs 120 pounds with 30% body fat so she has 84 pounds of lean tissue and 36 pounds of fat, while Lady No. 2 also weighing 120 pounds but at 18% body fat is carrying roughly 98 pounds of muscle and 22 pounds of fat. Would you rather be Lady No. 1 or Lady No. 2? Which do you think takes up more space, 22 or 36 pounds of fat? I'd say 36 pounds of fat would be a lot bigger package than 22 pounds.

How Much You Weigh is Meaningless

That is why body weight as a number by itself is meaningless, but your ratio of fat to muscle is very important and worth working to change. Strive to decrease your body fat and increase your muscle mass and you'll look better, you'll feel stronger and more energetic and you'll simply be healthier.

You can generally have your body fat tested at fitness centers and most gyms so ask about having it done. It's better to know you have 30% body fat and work to reduce it to 29, than not to know and only think in terms of body weight. Most people who think only of how much they weigh tend to do everything to reduce that weight, and it's usually at the expense of losing more valuable muscle.

The best way to increase muscle and decrease fat is through a consistent exercise program. Start at whatever is your beginning, but do start.

Begin with an overall body conditioning type exercise program, doing whatever you enjoy, whether it be a sport, gardening, weight lifting, biking, hiking, or any other activity. Any physical movement you do regularly counts as exercise even if it is doing laundry or taking out the trash. Get as much as you can out of every chore you do, and stop thinking of it as a chore but instead as an opportunity to move your body.

In the early 1900s a washing machine was a new invention. People used to wash their clothes by hand, and hang them outside to dry. Being a housewife was actually a pretty strenuous job. It's no wonder women were thankful for modern conveniences like automatic washers and dryers, but now we've come to where our daily activities are not taking our bodies at all, so unless we want to get fatter and fatter we must do something about it.