These days everyone wants to lose weight in a hurry, without any pain. No struggles, just a quick zap and bang! Weight loss magic occurs. Of course thats not very realistic. But there is a way to lose weight fairly simply and keep it off. I call it the fastest easiest weight loss plan ever.

Weight loss always begins on the inside. You need to make a mental shift in order to be able to create a physical shift. So heres weight loss rule number one: if you think about taking a short cut, in the long run you will have wasted time.

This is the back end result of the yo-yo dieting syndrome so many people face. They think they can cut diet and exercise corners, but in the end the weight is back on, and usually bigger and badder.

Thats an ugly thought. So what you do is gear up for proper weight loss from the beginning. How? By shifting mental gears and realizing an important point: you will probably be alive four months from now, so if you look your best ever in four months, as opposed to trying to manipulate your body for 4 weeks, will you be unhappy.

I think not.

This is what the fastest easiest weight loss plan ever is based on: permanent results. So here are 5 steps for your best body ever. Follow these steps and you will lose weight.

Step 1. Assess yourself. Start a journal and take measure of your beginnings. Write down your starting weight, your end weight, and all the things you think you might need to accomplish your weight loss goals. Make a list.

Step 2. Work from that list daily. Things on the list might include beginning daily walks, reducing late night snacks, eating less sugary foods and foods with saturated fat. Increase your water 10-12 cups a day. Cut out sodas, etc. Good diet habits.

Make a daily diet checklist and cross things off as you go.

Step 3. Change your perception. Its not what you do that makes you overweight. Its what youre not doing. What I mean is, the bad foods, although theyre bad, if you added a brisk 20-30 minute walk after your last meal you would help that food digest and filter through your system faster.

You would lose weight, where right now, you are actually gaining it.

Step 4. Stick and move. Most people have a resistance to beginning any activity that might be hard. Stepping out of a comfort zone can be tough. So whether its exercise or diet, or something youre not comfortable with, get into it slowly, be gradual, warm up to it. This way you can get your weight loss efforts on track in increments.

This takes the pressure of you, and any time limits you set for yourself.

Step 5. Understand progression. Your body is an adaptive mechanism. You may not be efficient at exercise at the beginning, but if you can leverage yourself to take action it gets easier.

Once it does get easier, you must push a little harder, and then a little harder. And you keep going from there. Losing weight gets easier as you progress. You can do more, have more energy, and shrink your waistline very quickly once you get moving.

The fastest easiest weight loss plan ever, starts out slowly and then revs up like a high performance engine in the race of your lifetime. Are you ready take it to the next level?

Lose up to 10lbs in 10 days! “I lost 25lbs in just 30 days!” Weight loss with a deadline, they are all over the place. The advertisements suggesting weight loss in a time frame are confusing regarding what can realistically be accomplished in a given time frame. For some, they give false hope, and they will have multiple attempts at losing weight. For others, they give up all together.

So what is a good goal to set for healthy weight loss? Well, let’s discuss what weight is and what exactly it is that you really want to lose. You can also talk to LIVE’s online trainers to discuss your personal situation.

Body Mass- the total amount of weight minus fat stores. So lean mass includes muscle, bones, organs and healthy tissue.

Body weight-the total amount of weight of a person. There are 3 main types of weight that you will lose or gain. Muscle, fat, and water.

Muscle weight Muscle weight is the amount of lean body mass that a person carries. It uses a lot of calories to maintain itself. If the calories are not there, the muscle weight will decrease. So the more muscle weight you have, the more calories you need to maintain it. This is why it is important to make resistance training and exercise part of your program to lose weight, and Live’s personal training and diet programs can give you the support and education you need to be successful. People who workout, regardless of wanting to build muscle or lose fat, need to eat more healthy calories than when they were sedentary!

Fat weight – This is the amount of adipose tissue, or fat, that a person carries. Body fat does not need calories to maintain itself. It is stored calories that a person has already ingested and is burned as energy as a result of exercise. We need a certain amount of fat to be healthy. These percentages will vary between men and women but healthy ranges for men will fall between 4% and 15% and for women 10%-20% of total body weight.

Water weight – Water weight accounts for the levels of hydration in our body. This weight can fluctuate 5lbs in a single day based on hydration levels. If you have ever been sick and lost weight very quickly, it was most likely water weight. The contestants on the Biggest Loser TV show, lost up to 20lbs in 1 week, and it was most likely some fat, but a lot of water weight too. The reason NFL football players weigh in and out of each summer practice is because the are being monitored for hydration levels as they can lose 3-5lbs in a single practice session. And finally, this is the weight you will lose and gain rapidly with low carb fad diets.

So how much weight can you lose safely and keep it off? 1lb of fat equals 3500 calories. That is about 2 days worth of food for most of us. To lose weight and keep it off, a calories deficit of about 500 a day is acceptable. This means if you eat 2000 calories a day, you should burn through 2500. So by the end of the week 1-2 lbs of fat loss is considered healthy, achievable and maintainable. Muscle is what we want to gain so we can burn more calories and raise our metabolism. We will all gain muscle differently based on a number of factors including genetics, training regimen and supplementation. A good number to target is about 1-2 lbs a month. The reason for this is because it is difficult to put on muscle and lose body fat at the same time. So you have to have a strict calorie balance so you can gain muscle weight without gaining fat weight too.

There is more than one type of weight you can lose or gain making this a vague topic to quantify. This is why they use the term “weight” on TV and in advertisements when referring to an abundant amount of weight loss quickly. Set realistic goals, and if you are consistently changing your body composition by losing fat and putting on some healthy muscle you will eventually look and feel the way you want to, you will have done it the right way, and will therefore be able to maintain the new you for life!

Copyright (c) 2007 Charles Carter

If you are one of the many Americans who live in the San Diego area who has made it a goal of theirs to lose weight, we are happy to provide to you a list of resources that can help you achieve your dreams of having a fit and healthy body.

The San Diego area is one of the best areas in the country when it comes to allowing residents to stay outside and active all year round, however, sometimes, great weather and year round sun are not enough to promote exercise all the time. Therefore, you must devise another strategy for losing weight quickly.

Many San Diego natives who want to look good and improve their health will consult with a weight loss or fitness consultant or professional. These individuals can take a look at your lifestyle and your habits and help identify and make adjustments to areas where you might not believe there to be a problem. For instance, many people operate under the idea that just because they eat certain foods like leafy greens or lean chicken, that they are eating healthy. While those foods may be good for you, the way you might be cooking them isn’t. For instance, you might be cooking them in high fat oil or adding ingredients that inevitably discount their consumption as a healthy food. A weight loss consultant will be able to address those problems and help you create a better diet.

In addition, when you meet with a consultant in this area, they will also be able to help you devise a worthwhile exercise plan and act as a “coach” to help you stick to it.

For those San Diego residents who believe they need more than just a weight loss consultant to guide them through their weight loss issues, it may be beneficial to check out what a bariatric facility can do for you.

This type of facility typically performs a highly specialized type of surgery on the dangerously obese. While this is not a common weight loss tool amongst all people, those individuals who suffer from health issues related to obesity can benefit greatly.

This particular surgery has a high success rate and this is accomplished through the reduction of the size of the stomach. When it is complete, patients will feel less hungry and inevitably consume fewer calories, resulting in weight loss.

There are a variety of resources in San Diego for those people who dream of losing weight, but who don’t know where to begin. If normal diet and exercise are not working for you, consult with a health professional over your next course of action. Weight loss will not only make you look great, it will also make you feel great and benefit your health!