1. Your Life Force.Your body functions whether you are awake or not. To function it needs energy. It gets this energy by burning calories. The action of burning calories to keep your body humming along is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and approximately 30% of calories consumed by your body are used for this function.

2. Physical Activity. Body movement, hands, arms, legs etc., over and above the automatic life sustaining BMR actions your body makes. These actions burn about 60% of the calories your body takes in.

3. Dietary Thermogenesis. This is the action of burning calories during and immediately after the act of eating which enables the body to eat, digest, use and absorb the food. Approximately 10% of the calories burned by your body are used in this function.

How then does all of this help us to lose weight quickly, given that you need to burn 3,500 calories to burn a pound in weight?

The experts recommend losing no more than 1 to 2 pounds a week. This translates to burning an additional 3,500 to 7,000 calories a week. Breaking it down this eqates to between and 500 and 1,000 calories to lose daily.

It gets even easier to lose the weight if you choose to split this amount into calories you want to burn off with additional activity and calories you want to lose by reducing your intake through better eating.

Within these parameters losing weight does not get much simpler than that. How quickly you can lose weight then is dependant on how committed you are.

Here are 3 strategies for losing weight you can start using today.

1. Exercise – 20 to 30 minutes, 3 to 4 times a week, of aerobic exercise like brisk walking, swimming, jogging or aerobic training, all of which will increase your heart rate. High intensity workouts of a sustained nature like these keep your body burning fat long after finishing the exercise.

2. More Meals – 5 smaller  meals eaten during the day allow your metabolism to burn fat faster that larger less frequent meals do. Smaller, regular meals also allow you to keep hunger pangs and potential binge eating in check.

3. Spicy Food – research has shown spicy food can boost your metabolism by up to 50% for anything up to 3 hours after finishing your meal. Chillies are particularly good at this.

With little effort these strategies can be put into effect and your life can start changing for the better very quickly. You can lose weight quickly but only if you consistently work at it.

These strategies will help you achieve your weight loss goals.

You do not have to be one of the many who are dissatisfied with what they weigh and how they look. Did you know that four out of five American women are unhappy with how they look?

On any given day one in four American men and and 50% of American women will be dieting. Of those who are dieting 95% will regain the weight they lose, plus an extra couple of pounds, within two years of completing their weight loss program. Only 5% manage to lose weight and keep it off. Find out HERE how you can be one of the 5% who not only lost weight, and achieved the slimmer, more attractive body look they desperately wanted, but also managed to keep their trim looks.

1) RESTRICT YOUR CALORIES:- You may not want to hear this but the bottom line is that you need to consume less calories if you want to lose weight. There are a number of ways you can go about this. The first method is to write down everything that you eat in a normal week and work out the average number of calories you are consuming each day. Then adjust your eating habits so that you are eating less calories each day than your current average. Another method is to write down your target weight in pounds and then multiply this by 12 if you are female and 14 if you are male. This will give you the approximate number of calories you will need to consume to reach and maintain your target weight. A third solution is to use a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calculator (that can be found for free on the Internet) which will tell you the number of calories you should be consuming.

2) EAT THE RIGHT FOODS:- Apart from restricting your calories, eating the right foods is an important factor when trying to lose weight. You need to be consuming lots of healthy, nutritous, low calorie foods such as fruit, vegetables and whole grain carbohydrates. Eating smaller portions more regularly throughout the day can also help you lose weight.

3) DRINK MORE WATER:- Drinking water has a number of benefits which can help you lose weight indirectly. First, being properly hydrated keeps your body functioning at its optimal level meaning you can burn fat more efficiently. Second, it reduces water retention and the additional weight that this may bring. Finally, it makes you feel fuller so that you are less likely to eat too much.

4) EXERCISE:- A good diet is half of the challenge when losing weight but you also need to exercise. Start with trying to do 15 minutes a day of walking, cycling, sports or whatever else you fancy. As long as you keep moving each day you will be burning additional calories and losing weight. Remember, the more exercise you do the more weight you will lose.

5) CONSUME POTASSIUM:- Avocados, bananas and apricots are all rich sources of potassium. Potassium can help remove sodium from your body and has been associated with weight loss.

6) CONSUME PROTEIN:- Protein can be found in raw meats, dairy products and even supplements. Research has associated consumption of protein with a temporary fat burning effect and a suppressed appetite, both of which can help you lose weight.

7) SET OUT A PLAN:- Even if you have all the right information, poor planning can mean that you do not take action and ultimately you do not lose weight. Think about how many calories you are going to be consuming each day. Which meals allow you to achieve this? How will you ensure that you drink enough water each day? Where are you going to source your daily protein and potassium? When and where are you going to exercise each day? You need to consider all these factors and then create a plan. Write down how you are going to incorporate all the above into your daily routine and then stick with it.
STAY POSITIVE:- Sometimes the right information and a plan are still not enough. If you are following a plan half heartedly you are not likely to lose weight. Negative thinking can be your ultimate downfall. Keep thinking positively about your weight loss plans and you will continue to lose weight. Everytime you start to feel down think of the weight you have already lost and how good you will look once you have reached your target weight.

I hope this article helps you in your weight loss efforts. If you stick with regular exercise, a healthy diet and create a solid weight loss plan you should lose weight. Stay positive, act on the information in this article and you will succeed.