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It's hard to believe that quick weight loss is anything but a sham. We know what you're thinking; you've seen infomercials where people have lost hundreds of pounds in six weeks without changing their diets or exercising. Those people are lying to you. Either that or their diets are unhealthy because our bodies aren't meant to change that face. If you want to lose weight and keep it off you have to take in less calories than you burn while maintaining healthy eating habits. Here's how.

The first step you need to take in order to know how to go about trying to lose weight is finding out how many calories you burn on a day to day basis. Do a web search for a calorie calculator in order to find this number. It should ask you about your sex, how tall you are, and your current weight as well as how active you are. This is information you will need to get the base number of what you expend. Even your job can come into play when it comes to calories.

Once you know how many calories your body is burning in a day you have your starting number. The next thing you need to know is how many calories you're taking in. Spend some time recording everything you eat and then average out the days. Are you eating more than you burn?

Be careful when you decide to cut back calories. You shouldn't try to simply take out a great deal of calories and do no exercise. Your body needs energy to work and calories is one way to measure how much energy your body has. If you cut out too much you won't be able to function.

Fat burning exercises are different than other kinds. For muscle increasing exercises you would have to engage a certain kind of muscle and flex it repeatedly. For cardio exercises you have to keep your heart rate up so high. For fat burning exercises the main point is simply to move. Any kind of movement burns calories, from walking in place to whirling your arms around like a chicken for forty-five minutes. As long as you're moving you're pretty much helping your body to burn fat.

When seeking fat loss, don't shy away from the masterpiece that is the salad! Salads are a great way to get you full while packing it full of healthy foods. Stay away from creamy dressings and you can put just about anything (within reason!) on top of a salad and do yourself a huge favor. Don't like lettuce (remember there's more than one kind of lettuce)? Try spinach instead. If you don't like spinach either, try cabbage. There are so many different ways to make a salad!

Empty calories are the bane of the healthy diet. If you think that simply watching what you eat is going to be enough here you better think again! Take a look at the nutritional facts on that bottle. Sodas and pops are empty calories. They provide you with nothing by calories and sugars. Get rid of that major problem causer! Instead switch out your sugary juices and sodas with water. Water is the miracle elixir of diets. It keeps you hydrated and improves your digestive health. Green tea is also good.