HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT

Phase 1: How To Lose Weight

LISTEN MY READERS

The purpose of Phase 1 is going to make a ton of sense. You see, in order to successfully reach your weight loss goals, you're going to first need to understand how to lose weight. (I told you it would make sense.) That's what Phase 1 is. A complete, yet easy to understand explanation of exactly what is required for weight loss to take place. How it happens, why it happens, and most important of all... what you need to do in order to make it happen. You can not skip ahead. You will need to know this in order to create your weight loss diet plan in Phase 2.

So, to sum up, by the end of this page you're going to know how to lose weight. Sound good? Great. Let's get to it...

Calories

You know when you eat food and drink drinks? Well, every one of those foods and every one of those drinks contain calories. Say it with me... calories. The reason I'm mentioning calories to you as though you are 5 years old is because the answer to the almighty "how to lose weight" question all revolves around calories. Not only does everything you eat and drink contain calories, but everything you do burns calories. Literally every step you take and every move you make burns calories. In fact, your body actually burns hundreds and even thousands of calories each day on its own just functioning. You could sit still all day and your body would still burn calories.

So now you may be wondering, if everything you eat contains calories, and everything you do burns calories, shouldn't they just cancel each other out? Yes, they should... and they do. If you consume the exact same number of calories that your body burns each day, your weight would stay exactly the same. If your body naturally burns 3000 calories a day, and you happen to eat 3000 calories a day, your weight would not change. In this example, 3000 calories is what's known as a calorie maintenance level. It's the number of calories required for the body to maintain its current weight.

I should probably have you repeat "calorie maintenance level" with me, because if there's one thing more important than calories when it comes to losing weight... it's your calorie maintenance level.

Calorie Maintenance Level (And the "big secret")

Your calorie maintenance level is pretty useful to know. Think of it like it's your body's weight loss password, and knowing it will get you into your own private weight loss system. Once you're in, you'll be able to control your weight with ease. In fact, for anyone wondering how to lose weight, this is the number at the heart of that answer. The best way I can explain why is by telling you the big secret...

Like I said, every person's body needs a certain number of calories each day in order for them to maintain their current weight. This is your maintenance level. If your diet plan is made up of the SAME number of calories as this maintenance level, your weight will stay the same. However, if your diet is made up of MORE calories than your maintenance level, you will GAIN weight. But... get this... if your diet is made up of LESS calories than your maintenance level... YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT!

Calorie Deficit (Giving your body less calories than it needs)

You just learned the one simple fact that The Lose Weight Diet is based on. Pretty cool huh? I told you, weight loss is all about calories. More specifically, it's about creating a calorie deficit. You need to end up burning more calories than you consume. If your daily calorie maintenance level is 3000 calories, you will lose weight if you started eating 2500 calories a day. You would gain weight if you ate 3500 calories a day. I realize I was only supposed to explain how to lose weight, but you've also just learned how to gain weight.

Did you ever wonder how you gained weight? Now you know. You ate more than your maintenance level. To lose weight, you just need to reverse that. Simple, isn't it? You may have noticed that in the example above I subtracted 500 calories from the maintenance level. Subtracting 500 calories from your maintenance level is the magic weight loss number here. The reason for that is because there are about 3500 calories in 1 pound of fat. So, if you ate 500 less calories each day for 7 days, it would equal the 3500 less calories required to lose 1 pound. (500 x 7 = 3500)

Coincidentally, there are 7 days in a week. So, by eating 500 calories below your daily maintenance level, you would lose about 1 pound per week. Now would be a good time to mention that the healthy, safe, good, smart, and all around right amount of weight to lose for most people is 1 or 2 pounds a week. That is the widely agreed upon correct weight loss speed. I am bringing this up now because some people may be thinking, "If my maintenance level was 3000 calories, why shouldn't I just go straight to eating 1000 calories a day instead of only 2500?" Here's why...

Reducing your calorie intake by so much so fast is wrong, potentially unsafe and unhealthy, bad, dumb, silly, stupid, not smart, not good, and all around super incorrect. Got that? You'd end up losing muscle along with the fat. You'd be hungry, annoyed and feel like crap. Your body would go into a state where it actually KEEPS fat. Blah blah blah, blah blah. It would just be the complete opposite of the right thing to do. Remove this idea from your mind.

What about working out?

Here's another thing you may have been thinking. "I know how to lose weight... just eat fewer calories than I burn. I got that. I know I can do this by eating about 500 calories less than my maintenance level. But, instead of eating below my maintenance level, couldn't I just workout more and therefore burn more calories?" The answer is YES!

If your maintenance level is 3000 calories a day, and you are eating the full 3000 calories a day, you could lose weight by working out and burning those 500 calories each day. You'd still end up in the same calorie deficit this way just as you would by eating less. The only real difference is that it's quite a bit more work to burn off 500 calories every day through exercise than it is to just eat 500 less calories daily.

Weight loss is all about being in that calorie deficit. While you can technically accomplish this either way (through diet or workout), the best idea in terms of results and all around health is to do it using a combination of both if you can. A proper diet plan combined with a proper workout is the ideal weight loss scenario. But, I'll talk more about that later. First I need to cover one final Phase 1 question you may have...

"While explaining how to lose weight, you have only really mentioned calories. What about protein, carbs and fat? Don't they matter?" The answer is yes, but not in the way you might think.

Protein, Carbs, and Fat

You see, your total daily calorie intake is BY FAR the most important aspect of weight loss. Eat the right amount per day and you will lose weight regardless of where those calories came from. However, the foods and nutrients supplying those calories still do play many important roles in your diet and health for various reasons. As far as these "calorie suppliers" go, there's mainly just three; protein, carbs and fat. Despite what the many fad diets and commercial diet plans have scared you into thinking, your weight loss diet CAN and SHOULD contain a good amount of all three. (Exactly how much of each is coming up next.)

So, while you will definitely lose weight just as a result of being below your maintenance level, how much and what types of protein, carbs and fat you eat will indeed play many important roles in your overall weight loss results. Don't worry, I'll explain all of that next.

The end of Phase 1 of The Lose Weight Diet

You have reached the end of Phase 1. Right now you should fully understand how to lose weight. Feels good, doesn't it? I told you this was simple. What you need to do next is use what you just learned to create your own weight loss diet plan. That's what Phase 2 is. In Phase 2 you will learn exactly how to figure out what your calorie maintenance level is and exactly how many calories you should eat each day. You will also learn how much protein, carbs and fat you should be eating along with examples of which foods to get these nutrients from. You ready? Let's go...

WEIGHT LOSS FOOD LOG

Stop me if you’ve heard this one… if weight loss is your goal, one of the most important things you can possibly do is keep track of everything you eat each day.
Nothing new there, right?
The reason you’d do this is because, as you know by now, the key to a successful weight loss diet is eating the right number of calories (and getting those calories from good sources) and keeping some kind of log, list, or journal of what you eat every day is the only real way of doing this.
While I fully agree with everything above, I feel there is actually a completely different weight loss food log that should also be kept.
Like I’ve mentioned other times in this blog, most people fail to lose weight because of the mental aspect of weight loss. Knowing what to do and deciding to start doing it is easy. It’s the motivation, dedication, and will power to keep doing it, and doing it correctly, that causes most of the problems.
Keeping the type of food log I mentioned above and knowing exactly what you’re eating every day is really one of the keys for making the physical aspect of weight loss happen.
But, it does absolutely nothing for the mental aspect.
That’s why I’m proposing that everyone who’s ever had a diet setback due to a lack of will power or motivation should start keeping a SECOND log…
A log of everything you didn’t eat.
Everything you wanted to eat that day, but didn’t. Every bag of potato chips, every candy bar, every french fry, every cookie, every fast food hamburger, every can of soda, every food you wanted to eat but didn’t because you know you shouldn’t.
Each food in that log is one victory for your will power. Looking at a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly log of every piece of junk food you were mentally strong enough to keep out of your body would be nothing but motivating.
The next time your favorite junk food is just sitting there calling your name, instead of eating it, write it down. Write them all down. If you’re up to it, you can even take the time to figure out the nutritional information of it (calories, grams of fat, etc.) just to get an even better idea of the junk you just avoided eating.
As motivating as that would be, it will be even more motivating when you watch this log become smaller and smaller over time as your desire and interest in eating these types of foods gradually fade away.
Not to mention, the actual act of writing/typing the food down rather than eating it could act as enough of a distraction to make the desire to eat it just pass.
So, while adopting this idea won’t actually cause you to lose any weight, it will serve as a way of improving your will power and keeping you motivated. And, without that, you probably won’t be losing any weight anyway.
***NEW*** Still have questions about your fat loss diet? Confused about your workout? Need help putting it all together? Well, after nearly 10 years of requests, I've finally created the ultimate solution.
I call it The Ultimate Fat Loss Program, and in it I provide all of the answers, details and facts that make up the highly proven workout and diet system I've used to help countless men and women completely transform their bodies.

THE #1 WAY OF MAKING YOUR WEIGHT LOSS NEW YEAR RESOLUTION A SUCCESS

It is important that  you take heed to make your new year weight loss resolution a success
So, you finally decided you want to lose some weight. Hey, maybe it’s a lot of weight. Either way, you decided it’s time for it to go. And this time, this time you’re serious. You mean business. And to show just how much you want to lose weight, you’ve gone and made weight loss your 2014 New Year’s Resolution.
Congratulations.
Now, I want to help you succeed with this goal as much as possible, but I’m not going to waste your time and mine by writing up the type of top 10 list of “tips” that is going to literally be in every magazine and newspaper and on every diet and fitness website over the next few weeks.

“10 ways to lose weight in 2014!” “The 10 easiest ways to slim down in the new year” “10 tips for saying goodbye to 2013… and 50lbs!!”

And you know what comes next… those super useful tips like “set goals,” “take the stairs instead of the elevator,” “eat more fruits and vegetables,” blah blah blah.
I’m not going to bore you with that nonsense.
If you want to know what you need to do to make weight loss happen, then just take 20 minutes and read through the 3 phases of The Lose Weight Diet. It will tell you every single thing you need to know, for free.
But, this isn’t about knowing. This is about doing. New Year’s Resolutions are about doing. Knowing how to lose weight is simple and easy. I pretty much explained it all in 3 easy to understand pages. It’s doing it, and then continuing to do it, that tends to be a bit harder. After all, weight loss is the #1 New Year’s Resolution. It’s what most people want to do in the new year.
So, with this in mind, I was sitting here thinking about what to make my big “weight loss resolution” blog post about. I know this is the biggest time of the year for people to seek out diet and fitness information. How can I help these people, I wondered. What could I leave at the top of this blog so that it’s the very first thing these people see when they end up here in their search for accurate weight loss information.
I thought, and I thought, and I thought some more. What is the one single piece of advice I could offer to the people looking to lose weight this new year aside from the things mentioned in The Lose Weight Diet itself. And then, finally, it came to me.

DON’T make weight loss your New Year’s Resolution.

Did this one take you by surprise? I figured it would. It wasn’t a typo. Go ahead and read it again. And I’m being completely serious too. Let me explain.
I have always felt that turning something like weight loss into a New Year’s Resolution is a really bad idea. It’s the wrong way to start things off. Why? Because it makes failure a possibility. If you fail, you can always try to lose weight again as part of next year’s New Year’s Resolution. There will always be another January 1st to “try again” on. You’re giving yourself a way out, almost like a failure backup plan.
This is the complete opposite of the type of mindset someone should have when they decide they want to lose weight, and weight loss is just as much a mental thing as it is a physical thing (if not more so). The thought that there is even the slightest possible chance that you won’t reach your goal should not even exist in your mind. And, making weight loss your New Year’s Resolution does just that.
What, don’t believe me? Just ask the millions of people who have made weight loss there New Year’s Resolution this year… and last year… and the year before that… and the year before that… and the year before that… and hell, they’ll make it next year just the same… and the year after that… and the year after that.
Still don’t believe me? Ask anyone who has been a member of a gym for longer than a year. I happen to fit into this category, so I might as well be the one to tell you. Every single year, everyone in every gym knows that the first few weeks of January is when everything becomes a little… different. There are less parking spots outside. There are less available lockers in the locker room. There is more equipment in use. The gym as a whole becomes a little more crowded. Why? Because these New Year’s resolution people start showing up.
But… we only have to put up with them for a short period of time. Ever see The Shawshank Redemption? Remember that part when all of the long time inmates take bets on which of the new inmates will be the first to break down and cry? Well, the same type of bets are taking place in gyms around the world… which New Year’s Resolution person will be the first to give up and quit, never to be seen again.
Until maybe next January, of course.
Slowly but surely, it happens every single time. Within 1 full month, maybe even two or three, the gyms are less crowded. There are a lot more parking spots and lockers. Everything is back to normal again. And just like that, 99% of the people who made weight loss their New Year’s Resolution have disappeared. Don’t worry guys, you can borrow my parking spot for the first 3 weeks of next January too.
The reason I’m telling you this is to show you that the odds are against you. If you make weight loss your New Years Resolution, I have see enough proof with my own two eyes to know that the odds are not in your favor. The majority of these people will fail. This is an unfortunate yet proven fact.
So then… if you follow my tip and DON’T make weight loss your New Year’s Resolution… what the hell are you supposed to do? Just forget the whole thing and never lose the weight? Of course not. What you need to do is simple.
Lose weight because that’s what you want to do. Lose weight because that’s what you’re going to do. Lose it because you want to be healthier. Lose it because you want to look better. Lose it because you want to feel better. Lose it for all of these reasons… and more.
Work your ass off to reach your weight loss goal because that is just what you’ve decided you’re going to do, and not because it’s the first week of January, or because it’s 2007, or because it’s written down on a piece of paper titled “New Year’s Resolutions.” Lose weight because that’s just what you are going to do, period.
Like I said before, it’s the mental aspect of weight loss that causes most people to fail. A mental change as small as this one may just be the difference maker.
So, my tip to you… eliminate the term “New Year’s Resolution” from your mind. Ignore any and all mention of it. Instead, just lose weight because you will not accept or allow anything else.
Oh, and Happy New Year.
***NEW*** Still have questions about your fat loss diet? Confused about your workout? Need help putting it all together? Well, after nearly 10 years of requests, I've finally created the ultimate solution.
I call it The Ultimate Fat Loss Program, and in it I provide all of the answers, details and facts that make up the highly proven workout and diet system I've used to help countless men and women completely transform their bodies

LOSE WEIGHT AND BUILD MUSCLES

Ok, I’m going to answer a series of questions with either “yes” or “no.” After all the questions have been answered, I will explain.

1. Should I lose weight first and then build muscle?
No.

2. If I want to lose weight and build muscle, should I wait until all of the weight is lost and then work on building muscle?
No.

3. I have some fat that I want to lose and then I want to work on building muscle. But, my friend told me I should just work on turning my fat into muscle. Is that possible?
Hell no.

There is a noticeable theme to these questions… the goal of wanting to both lose weight AND build muscle. I’ve noticed this to be the cause of a lot of confusion, so let’s get it all straightened out. Question #1 and #2 are basically the same question with a different wording. Either way, the answer is still no. Here’s why…

If you want to both lose weight and build muscle, there are absolutely no reasons to first ONLY lose weight, and then, when the weight is finally gone, first begin to build muscle.

On the other hand, there ARE many reasons to work on building muscle at the same time you are trying to lose weight. Some include:

• Weight loss happens when you put your body into a calorie deficit either by eating less of them, burning more of them, or a combination of both. And, huge surprise, weight training burns calories. It might not be equal to jogging on a treadmill, but it still burns a significant amount of calories.
• Not only does the actual act of weight training burn calories, but the results you get from weight training (increased muscle) ALSO burns calories. Yes, muscle literally burns calories. You know that whole calorie maintenance level thing? Well, that is the number of calories that your body naturally burns each day just functioning. The more muscle you have on your body, the more calories your body will naturally burn. You don’t even have to do anything. You just build muscle, and it takes care of the rest. Adding muscle to your body really is the closest thing to a weight loss miracle.
• HELLO… you start building muscle sooner! If you just sit around waiting until you lose weight before you finally try to build muscle, you will have wasted precious muscle building time. Both could have been getting done at the same time. (More on that later.)

So, to sum up, if you want to both lose weight and build muscle… you’d be pretty silly to not start off doing both at the same time.

On to question #3. The infamous “turn fat into muscle” idea. This, of course, is not possible. As mentioned above, you should start to both lose fat and build muscle at the same time, but you should also keep in mind that these are two separate things being lost and gained separately.

You’ve got your muscle, and you’ve got your fat. These are the only forms they come in. They can’t magically transform into the other. You can only gain and lose muscle, or gain and lose fat. That’s it. Those are the only tricks they do. Of course, you can lose 5lbs of fat and then gain 5lbs of muscle. But, one did not turn into the other. Case closed.

And now, one more related question:

1. I’ve heard that it’s not possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Is this true?
   Sometimes

As someone whose goal was always to both lose fat and gain muscle, I know exactly how confusing that “sometimes” answer may appear. But, it’s really not. Let me explain.

In order to lose a significant amount of fat, you have to consume less calories than your body needs each day. In order to build a significant amount of muscle, you have to consume more calories than your body needs each day. As you can see, they are counterproductive opposites. If I currently tried to do both at the same time, I would fail at both.

However, don’t give up hope. There are two groups of people that could actually succeed at doing both at the same time, and I’m not one of them. These two groups of people are:

1. People with “assistance.” Specifically, a word that starts with “ste” and ends with “roids.”
2. Beginners. It truly is an amazing thing, and you’d be just plain stupid to not try to take advantage of it. See, when you are first starting to build muscle (aka, a beginner), very little is required for it to work. Don’t get me wrong, it will still take tons of effort and the correct information, but all of the other aspects that would cause a non-beginner to fail to build muscle does not apply to the person who is a beginner. Their body will, for the most part, build muscle either way. I’ve heard this borderline miracle described as “newbie gains,” “beginner’s gains” and the “honeymoon period.” None of these are scientific terms, by the way.

You remember that whole thing I said before about having to eat more calories than your body needs in order to gain a significant amount of muscle? And that the reason most people can’t do both at the same time is because losing fat requires consuming less calories (the opposite)? Well, this doesn’t really apply to the beginner. Yes, they will need to be in some kind of calorie deficit in order to lose weight. But, because they are a beginner, this won’t stop them from building muscle as it would a non-beginner.

And it is because of this reason that a beginner is able to both lose weight and build muscle at the same time. Amazing, isn’t it?

Obviously at some point you won’t be a beginner anymore and successfully doing both at the same time will become much harder (or near impossible). But until then, you might as well pretend you have temporary super powers and just enjoy it. In my opinion, the last thing you’d want to do is have this ability and not use it. That’s why the idea of waiting until you first lose weight before trying to build muscle is… well… dumb. It would be like Superman taking the bus to Lex Luther’s hideout.

You have the ability… use it while you can. As for how exactly to do this, it’s pretty simple. Follow The Lose Weight Diet (takes care of the weight loss part of the goal) and combine it with a proper weight training routine (takes care of the muscle building part of the goal). That’s it.

For more details on what weight training routine will work best, and the complete diet/workout program that is most ideal for both losing fat and building muscle at the same time, check out The Lose Weight Diet’s Ultimate Fat Loss Program. There’s an entire bonus section specifically for people looking to gain muscle and lose weight simultaneously.

(Oh, and just to clarify something… any mention of the word “beginner” in this post refers to a weight training beginner, not a weight loss beginner. You could have been trying to lose weight for 10 years and have done all kinds of cardio and been on all kinds of diets, but unless you have been weight training consistently for the last 6-12 months, you are still considered a muscle building beginner who will most likely be able to take advantage of these “beginner gains.” Even if you worked out all the time when you were in college 5 years ago, unless you were doing it over the course of the last year, you too are still considered a beginner.)

***NEW*** Still have questions about your fat loss diet? Confused about your workout? Need help putting it all together? Well, after nearly 10 years of requests, I've finally created the ultimate solution.

I call it The Ultimate Fat Loss Program, and in it I provide all of the answers, details and facts that make up the highly proven workout and diet system I've used to help countless men and women completely transform their bodies.

 

UNIQUE 5 PRODUCTS FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Weight loss doesn’t cost a thing. That’s why The Lose Weight Diet is free. There are absolutely no weight loss products that you need to buy, period.
In fact, there are actually certain products that you should purposely avoid buying at all costs. I even wrote a list detailing 10 ways to tell what those weight loss and fitness products are.
But, with all of that being said, I think there actually are certain weight loss products that you should buy. So far, I’ve conveniently come up with 5 of them, which is the perfect amount to make a pretty list out of. So, without further ado…

The 5 Best Weight Loss Products

5. Gym Membership
Ok, so a gym membership isn’t really a “product.” However, it is something that can be used for the purpose of weight loss, and it does cost money. To me, that certainly qualifies it enough to appear on my list of the 5 best weight loss products. Why, what you were expecting to see here? Recommendations of diet pills and ab machines? HAHAHAHA!
Back to the list. This first recommended “weight loss product” should be no surprise… a gym membership. Working out at home would be fantastic, but most people don’t have the space or money to really provide themselves with everything they need. A gym does. Sure, maybe you can fit a treadmill in the corner of your bedroom. And maybe you can squeeze a weight bench into the basement or garage. But let’s be honest here, these options do not replace a gym.
As if that wasn’t reason enough, there is always the thought that having your home double as your gym would kind of, you know, stop you from working out. When you go to the gym, you GO to the gym. You’re away from all of your house distractions. Phone calls, doorbells, family members, TV’s, and kitchens filled with food. At a gym you’re surrounded by workout equipment and… workout equipment. The only people around you are… working out.
Not to mention, when you have the option of working out at home, you also have the option of putting off your workout until “later.” This in turn creates the option of later becoming even later, and then eventually never happening.
Working out at home seems like it would be fantastic. But, it requires a certain amount of dedication and strictness to make it work, not to mention space and money as well. My recommendation… go get a gym membership.
4. Tape Measure/Body Fat Calipers/Digital Camera
Yes, this is 3 weight loss products in one, but there’s a good reason for that. A subject that I bring up a lot on here is the importance of tracking your progress, and these 3 products do just that.
The reason I place so much importance on tracking your progress is because, aside from being able to see for sure if what you’re doing is actually working like you want it to, it’s extremely motivating to see cold hard numbers proving that you are getting results.
For example, a tape measure will be able to tell you how many inches you lose/gain in various areas of your body. Nothing else can do that. Yeah yeah yeah, you might think you notice your clothes fit better or feel looser, but come on… seeing the actual numbers decrease is guaranteed proof of it. It serves as a real measure of progress, and it causes the type of motivation that makes you want to keep going and keep watching that number decrease.
Body fat calipers will tell you how much of the weight you lose/gain is actually fat. Remember, your weight can change (up or down) due to fat, water, or muscle. If you gain weight but your body fat percentage stays the same (or even decreases), that will tell you that the gained weight was NOT fat. This is a good thing to know. You can find one for less than $5.00 or get a fancy digital one for $30.00.
A digital camera will act as your truly accurate memory. I’ve mentioned this before… due to the fact that you see yourself every single day, it will be very hard for you to actually see differences in your body. Obviously you’ll notice something like losing 30 pounds. But, with a digital camera, you’ll see every single difference and every single bit of progress you make. It’s motivating to look back and see how far you’ve come, and it’s just plain entertaining to look back at what you used to look like. Your memory will not be anywhere near as good as actual pictures. Trust me.
3. Food
Alright, I know what you’re thinking. What is “food” doing on a list of supposed best weight loss products? Well, maybe I should have been more specific. How about, good food? Let me explain.
Weight loss is all about calories. Whether it’s burning more of them, or eating less of them, calories control your weight. And, guess what? Food contains calories. That means if you eat the right amount of food, and eat better types of food, you will lose weight. Therefore, food can be viewed as a weight loss product. Sure, it can also be viewed as a weight gain product, but honestly, when used correctly, there is no better weight loss product on the planet than food.
2. Digital Scale
The reason I didn’t lump this one in with the other weight loss tracking methods in #4 is because I wanted to include a little bit of extra explanation. First of all, I was really thinking of making this one just “scale.” After some extensive thought (about 15 seconds worth), I decided to go with digital scale. Yes, I have a good reason for it.
Your old fashioned bathroom scale just doesn’t cut it anymore. Don’t get me wrong here. As far as tracking your weight, it will do. But, I think if you’re going to take the time to weigh yourself on a regular basis (I recommend weekly), I say go for the best way of doing so which to me, is the digital scale.
Trying to see if the dial is nearer to the 0 line or the 5 line while standing on the scale is borderline torture. Not to mention, it could ruin the accuracy of tracking your progress. You’re not losing or gaining 10 pounds a week. You body is changing 1 pound at a time, sometimes even just half a pound at a time. If you can’t tell exactly what your weight is (and I mean EXACTLY) because you are unable to line up the stupid line with the stupid number on the stupid dial, then you can’t tell if what you’re doing is or is not working.
And as a huge fan of progress tracking, I think this is something you need to know.
Enter the digital scale. It will clearly print the numbers. Big, clear numbers. There will be no need to call a family member into the bathroom to help you figure out what your weight is. But even more important than that is the fact that most digital scales will give you your weight in half-a-pound increments. The good ones will go even smaller than that.
This may not seem so important now, but when you’re watching your weight slowly decrease each week, there is a big difference between seeing 200lbs two weeks in a row, and seeing 200lbs one week, and 199.5lbs the next. Progress is progress, but a digital scale will show it to you better and more accurately than an old fashioned analog scale will.
And if anyone is wondering, I use a Tanita brand digital scale that I bought in 2004 for $30.00.
1. Digital Food Scale
This list isn’t really in any order. If it was, food would probably be #1. However, I purposely went out of my way to put digital food scale at #1 because I wanted it to stand out a little extra. This will honestly be one of the most useful purchases you’ve ever made. This is actually the item that gave me the idea to write this list in the first place. I bought a new food scale a couple of months ago, and I can’t emphasize enough just how useful it really is.
First of all, it’s extremely small, extremely light and extremely easy to operate. It won’t be a problem to store, and it won’t be hard to use. You put the food on it (cooked, raw, whatever), and it says what it weighs. That’s it.
But now you might be wondering what exactly makes this one of the 5 best weight loss products. You know what your food weighs… but so what? I’ll tell you what. You take that food weight, enter it in on a (free) web site such as a Calorie Counter and guess what it tells you? Exactly how many calories and grams of protein, carbs, fat (and more) you are getting from that EXACT amount of food. Knowing this information is the absolute key to weight loss.
 

Sure, some foods have their nutritional information right on them, but what good is that unless you’re eating exactly 1 serving size? And even then, how do you even know if you’re eating 1 serving size? Look at the back of some foods. Serving sizes are measured in grams and ounces. It just so happens that a digital food scale will tell you how many grams and/or ounces your food weighs. So really, whether there is or isn’t nutritional information right there on the food… a scale would still be needed.
And I’m not telling you this as though it’s my guess. I weigh out most of my food. I know just how useful it is. It takes a second and it lets me know exactly how much I’m eating that meal and that day. Once you know this information, you can make your weight do whatever the hell you want it to do.
I use this $30.00 Salter Kitchen Scale. I seriously rank it up there with my computer and TiVo as the three most used items in my house.
So, there’s what I think are the 5 best weight loss products. Like I mentioned at the very beginning, weight loss is free. You don’t have to buy any of these things. But then again, you’d be better off if you did.
***NEW*** Still have questions about your fat loss diet? Confused about your workout? Need help putting it all together? Well, after nearly 10 years of requests, I've finally created the ultimate solution.

I call it The Ultimate Fat Loss Program, and in it I provide all of the answers, details and facts that make up the highly proven workout and diet system I've used to help countless men and women completely transform their bodies.

10 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF IN ORDER TO ATTAIN A HEALTHY WEIGHT

If you're going to get to a healthy weight, ask yourself these 10 questions first!

To all my readers, if you really want a healthy weight, endeavor to consider the following questions.

The photo on the right was taken in 2004. It shows the level of fitness I achieved when exercising approximately 15 hours each week, transitioning from near-obesity to peak fitness.

I no longer spend that much time exercising, and I focus more on writing than martial arts, but this serves as an example of what a typical person can do with nutrition and exercise if they put their mind to it.

To be clear, there are many reasons why people put on extra body weight, including under-active thyroid, sugar addictions, trace minerals depletion, vitamin D deficiencies and more.

If you're going to set some weight management goals, I strongly advise you to first take care of all the basics by asking yourself these ten powerful questions:

#1) Are you taking enough vitamin D yet? Without vitamin D, weight loss almost never works. (I take 5,000 - 10,000 IUs daily. You should research the right dose for you.)

#2) Have you stopped drinking liquid sugars yet? If you're still drinking corn syrup (sodas), forget about weight loss. You first need to quit the soda habit.

#3) Are you consuming enough fresh fruit and vegetables? Are you juicing yet? You'll need to do both of these things on a regular basis.

#4) Are you exercising yet? You'll need a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise every day to start dropping pounds. This can be brisk walking, swimming or cycling. Weight training is also very valuable if you do it safely.

#5) Have you addressed the emotional reasons why you overeat? Inside every person who isn't happy with their body weight is someone who still has some emotional stuff to work out. Get some support from friends, family or professionals. Find out WHY you tend to overeat. Explore your habits and behavioral patterns. Are there certain things that trigger over-eating?

#6) Do you have enough trace minerals in your system? Many people who crave "salty snacks" are actually extremely deficient in minerals. They crave salt (minerals), but they misinterpret the craving as a desire to eat empty calories. Your body needs a certain level of minerals to function, and when it lacks those minerals, it will generate internal cravings to motivate you to try to find them. People who make an effort to supplement trace minerals (and quality full-spectrum salts) often find their cravings for salty snacks literally vanish.

#7) Have a reason WHY you wish to achieve the best weight for yourself. You need an emotional "anchor" to give you the behavioral leverage to get there. Are you losing weight to feel better about yourself? To improve your longevity? To be more physically attractive? To compete with a sibling or friend? To go to a class reunion or wedding? Figure out your top reason for wanting to achieve your weight goals and use that reason as leverage to guide you in that direction.


#8) Have you committed the TIME to realistically accomplish your weight loss goals? You'll need to set aside the time for exercise as well as time for fresh food preparation. Figure a minimum if one hour per day, and it can easily be two hours total.

#9) Do you have the support of your family and friends? It's very important to discuss your goals with your immediate family and get their support. If you're trying to lose weight, they need to refrain from baking cookies and filling the house with that aroma, for example. They need to verbally support your efforts and not tease you or discourage you. Have a serious talk before you begin.

#10) Prepare yourself to be hungry and know that it's okay. If you eat every time you feel hungry, you will never achieve your weight loss goals. Dropping excess body fat will absolutely require experiencing feelings of hunger. Know that hunger does not mean you are dying. You're gonna be fine. Don't let your body trick you into thinking you desperately need to intake more calories. Become familiar with a bit of hunger and learn to live with it during your weight loss journey. It's okay to feel hungry! Cowboy up and move on.