There are two absolute truths about losing weight and getting fit; diet and exercise. Without proper diet and exercise you will not lose weight. There are those rare few skinny people that can eat anything they want and not exercise a lick but, they are the exception not the rule. And often these types of people are referred to as a “gelatin skeleton”. Sure… they look thin and fit but, once the shirt comes off… hello Betty!

Eighty percent of your weight loss will be dependent on diet. The other twenty percent is tied to exercise. It makes sense that you should focus eighty percent on what you eat. Not just how much you eat but, what you eat. Wolfing down a Big Mac, fries and a large soft drink will rack up around 2000 calories. The average person will burn between 2000 to 3000 calories a day. It stands to reason that if you are consuming 2000 calories just for lunch you will be exceeding the amount of calories that you will be burning in that day. Excess calories are stored in your body as fat, to be used later when you are starving but, you will not likely be starving anytime soon. The bottom line is; if you want to lose weight you will have to burn more calories that you are taking in. For some this might sound like starvation. However, there is another way of looking at this. The strategy is to watch what you eat and exercise portion control. Here are a few techniques you can apply.

•  Get down to basics. When we were cavemen… and cave woman we ate a basic diet of fruits, nuts, greens, vegetables and lean proteins. This is what we were designed to eat. These types of food provide us with clean energy and will sustain us throughout the day. Goggle Paleo Diet and you can find some great recipes that are delicious and nutritious.

•  Kick the can. If it is in a can, jar, package or whatever; limit your consumption. These types of foods are processed and often times contain a ton of sugar and salt. Foods like this will make you fat, unhealthy and bloated.

•  Avoid portion distortion. A portion should fit in the palm of your hand not across your plate. This is a very good rule of thumb to live by. I know what you are thinking, “but that’s not enough and I will starve”. I don’t think so. Break your meals up to five a day with smaller portions and you will find you feel full and full of energy too.

•  Avoid the white devil. I am talking about processed sugar, processed flour, processed white rice, mashed potatoes and high starch carbohydrates. Sugar is the number one enemy but, all of these types of food are dense with sugars and carbs and will end up on your hips and belly.

The second truth is exercise. You should be getting a minimum of twenty minutes… or more, of exercise each and every day. Exercise will increase the amount of calories burned and as long as you are on a balance portion controlled diet you will lose weight. Exercise has another added benefit. As you increase the muscle and decrease the fat the added muscle requires more calories so the effect of exercise compounds as you continue with it. Again, I know what you are thinking, “exercise? That sounds hard. Who wants to exercise?” Start out slow but, increase each time. You will find it is not that hard and if you commit to making this part of your daily routine you will become addicted. Here are a few tips on getting started.

•  Go slow. Start by walking around the block. The next week do it twice. The following week three times. In time you will find you are walking a mile. But, always remember “a journey of a thousand mils starts with one single step”. Take that step right now and stick with it.

•  Bring a friend. Exercise is always better when you have another person to hold you accountable and give you support. If you don’t have somebody like that get a trainer. If you don’t want a trainer, listen to motivational tracks. I love to listen to Anthony Robbins. He always gets me psyched and keeps me moving.

•  Push ahead. There will always be set backs. You will likely miss a day or fall off the wagon. But, get back on. The beauty of life is we can start over anytime and every time we want. Don’t give up and keep pushing ahead.

For some of you these are very rudimentary steps. For others these are the first steps. Whatever stage you are at, you will find that sometimes you need to bring things back to the basics, regain perspective, pick yourself up and begin again. Or for some, just start.