The first thing you have to do in any weight loss program is know what your metabolic rate is. You need to know this in order to calculate how much you can take in and how much to reduce to lose weight.

Many people try to start a weight loss program with their basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy (calories) your body uses in a resting state, at the bottom. What you have to do is to increase your BMR so that you are burning more calories throughout the day, every day. It is quite simple actually, increase the amount of calories you burn, and you will increase the amount of fat you lose. The best way to increase your BMR is through adding muscle tissue. The more muscle mass you have the faster will your metabolism be. Women are sometimes afraid at the idea of adding muscle due to their fear of becoming bulky. Relax; its a little harder to add that kind of muscle mass than you think. I was in bodybuilding for years and used to crack me up how people thought if you just lifted weights a little you would get big muscles. That takes intense heavy specific workouts. Besides, a little muscle mass goes a long way toward achieving a leaner body. And this is what you want, right?

Not just any exercise program will do for weight loss. Just burning calories is not good enough. The program must be planned to draw out specific hormonal responses that are conducive to weight loss. The key is NOT hours and hours of cardio. You must do exercise at an intensity that raises your heart rate and keeps it there for at least twenty minutes at a time and go from there.

Consistency is the next important part of an effective weight loss program. This one pretty much speaks for itself. Have you ever accomplished anything great with an inconsistent effort? Unless failure is considered a great achievement, you probably havent. You must exercise consistently to get the results you want! It blows my mind how many people dont even try to be consistent with their diet and exercise programs and complain about not seeing results. Even the best programs are ineffectual if they are not followed on a consistent basis.

A proper diet is the last and maybe most important of the basic elements I am covering in this article. You cant expect to get a leaner body by continuing the typical unhealthy eating habits. I am not saying that you should drop everything in your diet immediately and exchange it for healthy food. This would simply be a quick fix that may only last a couple of weeks and then you revert back to your old habits within a month. Instead, practice moderation and dont overindulge. A good rule of thumb is to not eat more than you can place in your hand at one sitting. Our culture with the garbage can lid plates that would feed four people doesnt help! Also, work on phasing out certain unhealthy foods out of your diet while introducing healthier foods. This will make the transition smoother and a lot easier to maintain.