One visitor to FitWatch was asking, “Will a high calorie but low fat diet, and exercise, help me lose fat?” I’ve got one word for that: N-O.

Remember, fat doesn’t make you fat. Generally speaking, eating more calories than your body burns will cause you to store fat. The only way for you to lose fat on a high calorie diet is to exercise A LOT, so you burn all those extra calories — or do a lot of weight training to turn it into muscle.

A low calorie diet (below 1200 for women, 1800 for men) isn’t any better either. Your body needs calories for everyday use — you even burn calories while you sleep.

To lose fat, you need to create a calorie deficit, by either lowering the amount of calories you eat, by burning more calories through exercise, or both.

How much should I weigh? It’s a common question posed by people of all ages. Some experts say that you should stick to whatever weight is comfortable for you. Perhaps you’ve met people who are quite content at their current weight, even though they are thin or heavy.

There are slim people who feel uncomfortable when they develop the slightest belly. There are obese people who are quite content carrying around all that extra weight.

Perhaps a better question than ‘How much should I weigh’ would be ‘What is a healthy weight for me?’.

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A recent study has shown there’s more to the old “it take a 3500 calorie deficit to lose a pound” formula. I was going to write about this, but found that my favorite fat loss guru, Tom Venuto, dove head first into the subject.

3500 Calories To Lose A Pound – Is This Formula All Wrong?

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com

Most fitness conscious people have heard that there are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, so if you create a deficit of 3500 calories in a week, you lose a pound of weight. If you create a deficit of 7000 calories in a week, you lose two pounds, and so on. Right? Well, not so fast…

Dr. Kevin Hall, an investigator at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda has done some interesting research about the mechanisms regulating human body weight. He recently published a new paper in the International Journal of Obesity that throws a wrench in works of the “3500 calories to lose a pound” idea.

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Are you struggling, trying to find the right weight loss program? Don’t know what to look for? I’ve got a free ebook just for you! It’s called “Keys to Finding the Right Weight Loss Program For You — A Guide to Healthy and Permanent Weight Loss.” There’s a companion “diet comparison” chart, too!

Feel free to pass it around to family and friends!

Click here to see the chart or to download the ebook.

Here’s a different way to look at all the extra fat you’re carrying around. See, your body stores any extra calories you eat as fat, right? Your body thinks, “Hey, it might be a while before we get some food, so let’s stash away all this extra energy.”

The problem is, for most of you reading this, the next meal is not very far away. You don’t even have to go out to “hunt and gather” — chances are you’ll “walk and raid (the fridge)” or “drive and order (some fast food).”

So, for every 3500 extra calories you eat, your body gains 1lb of fat.

Let’s say, for the sake of argument (and easier calculations!) that an average, healthy meal is 500 calories (normal portion consisting of protein, carbs and some fat).

That would make 1lb of extra fat the equivalent of SEVEN meals!

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If you want to get somewhere, you have to know where you’re going, right? It’s no different when you want to lose weight. You need to set a weight loss goal to make sure you’re heading in the right direction.

If you’ve never set a weight loss goal or if you have a lot of weight to lose, it’s easiest to set a 3 month — or 12 week — goal. That gives you 12 weeks to turn your life around, by eating better and moving more.

To keep it simple, here are 2 types of goals you can set and the easiest ways you can track them.

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When you’ve determined that you’re going to lose weight and set your weight loss targets you need to decide which diet plan is right for you. The Internet can be a great tool when you’re researching different methods. Be sure to choose a diet plan that’s right for you. If you don’t like meat, then a low carb diet will be difficult to stick with. Your diet plan should reflect your eating preferences and your lifestyle. If you don’t like the food, or don’t have the time for lengthy preparation, it will be much easier to cheat.
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