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.

Knowing how many calories you burn in the first place is the first step you will need to take in order to get started with your weight loss. This number can be found by using a calorie calculator. They're all over the internet and shouldn't be that hard to find. In order for them to work you'll have to put in your height, current weight, and sex. A good calculator will also ask you what kind of lifestyle you lead. This means how active are you on average?

Now that you know how many calories you burn a day you need to look at what you eat. If you are taking in more calories than you burn you're storing those calories and eventually they will turn into fat. You will need to adjust either how much you eat or how much you burn for weight loss to work.

It's not safe to simply cut large amounts of calories out of your diet and call it a day. Without a certain amount your body won't be able to function and you will probably get sick. At the very least you'll be very sleepy. It's better to incorporate daily exercise.

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!

Watching what you eat may not be enough. In fact, you might not even be getting most of your dump calories from food. Instead take a look at what you've been drinking lately. Did you read the back of that soda can before you tossed two of them back at dinner? No? Well, you're in for a shocker. Soda and some juices are empty calories. They do absolutely nothing but make you feel and look awful. Instead try drinking this magical liquid we like to call water. It does so many things for your body there's no reason not to! Green tea is good as well.