5 Free Weight-Loss Tips to Lose 2 Pounds a Week or More

If America actually has a national pastime, it's losing weight. As a country we seem obsessed with dieting and diet fads. There is always a new pill or new exercise junk or new infomercial that catches the nation's attention and sells like mad. The truth is the same as it always has been, but we love something new. We even feel a sense of accomplishment just by buying something.

If you are like me you have tried multiple diets in your lifetime. Some have been better than others and some plain don't work. Struggling to lose weight is not uncommon, but I'm going to give you five steps to get you on the right path to losing weight. These five steps are simple and anyone can do them. These five steps work because they take into account our genetic makeup.

One thing you must learn is that success is not in a pill or a product. The media hype's every new pill and product because they get paid to. The media never sells common sense. But they will sell anything that they get paid to even if it is unhealthy. It's the American way.

Step One: Never Skip Breakfast

One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was to drink a very cold glass of water just after I wake. The beauty of cold water is there is 0 calories and your body burns calories just to digest it. The reason you never should skip breakfast is because your metabolic rate is very high in the morning after you wake. So eating healthy in the morning combined with the cold water will actually create a caloric deficit situation. Your breakfast should consist of fruits and some sort of protein.

Step Two: Eat Low-Glycemic Carbs

You often hear about low-carb diets, but in the long run we need carbs. If you eat low-glycemic carbs you do yourself the favor of not raising your insulin level. Low-glycemic carbs are things like vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains. Try not to believe that there is such a thing as a low-carb doughnut or chocolate chip cookie. Even if they make one your body won't know how to process it. Sort of like high fructose corn syrup.

Step Three: Do a Fat Loss Exercise Routine

In recent years it has been proven that cardio exercise by itself doesn't burn calories as much as it has been hyped in the past 30 years. Weight training combined with cardio is by far the most effective exercise routine you can do in order to lose weight. It doesn't have to be heavy weights nor does the cardio need to last an hour. There are several workout programs for free on the Internet. Find something that fits your lifestyle and your age. They can do something as simple as walking and doing a little weight training.

Step four: Eat Five to Six Meals a Day

This is the one tip that is counter-intuitive. But it proves that common sense and how our bodies work doesn't go together. By eating five or six times a day our metabolism stays high. The higher our metabolism the more calories are burned. The five to six meals must be small and should lean toward protein. If you also drink a cold glass of water with each meal you will burn even more calories. Again, fruits and vegetables should make up half of these meals.

Step Five: Do Not Eat after 9 P.M.

This step is what a lot of people fight me over. But it is very important. By not eating, while you are sleeping you will wake up hungry and your metabolism will be high. By snacking after 9 p.m. you defeat this. While you're asleep your metabolism drops, so if you eat before you sleep it will turn to fat. If you must eat, eat celery. Or find something that has near 0 calories that will take your hunger pain away.