A very popular myth today is that the best way to lose fat is through a high protein diet.  The loss of unwanted fatty tissue from the body can only successfully be achieved through calorie restriction to the point of a negative balance.  So, in spite of the promotion of particular food groups, protein for example, all fat loss is still created through calorie reduction.

In short, you must simply consume fewer calories than you use, and you will lose fat.  This will occur regardless of the type of food group consumed, proteins, carbohydrates, or otherwise. Another equally popular myth, is that exercise is a great way to burn unwanted calories, and lose fat.  This is simply NOT the case.

The fact is that regardless of the type of exercise performed, very few calories are actually burned during exercise.  The real key is not the performance of exercise, but the degree of lean muscle relative to an individual’s fat stores.

Due to the fact that working out with weights is the most effective way to build muscle fast, it is also the best exercise to perform to lose fatty tissue.

While increasing your muscle size will dramatically improve your appearance, losing unwanted and excess body fat can have an even more dramatic effect on your overall appearance.  Fat takes up three times the amount of space that lean muscle does, making each lost pound of fat a significant physical difference.

Muscle predominately provides the underlying tone and shape, while stripping away body fat will dramatically improve your overall appearance.

The real keys to fat loss are:

1. increasing lean muscle tissue
2. maintaining a negative calorie balance.

I know that there is a lot of hype about protein diets, and carbohydrate-free diets, and some of these may prove successful, but the underlying reality is that they all restrict your calorie consumption, regardless of where those calories actually come from.  What they won’t do however, is help you to gain muscle fast.

In fact they can have a negative effect on you appearance, leaving you looking like a deflated balloon.  The bottom line with fat loss, is that it does involve some discipline, and a negative calorie balance, and the best way to achieve this goal is through calorie restriction.