Once you decide you're ready to do something about that unsightful belly you've put on over the last few years, the odds are you'll want to get rid of it fast.

It's completely natural to want instant gratification. I understand. When I started getting disgusted enough with my own body back in the day when I was still overweight, I also wanted an quick and instant fix for weight loss.

Unfortunately, there is no way to get results over night. Weight loss can still go pretty fast, but that's if you are dedicated to getting results and stay dedicated for a period of at least a few weeks.

I'm sure you understand that, when you keep focussing on your weight obsessively, it's going to take longer (at least subjectively) to get those fantastic six pack abs you want so bad!

Before I start explaining a few things about how to lose weight fast, first let me warn you about getting unrealistic expectations.

Unrealistic expectations are a sure way to sabotage yourself. You will become so disappointed with the results so quickly, you'll give up even before you've begun!

When it comes to losing weight, make sure you get the right mindset.

What you'll be wanting to think about, is how great you'll feel when you get a much slimmer body after all that effort and discipline.

You'll want to focus on how good it feels to live on a healthy diet without all the sweet and fat snacks that don't make you truly happy anyway!

What you'll want to focus on, is that you will greatly appreciate your new, slim and trim body once you've put in a few weeks or months of effort.

You'll be much happier with it than when you'd get your perfect body overnight!

Remember, the weight will come off fast enough if you just focus on the task at hand.

Summing it all up in a really simple way... losing weight is all about expending more energy than you take in.

Keep in mind that, when I talk of losing weight, I'm actually talking about burning fat!

Weight loss in and of itself doesn't make you happy. After all, how would you feel about losing a few pounds of muscle mass?

It won't exactly make your figure prettier. And then I haven't even mentioned the devastating effects it would have on your metabolism.

Muscles use up energy, making it easier for you to burn fat. So hold on to the muscles! But more on that later.

The weight loss has to come from the fat.

Each pound of bodyfat has 3500 calories stored in it. This means that, with a daily calorie shortage of 500, you will burn one pound of fat in one week!

Oh sure, it will be tough to keep this up for a few weeks. But it can definitely be done. And it will be worth the effort too.

If you go on a healthy weight loss diet that is designed to give you said calorie shortage of 500, then you will lose the weight and more importantly... you will keep it off!

You must keep in mind that the same routine won't work for one month after another. So you can't expect to live on a 500 calorie shortage for a whole year in row and then be slim.

In reality, I recommend people to pick 1 out of 7 weekdays to eat normally or even overeat just a few hundred calories.

Doing this will keep the body out of starvation mode, where it holds on to every calorie for dear life.

The body has a hormone named leptin.

Leptin is used as an indicator of the amount of reserve energy (or body fat) you still have.

When you overeat, your leptin levels shoot up. As a result, your brain signals your body that there is plenty of fat left and that it may be used up. After all... there's enough of it!

When you go on a diet that gives you a 500 calorie shortage daily, you are slightly starving yourself. Eventually, your leptin levels will drop to very low levels.

This tells your body that you are currently going through scarce times. The result is that your body hangs on to every single calorie.

The body is programmed for a time of hunter/gatherers. It doesn't know that we are now modern men, living in a modern society where food is readily available around every corner.

Knowing this can empower you.

How many people have you heard complaining about reaching a plateau in their weight loss results?

Odds are, most of those people never found out that leptin was the cause.

Now that you've read my hub, you know how it works and you can use it to your advantage.

Any diet & exercise routine will eventually cease to be effective. This usually happens after 6 weeks or so.

So instead of waiting until your results come to a full stop, you can mix up your diet and your exercise before it happens!

This will save you a lot of time in the long run, causing you to lose weight quickly after all!