Hello! I'm Jennifer Richards, and this hub is a sister site to the Advanced Weight Loss Formula website. On this hub, we will be discussing tried and true methods of losing weight, eating healthy, weight-lifting, and many more fat-burning topics! Please enjoy your stay and don't forget to check out the main site here for more information.

Losing weight is a daily struggle for many individuals all over the world. All someone has to do to realize this fact is turn on the television during the late hours of the night and observe what's going on. Weight loss infomercials dominate the screen, and it's reported that the entire industry runs into the hundreds of billions every single year. Weight loss is usually the number one goal for most people's New Year's resolutions as well. One thing that I hear often around this time of the year is "how many Weight Watcher's points am I allowed?" (Weight Watcher's is a very popular weight loss program, for those who don't know).

Being a weight loss consultant, people who usually ask me "how many Weight Watcher's points am I allowed?", are either men trying to get their gym memberships renewed for the new year, or women who are constantly monitoring their carb intake like rabid watchdogs. Some of these people aren't even members of Weight Watcher's! The majority of them have probably heard their friends who are in the program mention something about being allowed a certain amount of points, and they figure that if they want to be at the correct body weight, they need to follow this point system too. Bologna, I say. What you really need to start burning fat, and you could do be doing this right now, is cardiovascular exercise. That can be anything from running an 8-mile marathon to performing Jumping Jacks in your living room.

In reality, there are a few simple steps to losing weight and becoming fit that are absolutely tried and true methods that most weight loss peddlers won't reveal to you. They're so simple in fact, that they're actually considered to be 'secret' by most people because they never consider them! While most people are out buying pilates tapes or Richard Simmon's videos to help them lose weight, all they really have to do is what health specialists and physicians have been telling them for years: eat right, drink plenty of water daily, and exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. A lot of you are probably thinking that that sounds too good to be true - that something as difficult as losing weight could be accomplished by following a simple routine such as this. The fact is, it is completely true. When people ask me "what can I do to loose my belly", the first thing I always tell them is to start developing a cardio regimen. 

There are two main factors involved in gaining belly weight. The first is over-eating and a lack of exercise (they pretty much go hand in hand). The second is stress. If you want to eliminate a good portion of your belly fat, start figuring out what you can do now to stop having so much stress in your life. Many health reports and physicians have 'stressed' this fact over the years. The simple question of "what can I do to loose my belly" can be answered by changing stressful factors in your life - sending your kids to a daycare instead of watching them all day long, leaving the office on time and not busying yourself with unnecessary extra work, or having a healthy, romantic relationship with your significant other. The list goes on and on. I'm sure you can think of many stressful things in your life right now that can be eliminated with a little bit of effort on your part. 

I also recommend people start lifting weights. Nothing burns fat like working with weights, coupled with some good old fashioned cardiovascular exercise as mentioned previously.

'Burn the fat, feed the muscle' is one of my all-time favorite weight loss mottos, because I truly believe that the key to weight loss is burning fat tissue, and feeding muscle mass to replace it. Forget all the mumbo jumbo you've heard about carbs, cortisol, or any of that other junk. What you need to start doing is lifting weights.

Of course, you'll actually start gaining weight if you decide to start working with dumb-bells or bar-bells. That's not a bad thing, though. The only weight gain that you have to worry about is fat. Increasing your muscle mass is one of the healthiest things that you can do (next to eating right and drinking plenty of water) for yourself.

Over-eating and a lack of exercise can be circumvented by buying the right kind of food at the grocery store, and doing a few good exercises daily. Instead of picking up a 24 pack of Mountain Dew, get bottled water. Instead of buying Dorito's and candy bars for snacks, buy some fresh fruit. Fat exists because of fat tissue, and the only way you're going to get rid of fat tissue is by eating right, exercising, and drinking plenty of clean water. 

All in all, losing weight isn't that hard of a thing to do. The main thing that you need to succeed at it is discipline. You need to be able to monitor your eating and drinking habits, do 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every day, and design (or have someone design it for you) a weight-lifting regimen that you can do without feeling over-whelmed. The average person always says that they want to lose weight, but they end up never doing anything to change their situation. Don't be average. Be extraordinary and start achieving your goals, starting today. The next time someone comes up to me and asks me "how many Weight Watcher's points am I allowed?", I'm just going to smile and simply reply, "none". I'll then ask them to start jogging with me. The average person wouldn't. What would you do? Think about it.