Aerobic Activity
Your body needs a certain amount of energy to maintain basic functions such as breathing, blood circulation and digestion. The energy required to keep your organs functioning is referred to as the resting or basal metabolic rate.

Any time you are active, additional energy is required. It is obtained from glycogen (carbohydrates) and fat stored in the blood, liver, and muscles. The key to losing weight is to draw on the fat rather than on the carbohydrate reserves.

Which of the two energy sources you use depends on the intensity and duration of your activity. The higher the intensity, the more your body will pull from the stored carbohydrates. The lower the intensity, the more your body will rely on fat as its fuel.

Aerobic exercise (any activity that increases oxygen intake and heart rate) is most effective for weight loss. When you perform aerobic activities you repeatedly contract large muscle groups such as your legs and arms. Walking, running, rollerblading, swimming, dancing, and jumping jacks are all forms of aerobic activity.

Surprisingly, if your aerobic activity is low to moderately intense and of long duration, you will burn more fat than if you had participated in a short burst of high-intensity exercise. In short, a brisk 30-minute walk will burn fat while a 100-yard sprint will burn glycogen.

Strength Training
Strength training or resistance exercises use your existing muscular strength to improve muscle mass and burn fat. The result is more lean muscle mass. Increased muscle mass provides you with a bonus: your body burns more calories both while you are active and when you are at rest.

Your body shape becomes more youthful with strength training and as your strength and energy increase you will feel more empowered physically and emotionally. While you won't forget your weight loss goals, you may find yourself exercising just for the fun of it.

Rowing, climbing stairs, and calisthenics like pushups, are strength training exercises. Many strength-training exercises employ dumbbells and weights to help work your muscles. As with all new exercises, begin slowly. The exercises are repeated over time until they become comfortable. When you are ready, you can intensify your workout by first adding sets of repetitions and light weights and later by graduating to heavier weights.

Beware of Fad Diets
Most fad diets are notoriously high on promises and low on lasting effects. Since many fad diets are very low in carbohydrates and calories, they cause fluid loss that registers as weight loss on the bathroom scale. Once you re-hydrate yourself, the weight is back. Frequently these diets are not medically or nutritionally safe and in some cases can be harmful to your health.

Make It Easy on Yourself
One pound of fat contains about 3,500 calories. To lose one pound a week you would have to consume about 500 calories less per day. (7 days x 500 calories = 3,500 calories.) Of course it's the high fat foods that you want to minimize in your diet.

Daily caloric intake should not fall below 1200 calories for women or 1500 calories for men.

However, remember that regular physical activity can burn a significant amount of fat calories. You can lose weight by combining a less drastic reduction in your caloric intake with an increase in your regular physical activities. You don't have to suffer through painful calorie restrictions to lose weight.

This combination of reduced calories and increased exercise has hidden benefits. Many people find that exercise dampens their appetites and that a gradual change to healthier eating habits engenders a positive and lasting lifestyle change.

The National Institutes of Health recommend 20-minute sessions of aerobic activity at least 3 times a week for weight loss and advise that slow weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week is best for healthy and lasting results.

So forget the fad diets and the boring cottage cheese and enjoy yourself. Combine a balanced, reduced calorie menu with increased aerobic exercise and you'll be feeling and looking better for life.