The Ultimate Fat Loss Guide

There are 3 key areas you need to focus on to lose fat, live healthily and get/maintain a lean physique - diet, exercise and lifestyle.

If you follow the guidelines and principles given in this article you will never have to worry about love handles again.

DIET

• Aim to eat 1 serve of protein (see Good Source of Protein) with each meal - protein has the highest thermic effect of all macronutrients, helps prevent loss of valuable lean mass when dieting, not to mention food's rich in protein have a high satiety index and fill you up relatively quickly.
  
• Eat at least 1 serve of vegetable and/or fruit with each meal - vegetables and fruits are calorie sparse, high in fibre and vitamins/minerals
• Eat 1 serve of 'healthy' fat with each meal (nuts/seeds, olive oil, fish oil) - meals with a source of fat have a higher satiety index than those without - fat isn't the enemy
  
• Work towards reducing and removing junk food and drinks from your diet - these foods and drinks are very energy dense and generally have low satiety
  
• Aim to eat according to the above principles at least 90% of the time (that means if you eat 7x5=35 meals per week, 32 should be good meals) - we are human after all and it is impossible to be perfect, but if you want results you need to be consistent and diligent in your habits over the long term
  
• Drink 2-3L of water per day (8-12 glasses)

Stuck on healthy recipe ideas that taste good? Check out Dr John Berardi's Gourmet Nutrition (a world renowned nutritionist that has achieved results with average joes and pro athletes alike):

EXERCISE

• Include some form of resistance training (either with weights or using your own bodyweight) - 2 to 3 days per week full body training is optimal and convenient for most. Resistance training builds muscle, which lowers bodyfat percentage and makes it easier to lose bodyfat (increases metabolic rate) - you can learn more about resistance training here or by obtaining a copy of Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe (an excellent book for beginners to the world of weight training).
• Interval training is not necessarily better than steady state cardio for fat loss. What is more important is the number of total calories you expend - choose whichever you prefer or better yet include both in your training regime.

LIFESTYLE

• Get rid off any foods and drinks in your fridge/freezer/pantry that may tempt you to overconsume
• Get a bodybugg or FitBit to keep track of your daily caloric expenditure
• Prepare meals in advance and in bulk - you can store them in the fridge (short term) or freezer (long term) - take a mini cooler bag with you to school/uni/work, if needed
• Reduce any potential stressors in your life (high stress lifestyles can often lead to overeating)
  
• Introduce more non-exercise physical activity into your day (i.e. walk/ride a bike to school/uni/work, park further away from your work/shops, use the stairs instead of the elevator, get on/off the bus a couple of stops earlier) this will increase your caloric expenditure
  
• If you don't know how to, then learn how to cook - it is very hard to get and stay lean if you cannot cook a good meal for yourself - there are tons of recipes online and in print as well as videos/classes where you can learn culinary skills
• Set reasonable goals (it's better if you exceed your goals rather than fail and get discouraged)
• Let friends/family members know about your goals or better yet, get a friend/family member to join you on your fat loss journey - if you can't and alternative would be to post a journal of your daily diet, exercise and physical activity on a blog or online fitness forum/message board where others can see such as bodybuilding.com
• Keep track of your progress with weekly photos, waist measurements and/or caliper rmeasurements - scale weight may not always give you an accurate idea of your progress (you might've lost fat, but gained muscle - which is a good thing!)