The food that you eat will contain a certain number of calories. You will need a certain amount of calories to maintain your bodyweight as it stands at the present time. This is called your maintenance level.

If the amount of calories that you consume goes over your maintenance level, then you will put on more weight. If the amount of calories that you consume goes under your maintenance level, then you will lose weight.

In theory it sounds a simple and straightforward method towards losing weight. However things are never as simple as they appear. Weight loss can be a bit more complex, if it wasn't then nobody would be overweight.

The first thing that you have to know is that not all calories are created equal. A gram of protein and a gram of carbohydrates each contain 4 calories. A gram of fat on the other hand contains 9 calories. When you check on food labels as to the amount of fat that is contained, always remember the amount of calories which are coming from fat.

Another thing to keep in mind is that certain types of calories are more prone to be stored as fat than others. Especially calories that are consumed from foods that contain high levels of sugar. So it's not just a question of how many calories you eat, but what types of calories you eat.

While it's true that cutting back on calories will help you lose a certain amount of weight. What you need to consider is the quality of weight that you are losing and not just the quantity. Weight, just like calories comes in different forms. If you lost a limb in an accident, you will have lost some weight. However this would not be the type of weight you would be happy losing.

Much of the weight that people lose when they cut back drastically on calories comes from muscle. Muscle loss is something that you will want to avoid at all costs.

Let's face it; you haven't become overweight by carrying too much muscle on your body. It is the amount of fat that your body is carrying that has led to you becoming overweight. So it makes sense to focus on losing the fat and holding onto any muscle that you can.

Everyone has the same amount of muscles on their bodies. The only difference is the size of the muscles. The bigger the muscle the more calories your body will burn to keep that muscle. Don't think for one minute that you will begin to look like some bodybuilder, because you won't. Not unless you train your muscles for many years. However if you are trying to lose weight, you will reach your goal quicker if you do some form of resistance training (weight training).

Fat can be very stubborn to shift and nobody is more aware of that than you. The key to losing fat and holding onto muscle, apart from a healthy diet, is to have a good exercise programme. A good mix of cardiovascular and resistance training is the perfect cocktail. Cardiovascular training will help you burn fat and resistance training will help you to keep your muscle weight.

You may be under the impression that resistance training will consist of grunting and groaning with heavy weights in gym full of steroid injecting hulks. This is not the reality of the situation. All you need to do is to focus on what is going to be challenging for you. Don't be concerned about how much weight you use; as long as it's working your muscles and you are feeling it, then you are doing it right.

If you only do cardiovascular exercise you will lose some weight. However because you are losing muscle as well, it can leave your body looking loose and flabby. Using a weight training routine will result in your body becoming firmer and more toned, not to mention the benefits f becoming stronger.

As for your diet, it will not just be a question of what you eat but when you eat. This is a hugely important issue that is at times overlooked.

Your body is designed in such a way that it is only capable of using a certain amount of food at any given time. How much your body can use depends on the life you lead. If you are very active your body will be able to assimilate more food. If however you are not active your body will only use a certain amount of food and store the rest as fat.

The mistake many people make when they are trying to lose weight is that they often cut back on the amount of meals that they eat. Most people will often cut down to 1 or 2 meals a day and sometimes one of those meals will contain more calories than their bodies will be able to use. On top of this, leaving long gaps between meals slows down your metabolism resulting in fewer calories being burned.

Most people trying to lose weight unknowingly do everything that will prevent them from losing weight on a permanent basis. Because they will not get the results that they want by eating fewer meals less frequently, they give up trying to lose weight under the impression that they are not capable of doing so.

The secret is to eat small amounts of food more often. If your body is fed small amounts of food every 3 or 4 hours, your body will be able to use this food more effectively. Plus because you are getting a food intake on a regular basis, your metabolism will speed up knowing it is getting calories regularly and that it can afford to burn calories as it will be getting some more in a few hours.

Eating in this way not only speeds up your metabolism, it also allows your body to use the food that you eat in a way that it is happy with. Because you are eating smaller amounts there are no extra calories to be stored as fat.

Traditionally our last meal of the day also tends to be our biggest one. This can also be problematic when it comes to losing weight. Eating a large meal in the evening is counterproductive to weight loss, simply because you will be less active in the evening and will not burn off as many calories. So a fair amount of the food that you eat can be stored as fat.

If your biggest meal of the day was eaten in the morning or at lunch time, much of the calories would be used up through your daily activities. It can be difficult to change the eating habits of a lifetime, but if you are serious about losing weight then it has to be something that you must consider.

It is a fact that some people are more prone to putting on weight than others. Your genetics and body shape will play a role in how easy it is for you to gain or lose weight. Although this can be a setback you must remember that it is still only one part of the equation. There are many other things that will affect whether you lose weight, so do not focus just on the genetics that you have been given.

If you find it easy to put on weight you may have to work a little harder than some other people to keep it off. Don't think that your genetics will be a huge obstacle in losing weight. If you want to do it bad enough then you will succeed in doing so. Besides think of how much prouder you will be when you do succeed, as you would have done it without certain advantages.

Some of the things you will need to think about are:

Watching what you eat Watching how much you eat Exercise on a regular basis Become more active in other areas of your life Be more determined Be more persistent Remember why you are doing it

Thousands of people lose weight successfully, if you really want to you can become one of them!