Losing fat has always been elusive for some people. That is because they are probably adopting the wrong fat loss strategy. This is understandable. Who can blame them? Just take a look at the plethora of information on the Internet, in bookstores, and on TV. No wonder so many people get confused.

Before going to what doesn't work, understand that there is a difference between fat loss and weight loss. Weight loss doesn't take into account your body fat composition. You may be losing weight, but you may be losing fat, losing muscles, or both. If you wish to lose weight and yet remain healthy, then you have to target fat only. Losing muscle will make you weaker and you will lose your health. On that note, perhaps you can begin to understand why starvation diets don't work.

Starvation dieting doesn't work!

This is your first realization - don't starve yourself half to death if you are trying to lose weight. Starvation diets will get you to lose weight in the short term. For example, when you start to cut down on meals, you will find yourself losing weight after just 2 to 3 weeks. So you come to the conclusion that your diet is working.

Unfortunately, you are conditioning your body to store fat. You see, fat is the body's natural mechanism for survival. In other words, when its survival is threatened, it will store as much fat as possible to ensure that it stays alive. So when you starve yourself, you are threatening your body. So it lowers its metabolism, and stores as much fat as it can.

Eventually, due to all that improper eating, you will feel so weak that you have to start eating well again. In fact, you are forced to eat well because now your health is in disorder. And when you do, guess what happens? The body, due to its lower metabolism, starts storing fat! That's why so many people find that their starvation diets don't work in the long term. In fact, they realize that as soon as they start eating well again, they put on all that weight that they'd lost (plus a few extra pounds)!

Leisure exercise doesn't work either!

You see many health experts recommending regular exercise. So you start walking or jogging leisurely. The problem is, you do only 1 type of exercise. And on top of that, it's a leisurely kind of exercise that probably won't get you very far.

The reason why leisure exercises don't work is because they don't help you to build strength and improve your metabolism. You may see someone who looks fit jogging at a relaxing pace. They are doing it for cardiovascular fitness. And chances are, they jog for an hour just to burn calories, and it's on their rest day!

So don't be fooled! To get to the fitness level to jog for an hour at a leisure pace requires strength training. Incorporate intense exercises in your workout program.

Finally, if you still find it all too confusing, invest in an easy to read step by step guide to losing.

For instance, you will be told exactly what to do for exercising, and what to eat. So you don't have to spend time trying to figure out (the hard way) what works and what doesn't.