Fat Loss doesn’t have to be as complicated as many people make it out to be.

It really takes small, baby steps, for permanent weight loss success.  Here are 21 tips to virtually guarantee success — no weight loss pills, no bogus fat loss scams, or other infomercial quick fixes.  Just tried and true belly busting strategies.

1.  Find a support partner.  Someone who can keep you on track and accountable to stick to it.  This person will ONLY give you positive feedback and never shoot your goals down, or try to steer you in the wrong direction (e.g., you look GREAT, don’t worry about eating X)

2.  Replace all liquid calories with water and real tea (green, black, or white — not fake prepacked junk).  

3.  If you bite it, you must write it — record your intake either by hand in a journal or on a online source, like FitDay.com or Sparkpeople.com

4.  Stay positive — always remember progress, not perfection.  This way you will continue to make progress.

5.  Eat smaller, more frequent meals — including protein, fruit and/or veggies with each meal.  These will keep your appetite in check and energy levels high.

6.  PLAN AHEAD — sit down one day for 30 or so minutes and plan the week ahead food wise.  This will allow you to make the best choices.

7.  Check in with others — social support is key.  This is your accountability partner from #1, but maybe even logging into forums or in person groups too.  It’s easy to let yourself down, but no one wants to let others down!

8.  MOVE MORE — structured exercise is great, but you can’t just be "an active couch potato."  If you move for 30-60 minutes/day, that means you might be sitting or laying for the other 23 hours.  Play with the kids, walk the dog, get up from your desk regularly and walk around.  Movement is necessary!

9.  Eat more fruit.  Add 1 piece of fruit each day … then build on that each week until you’re getting upwards of of 5 servings daily.

10.  Eat more veggies.  Add 1 vegetable each day … and build on that each week until you’re getting upwards of 5-7 servings daily.  You can’t eat too many veggies!

11.  Try a new fruit or veggie.  We get stuck in a routine, eating the same foods over and over again.  This week eat a unique fruit and vegetable for you — if you only turn to apples and bananas, try berries, grapefruit, or some other fruit.  Same with veggies — expand your horizons!

12.  Eliminate trans fat — there’s not many foods/ingredients I’d say "eliminate" — but this is one of them.  Man made trans fat is horrible!

13.  Drink enough water so that your urine looks like pale lemonade.  It may or may not be 8 cups daily … use your urine color as a guide.  When it’s warm, drink more.

14.  Check the number of calories you are consuming. We always stress that all calories aren’t created equally, but at the same time, we can’t avoid calories all together.  They still matter.

15.  Focus on quality, not just quantity.  Calories do matter, but an apple and raw nuts for about 250 calories is much different than a 16 oz soda for the same number of calories.  "Fill up" on nutrients, not junk foods.

16.  Put the focus on fiber — recommendations are up to 35 grams/day.  Don’t worry about carbs, worry about fiber.  Fruit and veggies are great for this.

17.  Write down your goals.  Don’t just think about them, write them.  The act of putting them on paper increases the likelihood of achieving them.  

18.  Replace 1 meal each day with a large salad that’s loaded with veggies and topped with lean protein.

19.  Use fruit, veggies, and beans are your 3 primary forms of carbohydrates — loaded with fiber, loaded with nutrients, yet not filled with any junk.

20.  Stick to foods that have no more than 5 ingredients.  Max.  HINT — you won’t find it with pre packaged foods, so leave those on the grocery store shelf.

21.  Review your goals daily, commit to these 21 habits, and you’ll virtually guarantee success.

What did we miss?  We’d love to hear what tips YOU use to stay lean and healthy!

At just 14 monthsold, our daughter Ella isn’t always the best at sleeping … almost always sleeping through the night, these days, but occasionally (read: LAST NIGHT) she decided she should wake up at 3 AM and not want to sleep for the next hour before we had to get up for Mohr Results Boot Camp

Sometimes leaving me and Kara woozy … tired doesn’t even scratch the surface.

But we of course need to still function during the day — at 5:30 AM during adventure boot camp and throughout the day.

As I sat drinking a few cups of green tea this morning, Kara drinking her coffee, I thought about one of the most common questions we get — "is it OK to drink coffee?"   For some it’s a savior — what I call a "liquid nap."  But is this drug (yes, caffeine is a drug) a true necessity?  It surely can help keep you alert (particularly with a non sleeping baby at home).

I have to be honest, I would never in a million years get between a person and their coffee.  Of course not everyone is a coffee drinker, but for some it’s a staple.

So if you’re trying to lose weight and you’re paying attention to your calories and all of your food where does coffee fit in?  I have to be honest, I’m fine with you drinking coffee … it’s not coffee itself that’s the "issue" it’s everything most put in it.

Sugar, cream, half and half, or that horrendous artificial, imitation, fat free creamer junk.  

Those things all add up — 100 calories here, 100 calories there — and you’re left wondering why you can’t reach your fat loss goals.

A regular cup of black coffee — no calories — no worries.  In fact, there are some very unique health benefits to drinking coffee — in fact, one study recently came out suggesting a couple cups per day can help post menopausal women keep their memory sharp as a tac!  It’s also a powerful source of antioxidants. 

However, on the downside, a coffee shop latte can pack a wholloping 400-500 calories!

Talk about sabotaging your fat loss efforts!  Particularly when coupled with a scone, muffin, or whatever else you may pick up on the way to the office.

The bottom line is you need to know how many calories you’re truly taking in and how they all fit in your daily routine.  Drink an extra 100 calories each day (which would be just a bit of whole milk and 1 tsp of sugar in a coffee) and you’ll pack on 10 extra lbs at the end of the year.  Couple this with other added calories and that weight can come on pretty quickly.

And if you were to rationalize that you’re going to exercise to "balance" out those added calories, remember that walking or running 1 mile burns just 100 calories.

Therefore, drink a latte and run 5 miles — you’ve essentially stayed the same.

Not that I’m saying walking or running is the best way to burn fat, but you get the point.

Moral of the story?  You need to account for the calories you put in your body … all the calories you put in your body.

3 Things will help you do this:

1. Eat attentively – don’t eat or drink when distracted.  That means NOT in front of the TV, while reading, or in front of your computer.  Doing any of those means you’ll eat more calories, without even "knowing" it.
2. Avoid the extra BLT’s — bites, licks, and tastes — tasting while cooking, finishing off your kids’ drinks or foods, or eating before putting food away (you know, when there’s leftover dinner and you take a few bites before you put it away)
3. Write down what you eat and drink – this increases your awareness and will help you lose fat.

 Oh yeah, and coffee is OK — just watch those added calories.

Health care reform is all the talk these days …

… but since health care costs are at the top of everyone’s minds, maybe we should instead invest that same money into OBESITY REFORM.

A brand new study just released suggests obesity related illness costs the US $147 billion/year, or nearly 10% of all health care spending!

Why doesn’t Congress and the Obama Administration take time out to discuss prevention of this disease? That may actually get us somewhere and make a dent in the iceberg.

Talking about Health Care Reform without touching the prevention of such diseases is like switching seats on the Titanic …

… it’s a losing situation.

Am I totally off base? Let me know — leave a comment and “weigh in” (bad pun, fully intended) on this crisis in America!

Tomorrow we’ll be back with very specific strategies to combat this disease — without weight loss pills, without weight loss gimmicks, and without asking you to do endless hours of exercise .

Faster Fat Loss than Weight Loss Pills