So the title grabbed your attention and knowing that the Xmas excess will soon be upon us, you are planning to shed those unwanted pounds quickly and easily in the New Year.......sorry folks but the only pounds that these lose weight quick schemes lose are the ones from your pockets!

However, I did lose 30lbs in weight and have kept it off. This is how I did it...

First things first...diets don't work. Well that's not strictly true. They do work for the short term. Yes you will lose weight eating cabbage soup for 3 weeks and then once you have hit the goal you were striving for, you return to your original eating habits and guess what...the pounds come creeping back!

Secondly, it WILL NOT happen overnight. Sadly, weight seems to take a lot longer to lose than it is to gain! You need to be patient. Again, adverts promising you overnight results from a magic pill are generally a crock! If they weren't, then everyone would be taking these miracle supplements and we would all look like Brad and Angelina!

So, what you need to do is take stock of everything you devour. You will quickly realize what piles on the calories and what doesn't. If you have a smart phone or a pc (which I am assuming you will have if you are reading this!) then download a free app called MyFitnessPal. This really helped me to ascertain how much I was eating. You set yourself a daily calorie target and try to keep to it. All you simply do is type in what you are eating and it will tell you how many calories it has and fat/protein/carb amounts. You can also scan the barcodes on food stuffs and it will ping back the results immediately. It is simplicity itself to use and it makes you stop and think about that one cookie which weighs in at 200 calories. I also found that I didn't have to worry about carb and fat amounts. As long as I kept to my calorie target, then the weight fell off!The beauty of it is that you don't have to starve yourself on salads alone. You can eat pretty much the food you have always eaten, but it lets you know when you are over indulging!

Other ways to make life easy is to change the way you prepare food. Steam, grill, lightly fry in low fat olive oil spray are better ways to cook than deep frying, roasting etc. Look for low fat alternatives of your favorites and maybe use alternative sweeteners like Stevia instead of sugar. Use whole meal grains, colorful fruit and vegetables and trim the fat off of your meat. Go for diet options of fizzy drinks and save yourself 120 calories a can! SImple!!

Also when it comes to eating, 5 small meals a day are so much better for you. Grazing allows your body to stay metabolic and avoid it going into catabolic mode. This means that the digestive system is constantly working and doesn't go into starvation mode. Many people are under the misconception that eating less is better...not true. Your body is one very clever machine. If there isn't nutrition going in, then it will simply store everything you eat as fat which is totally counter productive to fat loss!!

Planning and measuring are essential for successful weight loss. Work out meal plans ahead of schedule so when you go shopping you know exactly what you need.  TIP...don't go shopping when you are hungry! Point of sales around the store are cleverly designed to entice you over to the dark side!! Also, not everything that says healthy on is healthy! Grain bars are some of the worst culprits for sugars etc! 

When you are cooking, measure stuff! Use cups and a set of scales. Trust me, when you pour rice or pasta into boiling water, I guarantee you pour in way too much and then you have to eat it because you were always told not to waste food, right? Say hello to an extra 300 calories plus! 

Ok, here's a great fat loss miracle.....water! Drink more of it! We all know we should drink at least 2 litres a day minimum but few of us do. It helps your body digestion process so much better, it helps make your skin look great and makes you feel fuller so you can stave off the munchies more! Best thing is, it's free out of the tap!!! Of course, you can pay your $3 for water purified by angels from above in a flashy bottle but the tap stuff works just as well!!

Here's another amazing weight loss tip....sleep more!!! Your body essentially needs 8 hours of unbroken sleep. This gives it time to filter impurities and send the good stuff to the right places. The old saying of early to bed, early to rise really helped me out! 

Right, so hopefully that's the food side sorted. Let's address the fitness side of things. Yes you can join a gym, spend hundreds on designer lycra outfits and and long as you keep it up, then this will most certainly improve your lifestyle, your social life and your positivity. However, if funds are a bit tight or you don't feel comfortable doing that, then here is the solution that really worked for me.....walk! That's right...walk! In fact, go for one right now! Grab that $300 North Face jacket you bought ages ago and go out for an hour. You will burn off 300 calories plus at a steady 3 mph, you will feel invigorated and your mood will be elevated as the endorphins surge through your body. You will also get to see the local beauty around you that you take for granted...best of all...it's free!! I use another phone app called Runkeeper for my walks. Again, it's free. What it does it track the time and distance and shows how many calories you have burned. It will even show the route you took via the GPS system. Clever stuff!

Other ways to improve your fitness are to dig that expensive treadmill out of the garage or remove all the clothes that are hanging off the cross trainer in the corner of the bedroom and USE them!! Best time is first in the morning. Get up 20 mins earlier and put them to good use. Because your body has not been fed for 8 hours, it will turn to your fat stores for energy. This will optimize your time and put you in a great mood for the day ahead (Don't forget that morning glass of water before you start and do a few minutes stretching too!)

So, to summerise...

- Look at your present eating habits and adjust them to healthier options
- Eat little and often
- Plan meals and measure ingredients
- Drink more water
- Sleep more
- Exercise at least 20 mins a day
- Use MyFitnssPal and Runkeeper to aid you 
 
Finally remember...it won't happen overnight! But keep at it, and it WILL happen. I am proof that you can lose weight, be healthier and not break your bank account in the process!!

Good luck!