The best way to reduce the size of your body is to convert unsightly fat into lean muscle. The reason for this is that muscle weighs more than fat, so it takes up less space on your body. If you can’t picture this, imagine how many feathers you would need to make up a pound. Then think of how much lead it would take to make a pound. Even though they both weigh the same, the lead package is considerably smaller than the feather package, right? That’s what happens when you burn fat.

You’ve read about the importance of eliminating body fat, or maybe your doctor’s been nagging you. These are some of the benefits you’ll reap:

Stabilized cardiac health. Your heart is a muscle, and it can actually accumulate fat. In addition, the more fat there is on your body, the more work your heart has to do to pump blood throughout it.

Decreased risk of stroke. Saturated or trans fats can clog your arteries. This also raises your cholesterol, which circles back to the cardiac health issue.

Improved respiratory system. Obesity does not in itself cause chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD), but it does put a strain on your lungs when you try to move that body around. It can actually reduce your lung capacity.

Better joint mobility. Fat contributes to loss of cartilage in the knee and hip joints. It causes strains/sprains of the tendons and ligaments in your feet. And it just slows you down.

There are two basic requirements to losing fat. First, you must create a calorie deficiency. That means you eat fewer calories. And you have to burn more calories, by increasing your activity level. The increased activity level includes an aerobic or cardiac workout, and an exercise routine that will strengthen your muscles.

To calculate your daily calorie intake, you need a way to track the calories you’ve eaten. There is an excellent JavaScript calorie calculator here that shows you, for your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level, how many calories you need. It also breaks down how many of them should come from fat, protein, or carbohydrates.

You can accomplish the calorie deficiency by eating properly. You cannot succeed if you try some fad diet or fashionable fasting craze. What makes a proper diet? You have to eat smaller servings, and eat them more often - every three to four hours.

Cardio must become part of your regular routine. This is done ideally in the morning immediately upon waking. It’s best to complete your cardiac workout on an empty stomach so that it will burn calories by tapping directly into your fat reserves. If you cannot exercise in the morning, then schedule your cardiac workout three or four times a week after your exercise workout. For your exercise workout, you can try weight training, Pilates, yoga, or some other form of muscle strengthening.

Fat loss supplements make up an important part of your regimen. They can speed up the process of reducing fat if you use them properly. From these several types of fat loss supplements, you will find the right ones for you:

Appetite suppressants come in several varieties. You can try pills or capsules for either over-the-counter or prescription medications. Basically, they all work by stimulating your body’s production of serotonins or catecholamines, two neurotransmitters that tell your brain when you’re full.

Carb blockers work by blocking the function of a digestive enzyme called amylase. These are effective because amylase breaks down the starches that are found in carbohydrate foods, so the foods are able to pass through your system without harm to you.

Fat blockers contain a substance similar to dietary fiber which comes from shellfish. This substance absorbs fat as it passes through your digestive tract and, as with carb blockers, fatty foods are eliminated naturally.

Thermogenic fat burners work because they boost the amount of calories you burn. This category of products includes caffeine and ephedrine as well as other metabolism jump starters.

Nonstimulating fat burners are gaining popularity, and they utilize linoleic acid, a nonessential fatty acid that is showing remarkable promise.

Thyroid hormone boosters help your thyroid to activate some of the dormant thyroid hormone you might have. These are generally nonstimulant products containing no animal glands or potassium salts that will aggravate other conditions.

Cortisol blockers help people who carry high amounts of stress by reducing this natural enzyme. They also block the production of cortisol that occurs during high intensity workouts. People with high cortisol levels carry a lot of fat around the abdomen.

Green tea has been proved effective as a powerful antioxidant, and it can help your body to metabolize both fats and sugars. It is also believed to exert a significant thermogenic effect. You can find this product with or without caffeine.

It’s important to understand that you cannot succeed by using only one single method to achieve your goals. You must include:

• Regular workouts that focus on fitness or bodybuilding.

• Regular cardio, with proper intensity maintained.

• Dietary plan integrating proper eating habits.

• Program utilizing fat burning supplements.

Considering everything you’ve just learned, you can now put your Action Guide into effect. For each of the steps below, decide what your action will be. See what works for you, and try alternatives as necessary.

Calculate your daily calorie needs. Use a calorie calculator; don’t guess!

Create an eating schedule to maintain your diet by having four to six meals per day. These must be evenly spaced. Your largest consumption should occur before and after your workouts.

Decide which workout you will do - the fat burning bodybuilding workout, or the fat burning fitness workout.

Choose fat burning supplements that fit your needs. You also need protein shakes before and after your workouts.

Do your cardio workout three to four times per week. Early in the morning is best for this, but if your schedule prevents that then do it after your strengthening workout.

Now that you know the basics of fat burning and you’ve put together an Action Guide, you’re well on your way to success. You will also benefit from having formulated a plan because of the extra confidence and determination you are already developing.