For example, when you’re first wanting to lose body fat, you would probably just like to shed enough pounds for you to see results, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s really hard for most people to stay on track in the beginning unless they lose some pounds pretty quickly, so I usually recommend a lot of cardio, four or five times a week. You should really alternate whatever you’re doing for cardio, especially if you’re running, which is stressful on joints, and knees especially. Some other suggestions are biking, hiking, swimming, canoeing, running stairs, and jumping rope. Cardio exercises like these burn a lot of fat in just a half hour of exercise, so if you can dedicate 30 minutes of every weekday for the next month to getting your heart rate elevated, you’ll see the pounds start to slide off.

After you’ve lost the first few pounds of fat, most people will start to see some good long-term results by adding in some weight lifting and strength training into their schedules. Most men will probably want to devote more of their time to muscle building than women, but alternating between cardio and strength days is a good place to start. Muscle burns calories faster than the equivalent amount of fat does, and helps you firm all major parts of your body and improves your posture. Many people I’ve worked with who hate cardio don’t mind lifting weights for a half hour. If you’ve got a weight room at home, watch a movie while you lift, or listen to some music while you’re at the gym. Your goal here is not to get huge, but to look like you’re toned and healthy, not just skinny.

You should learn to cook a few simple meals that involve vegetables and high-protein meat like chicken breast that you actually enjoy, and keep these ingredients stocked up in your kitchen cupboard so you never have an excuse for not eating healthy. Another dieting suggestion is to always cook up big portions of food, and store them in the refrigerator to eat another time, so you don’t always feel like you have to spend an hour cooking to get healthy food.

Find acceptable substitutes for the drinks you like. Alcohol is another huge source of empty, unfulfilling calories, so try to drink wine whenever you have to drink, and reduce your alcohol intake in general as much as possible. Drink water with lime instead of lemon-lime soda, and try to replace a coffee habit with hot tea, especially green tea. It’s best if you also eliminate or at least reduce soft drinks from your diet, both because caffeine is unhealthy for you and because again, there are lots of empty calories in it. Iced tea is fine also, but don’t put too much sugar in it, and low-fat milk a couple of times a day is also acceptable for your diet.

Really starchy foods like white bread and potatoes and white rice are tricky foods that seem like they might be okay for you, but they’re actually not very nutritious and full of calories. Fruit drinks are another deceptive beverage that rarely have much nutritional value unless you’re using it for a vitamin C source for a drink like orange juice, and they almost always have tons of sugar and preservatives added to the drink. Not only is so much sugar not good for your teeth, it also contributes to weight gain.