What am I speaking of? Well common term that describes this problem is called a plateau. The dieter does really well at first but somewhere along way they become lost. Being lost often leads to discouragement and discouragement leads to failure... Sounds bleak doesn't it? Keep reading!

First off, you have to make sure your plan is well thought out and that you will know what it takes to get there. Remember that a lot of this battle is mental as well. You can work yourself to bone but it doesn't necessarily mean you will succeed. Lets look at an example. Someone is lost in a forest. They don't have a compass nor any sense of direction. So they start walking. The more they realize they aren't getting anywhere harder they try, until extreme exhaustion sets in. They end up going around in circles with no results!

Don't panic! You have to stop and think. Look at your body and picture exact look you want. Don't always go by scale. Especially if you are weight training. Remember that muscle is heavier than fat. But you can project your ideal weight to a certain degree and use mirror as a guide. Go by feel of your clothes and a tape measure wouldn't be a bad idea as well. This way you will have measurable results and won't feel you're spinning your wheels if scale doesn't show what you think it should.

First of all, what is a calorie? Without getting too technical, a calorie is a unit of heat. It takes one calorie to raise temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree celsius. Calories are used by our bodies for heat and energy purposes. As I'm sure you are aware of, different foods have different levels of calories. In some cases we take in more of this unit than we need to be used for energy therefore resulting in an caloric overload. Since body cannot use these calories at that particular time they will be stored in form of fat.

Now how can this help me you ask? In a lot of ways. Once we understand briefly what calories are and what they are used for we are better suited to come up with ideas and tricks in order to work with them more efficiently.

The main question that people will usually ask when it comes to calories is 'Do I have to count them?' The answer is both positive and negative...yes and no. Let me explain. I will start off with beginner. Usually someone that is first starting off trying to lose weight will have very poor instinct when it comes to food portions and quantities. For them it would be ideal and very wise to count calories until they at least come to intermediate and advanced level. It is just like training wheels on a bike. Once you don't need them anymore you take them off.