Strategies on how to lose fat normally centers on specific dietary approaches. However, there are many factors aside from controlling how many grams of fat you consume each day that can help accelerate your fat loss. In this article we will look at two different nutrition research studies that reveal key strategies for effective and permanent weight loss.

Weight Gaining Behavior - A 2004 study published by Dr. David Levitsky examined the eating behaviors of college freshman at Cornell University. He found that the students whom gained the most weight had 3 common characteristics:

1. "All You Can Eat" Dining
2. Snacking On High Fat Junk Foods
3. Increased Frequency of Snacking on Junk Foods

The problem here is that humans don't snack well. We don't regulate our caloric intake over time such that if we eat an extra 300 calories as a snack mid morning then we won't eat 300 calories less at lunch.

You need to be careful when it comes to snacking. Most snacks are carbohydrate and/or sugar based. AVOID these snacks at all costs. They will balloon your calories and carbohydrate intake, pulling you right out of the fat burning zone. Instead focus on eating protein and fiber rich snacks. This one behavior change will make a huge different in your journey to lose more weight.

In regards to "All You Can Eat" Dining, this is just a bad idea. Control your environment. We are very sensitive to visual cues such as plate size, amount of food, glass size/style, etc. "All You Can Eat" Dining is setting yourself up for dieting failure - avoid it at all costs so you can control your calorie intake with ease.

Stress, Exercise, and Support - Another famous study, the Lifestyle Heart Trial, reveals to us 3 crucial behavior changes that we must make for permanent and fast weight loss. Between 1977-1980, a group of people were put on the Ornish Diet as part of the Lifestyle Heart Trial. The Ornish Diet is a vegetarian diet that is very low in fat (less than 10% of calories from fat). Because of the severe fat restriction many find this diet hard to adhere to for the long term. However, during the Lifestyle Heart Trial the participants experienced phenomenal results such as regression of heart attack causing plaques in their arteries. Ever since this original study, similar results using the Ornish Diet have never been replicated.

Why?

Because the people in the study were implementing more than just a diet; they also did regular exercise (3 hours per week), meditation and relaxation (1 hour per day), and participated in 2 group support sessions each week. The addition of the other factors made the diet so much more effective.

Most people are probably already adding exercise to their weight loss plan but many miss regular stress management and developing a strong support system. These are make or break pieces to your fat loss puzzle. Adding exercise, stress management techniques, and finding a support system will greatly enhance your weight loss results.

If you are having trouble losing weight or if you have hit a weight loss plateau examine your current fat loss efforts. Do you actively manage the stress in your life? Do you have a support team? What kinds of foods are you snacking on? Do you control the portions you eat by avoiding "All You Can Eat" events?

Honestly answer these questions. Find the holes in your plan. Change them and get your fat loss back on track.

About the Author/More Info:
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28 day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10,15, or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 day. To start losing weight fast visit Warp Speed Fat Loss. Mike Roussell is a nutrition doctoral student at Pennsylvania State. Mike's writings can be found in magazines such as Men's Health, Men's Fitness, and Testosterone Nation. Mike specializes in fat loss nutrition and diets for busy men and women who need to lose weight fast without it interfering with their lives. Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat to lose weight in record time.

Cardio exercise is such a strange thing.  In theory, it should work so perfectly well for all men and women, but as anyone who has tried it knows, the practicality of it just doesn't add up.

After all, some men and women do cardio 6 hours, 9 hours, or more per week, and still have belly fat to burn. On the other hand, it works just fine for others.

British researchers wanted to get more insight into this paradox, and studied 35 overweight men and women, who weren't previously exercising.

(Reference: International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008).

Subjects exercised 5 times per week for 12 weeks.  That's a lot of exercise, but it helped the subjects lose an average of 8.2 pounds, which is great - I was positively surprised by the results.

So cardio will work for some people, however, in my experience, it works best in young men, who need the help the least!

Back to the study, the variance in fat loss between individuals was huge. Check this out...

The best subject lost a staggering 32.3 pounds in 12 weeks, while the worst subject actually GAINED 3.74 pounds.

The scientists think they know where things went sour.  They classified the subjects into 2 groups, called the "Compensators"
and the "Non-compensators".

The Compensators were hungrier, and as a result consumed an extra 268 calories per day, all but wiping out their cardio efforts.

Therefore, the Compensators lost the least amount of weight, and scientists believe that was due to the huge "compensatory" increase in appetite experienced by this group.

Does your appetite increase when you do slow cardio?  If it does, research shows it will ruin your cardio efforts.

So if your cardio program is not working for you, check your appetite and calorie intake to see if you are "compensating" for your efforts. If you are, you might be better off using a program of high-intensity resistance and interval training (i.e. Turbulence Training) for your weight loss efforts.

As Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research, interval training increases hormones called catecholamines.  And increased catecholamines can reduce appetite, among other fat-burning benefits.

In the real world, few people lose 33 pounds after 12 weeks of cardio. Heck, few even achieve an average weight loss of 8 pounds with aerobic exercise.

So again, check your appetite, and consider giving high-intensity exercise a go for your next workout program.

Beat the curse of cardio with high-intensity Turbulence Training.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Learn about the "Dark Side of Cardio" in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at Turbulence Training for Fat Loss. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss