All diet plans teach that you must practice calorie restriction in order to lose weight and then show you how to track calories with all types of complex methods including, counting calories, portion control lists, points, food lists, blocks of food, or food checklists (just to name a few).

But the reality is that if you want to lose weight and keep it off for life you need to learn and practice all these techniques and you need to do it for the rest of your life but don't worry it's not as hard as it sounds. The trick to getting your calories under control without going crazy is to do it in phases.

Phase 1 Eat The Right Foods: This is the phase that most people get wrong most often. Clients have actually confessed that they believed as long as they were sticking to a set number of calories they would lose weight even if they were eating burgers and fries, pizza, and ice cream. If you are serious about losing weight for life then you must start making better food choices before you start counting calories. A piece of grilled chicken with spinach salad and wild rice is more nutritious than a big mac and fries and nutrients have everything to do with the weightloss process. Counting calories will make zero difference unless you start eating the right things.

Phase 2 Learn Portion Control: Once you improve what you're eating the next skill you must learn is portion control. Lucky for you this is a super easy skill to learn because it requires using your eyes, your hands, and your brain which is more interactive and helps you get the hang of it faster. There are tons of portion control tricks that you can use to reduce calories but there are 3 that work best for most people. Click the link to learn about 3 portion control tricks that have helped all my successful clients lose the fat for life.

Phase 3 Find Tune Calorie Counting: Once you're eating the right foods and the right portions of those foods then it's time to fine tune your calorie counting skills. You can't lose weight if you're eating too many calories or too little calories. I learned this the hard way back when I was on the Zone (eating too little) then later on Body for Life (when I started going overboard with portions). You must eat slightly below your maintenance level and never dip too low. Get the 411 about why extreme calorie restriction is bad and what percentage of calories you need to cut to lose weight without slowing down your metabolism.

Track your calories and exercise the easy way with Diet & Exercise Assistant 4.0