Over the past several years fad diets have been all the rage. From Atkins to South Beach, people have been discovering new ways to solve the ago old problem of losing weight and staying healthily. Although many of these diets do work, many also have several negative effects as well. So what is the ultimate weight loss secret?

The one common ingredient all these diets share is the fact that they are all hypo caloric. What does hypo caloric mean. Essentially, it means you are consuming less calories than your body can burn through a given day..

If you are consuming fewer calories than you burn throughout your day, you body will have to resort to its natural energy storage in the form of fat.

To get a general idea of how many calories you need, is to multiply your body weight by 12.

For example if you are a 180lbs, the equation would look like 180 x 12 = 2160. This is the minimum number of calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight (not taking into account exercise).

Depending on your daily activity this number can give you a good indication of how many calories you need to consume in order to lose body fat. All too often people think that starvation is the only way to quickly lose weight, when in fact, you need to eat to get on the path to for an fitness.

If you are highly active and workout on a daily basis either in the gym or some other form of physical activity, you should be consuming your basic number of calories. If you are less active, you can deduct 100-300 calories from the total amount.

The calories should be divided into 5-6 small meal throughout the day, starting first thing in the morning. Remember that before you change your diet or exercise program, you should consult your physician.