If you are one of the many thousands of people trying to figure out how to lose weight safely and effectively, you'll be pleased to read today's post. We are going to focus on the main areas where people go wrong and show you four or five simple, proven steps to building a leaner, fitter you

The industry itself is largely to blame for the amount of confusion in this area. Due to the fact that there is a lot of money to be made, you'll often see every supplement company or trainer promising easier results if you buy their product or join their client list. As a result, people are always trying to find a quick fix rather than just achieving their goals.

Many of the so-called 'miracle diet plans' revolve around very old principles, so before you spend your hard earned money on one of these it would pay dividends to learn the rules for yourself.

Unlike most other advice on this topic, we have nothing to sell you. We aren't here to give you a miracle product or a dieting pill, so what you're going to get is proven, simple advice which has research to back it up.

If you can make the most of the following few steps you will notice greatly enhanced results.

* It's not really about how much you eat, it's about what you eat.

* Your diet needs to be combined with some form of regular exercise activity.

* Once you have mastered the art of resisting temptation you will be able to reach your goals far easier.

Most people have no idea how much to eat. In order to consume the right amount of calories per day simply take your goal body weight in pounds and multiply by twelve.

Too many diets go wrong due to the fact that the person cuts their total calorie intake too drastically and therefore cannot lose any weight because their body is hanging onto fat.

The most important step in your diet is splitting your calories between protein, fat and carbohydrates. Despite popular belief, you should never cut one of these nutrients out of your diet and if you do it'll only cause a negative outcome. A great split for your calories is 40% from carbohydrate sources, 20% from fats and 40% from protein rich foods.

When it comes to exercise you will be pleased to hear that the gym has evolved since the days of prescribing massive cardiovascular exercise sessions on the treadmill. Science now knows that shorter, high intensity exercise sessions will help you to burn more calories and will take less time to complete.

A combination of cardio and weights would be best, but if you are just starting out then you could literally just go for a brisk walk or swim. Exercise is exercise, no matter where it takes place.

A recent survey showed that people came off the rails of their diet plan the most when they were at their job midway through a tough shift. The combination of the easy access to junk food and the fact that they hadn't prepared any meals usually led them to undo all the good results they had worked hard to achieve thus far. Bear this in mind, protein has far less impact on fat storage than any other nutrient.

Feel free to make up a few protein rich snacks for your day of work. This will help you to stay away from the vending machine and continue getting results even when you're not in the gym.

The three rules above teach the basic rules of how to lose weight safely and effectively. If you have previously felt a little lost do not worry, you are not alone. In fact, the confusion is similar when you want to learn how to build muscle, everybody has a different opinion. The science supporting these facts will set the foundation for a great diet plan.