Our instructors recently compiled a list of the most commonly asked fitness questions they received in the gym and the overwhelming winner came from women asking how to lose weight fast and, more importantly, how to keep it off afterwards. Today we answer this with five simple yet extremely effective steps for you to apply.

Face it, we all know at least one person who has been sucked in by the big claims of glossy magazines or supplement companies offering instant results. Maybe you have, too. People often get stuck in this vicious cycle, spending years looking for that expensive quick fix which doesn't exist. The truth is they could have achieved all of their desired goals within three to six months without spending a penny if they had just got out of that mentality and researched the following facts.

It's our job to get folks out of that mentality and ensure they stop believing that it's impossible to reach their target bodyweight. That false belief creates yo-yo dieters and they get nowhere. If you're ready to ditch that loser mentality, let's do that right now.

The trick to a long term diet is within it's foundation. The following rules will help you set these foundations:

1) A calorie deficit is necessary to lose weight but it must be done correctly or it will not work. This means cutting your daily calories by around 100-200 per day until you reach your target number each day as opposed to suddenly dropping your food by 50% and hoping for the best. The former will increase weight loss and make your diet far easier to stick to, whereas the latter will force your body into starvation mode where it stores fat. That's right, drop your calories too drastically and you'll be storing more fat even though you are eating way less. This step is where so many 'yo-yo' dieters and celebrity magazine followers go wrong.

2) If you eat more protein you will burn more fat. That may sound strange, given that protein is normally associated with bodybuilders and building big muscles, but it is completely true. As you drop your carbs and fat intake you will begin burning muscle and keeping fat. You don't want this to happen. Increase your protein intake and you'll end this effect, forcing your body to retain lean muscle and lose fat instead.

3) Protein has far less effect on the body's fat storage systems than both carbohydrates and fat. So when you fancy a snack it makes sense to first look at the available protein sources such as chicken or fish. This is also why protein shakes are increasingly popular.

4) Prepare your daily snacks. A firm favorite technique with those in the know, this simply requires you to take a few small containers in your bag to work. Ensure each container is small so you cannot fit a big meal into it, just a fifty or one hundred calorie light snack. The number one place people fall off their diet unintentionally is at work, when they're just starting a long shift and are feeling tired. This will help you miss the vending machine altogether and if you ensure your snacks are protein rich sources too you'll get an astonishing leg up with your fat loss as well.

5) Take a day off every Sunday or any other day which works best for you. How many friends have you known who have crashed off a diet two weeks in because they were avoiding all of their favorite foods and living on boring salads? We know where this leads. They promise to start a new routine next month, only for the same effect to take hold again. Enjoying a day off is a key part in helping you stick to your diet.

You are free to have a day off every single week. In fact we advise you to even if you don't want to, because it helps. Your moral goes up, it gives you a target if you are having a tough week at work or feel down, and you can also use it as a kind of reward for your hard work without worrying about eating bad calories. This helps you far more than it hinders you.

While we all like the idea of losing weight instantly we all know it's silly and, deep down, we also know that gradual weight loss is the way to go if you are looking to actually keep it off once it's gone, as opposed to piling it all back on and more like so many do. The five points above will help you a lot. Apply them starting tomorrow and you will be blown away by the results.