For more than 20 years the media has bombarded us with a perpetual diet craze. An avalanche of fad diets are announced one after another as breaking news while producing zero true results. Sure, you may lose 5, 10 or even 20 pounds on a fad diet...but you'll gain it all back and then some. How can I be so confident that your results will be short lived? It's actually a simple concept, and once you understand it you will be forever saved from the tortures of yo-yo dieting.

Fad diets saddle you with unreasonable calorie restrictions and some even cut out entire food groups just to produce that short lived drop in weight - a process that is actually harmful to your health. The fad diets also ignore one major component to shaping up: exercise.

Most fad diets operate on one age old premise: cut calories, cut calories, cut calories. By restricting the type and amount of food consumed the fad dieter usually sees an immediate drop in weight. If only it stopped there... But it doesn't stop there. Life continues, and the fad dieter returns to their pre-diet eating habits - with one major difference in their body due to the sudden drop in pounds. Their calorie requirements have gotten smaller.

In practical terms this means that the dieter will begin gaining weight even though they are eating their normal pre-diet portions. And since exercise hasn't become a part of their routine, the unneeded calories will result in pounds gained. So what's a dieter to do? Find a brand new diet to follow - right? Wrong.

There is a way to drop pounds and firm your body, but you won't read about it in the next diet book or hear it on the news.

The solution to your fad dieting nightmare is a lifestyle change.

What is a lifestyle change? To change your lifestyle means to replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones, and to do so consistently. It isn't something you do for a week or two, only to revert back your old ways - a lifestyle change redefines who you are.

Changing your lifestyle from one that is unhealthy to one that is healthy will be the best thing that you ever do for yourself. Trust me, I help people like you make this change every day with amazing results.

Fact: The shape of your body is the direct result of your current lifestyle.

So how do I change my lifestyle? That is a great question, and the answer is actually easier than you might think.

Most people who are unhappy with their bodies are really only holding on to a few bad habits. Once these destructive habits are identified and then replaced with healthy habits their body naturally transforms from one that they loathe to one that they are proud of.

In other words, to get the body that you want simply determine your unhealthy habits and replace them with healthy ones.

Here are the most prevalent unhealthy habits:

* The habit of inactivity.

Failing to exercise on a consistent basis is one of the most destructive obstacles for your health and figure. (The key word here is consistent. If you aren't exercising at least 3-4 times each week then you own this habit.)

* The habit of overeating.

Consuming calories in excess of your daily caloric needs is one of the main reasons that more adults are overweight today than ever before.

* The habit of empty calories.

Filling your diet with foods that hold little to no nutritional value is a great way to expand your waist. (Hint: if a food item is made up of mainly sugar and/or fat consider it 'empty' calories.)