The best way to lose weight is about living a healthier life than what you may be living now. You will need a complete lifestyle change and you will need to be committed. The body loses about 2 pounds a week optimally and that's 2 pounds that stay off. When you drop at a faster rate your body could potentially rebound and either plateau your weight loss or put extra weight on. If you are committed then you should reach your goal.

There are 5 most important things that must go together in any workout program. These are part of changing your complete lifestyle to one that is healthier. They also help you to naturally optimize your metabolism. The faster your metabolism the better your body uses your food for energy, instead of storing it as fat.

I put them in the order of importance.

1. Eat more. Yes eat more. More meals that is. It is best to eat a small meal every 3-4 hours. The meal should be just large enough to where you are not hungry, as opposed to eating you are full. There is a difference, think of it as no bigger than the size of your two fists put together. Eating 1 or 2 meals a day slows your metabolism down. You should have at least 4-6 meals a day. For most a ratio of carbs-proteins-fats should be 50%-25%-25% is good, but each person is unique.

2. Drink more water. Most of us don't have enough water. This means our bodies are dehydrated. Two things a dehydrated body has trouble doing, one is releasing water. In order to lose fat you must be able to release water, because fat cells in your body are composed of mostly water. A dehydrated body cannot build very well. Muscle tone indicates a constant building state in your body. If your body isn't building that means it is losing muscle and it's never good to lose muscle that slows your metabolism and makes you look flabby.

3. Maintain a balanced workout regimen of cardio and resistance (weights). Cardio is good for fat burning and it's easy to do and to progress yourself. Resistance is a little harder because it's not as easy to know what to do. If weights aren't your thing then try Yoga or Pilates. Both are very effective resistance and core training and can help you maintain lean muscle and increase your overall metabolism.

4. Smart supplementation of your diet is your best solution to making sure you get the nutrients your food doesn't give you. A daily multivitamin will suffice in most cases, and if you don't like pills they sell it in liquid form. Plus cleanses, as well as detox formulas are awesome for eliminating toxins we take into our bodies without knowing.

5. Sleep is a very important part of any healthy lifestyle regimen. When we sleep our bodies and minds refresh themselves and allow us to function at an optimal level. Sleeping allows muscles to rebuild themselves and when they do that, it speeds your metabolism.

You may ask why I gave you this long list instead of just telling you what exercises to do. The reason is if you think that exercising is all you need then you are mislead. If exercising is all we needed to look and feel great then everybody who works out at the gym would have great bodies and be healthy. If you have been to a gym before you know its not true.