As a professional fitness coach I get bodybuilders and models into the best shape of their lives every day. And while those few of my clients make their living off their appearance, most just want to get back into their "skinny clothes" and feel good about themselves. If this describes you, I have seven easy to follow tips that will get you where you want to be starting today!

First: Forget about dieting. Make gradual changes to what you eat by replacing some not so healthy foods with better choices. Then as the inches start to melt off, you'll be too busy shopping for skinny clothes to even think about junk food.

Second: Hide your scale. That thing will drive you nuts if you let it. Your best bet is to weigh yourself the morning you decide to start making changes and then just once per month after that, but always on the same day of the month.

Third: Eat more, NOT less. Basically you just want to replace high calorie snacks with healthier food. Here's a real comparison that's quite an eye opener:

A regular size Snickers Bar has 313 calories and not much nutritional value. To get the same number of calories and many times the nutrition you could eat the following meal...

* A dinner salad

* A juicy 4 oz baked or grilled chicken breast plus...

* brown rice as a full serving plus...

* A large serving of vegetables AND...

* Still have 50 to 100 calories left over! Fresh fruit for dessert anyone?

Put another way, you could have a delicious three course meal that will help slim you down or two bites of a candy bar. Is that crazy or what?

Fourth: Eat more often. Eat meals like the one above five or six times a day. And here's a good rule of thumb when planning those meals... Looking at your plate you will see 50% vegetables (with lots of greens), 30% proteins (such as chicken, fish, lean beef, ect.), the remaining 20% will be of good complex carbohydrates (yams, brown rice ect - NOT pasta or breads.)

Fifth: Stay hydrated. Don't let yourself get thirsty if you can avoid it. Sip water all day long. Once you feel thirst, your body is already starting to dehydrate and that's when crazy food cravings start to kick in along with urges for sugary (including artificially sweetened) drinks that will actually dehydrate you even more and increase those cravings!

Sixth: Don't kick yourself too hard if you splurge once in a while. Think of having a piece of cake as getting a flat tire on your car. It is reparable. Just repair it quickly and get back on the road. Getting upset and eating the rest of the cake makes about as much sense as flattening the other three tires. It's a great excuse to be stuck where you are. But do you want excuses or results?

Seventh and most important: Get some backup. We all need a little help now and then. Professional bodybuilders and models don't do it alone. Why should you have to? And not to worry about investing a lot. There is no need. You can find some top of the line fitness and nutrition guides at your local library or Amazon.com. Or you can use one of the advanced scientifically designed approaches like "calorie shifting" (http://www.Calorie-Shift.com) that makes your body burn fat at highly accelerated rates with simple meal planning adjustments.

Whatever way you choose to do it, remember this, you really CAN do it!

Disclaimer: please seek the advice of a licensed Physician prior to engaging in any diet or exercise plan. This article is for informational purposes only and is in no way intended as medical advice or as replacement for a proven therapy.