The idea behind this completely free weight loss diet plan is quite simple... it's the ANTI-fad diet. It is the complete opposite of every borderline idiotic and completely unnecessary diet program in existence. It is based strictly on common sense and the simplest and healthiest way the human body was meant to lose weight. It is not based on fancy gimmicks and making sales. The Lose Weight Diet is free. There is nothing to buy or sign up for first. Every single piece of weight loss information you will need is here (free) for you to read, understand and put into effect.

You know when you eat food and drink drinks? Well, every one of those foods and every one of those drinks contain calories. Say it with me... calories. The reason I'm mentioning calories to you as though you are 5 years old is because the answer to the almighty "how to lose weight" question all revolves around calories. Not only does everything you eat and drink contain calories, but everything you do burns calories. Literally every step you take and every move you make burns calories. In fact, your body actually burns hundreds and even thousands of calories each day on its own just functioning. You could sit still all day and your body would still burn calories.

So now you may be wondering, if everything you eat contains calories, and everything you do burns calories, shouldn't they just cancel each other out? Yes, they should... and they do. If you consume the exact same number of calories that your body burns each day, your weight would stay exactly the same. If your body naturally burns 3000 calories a day, and you happen to eat 3000 calories a day, your weight would not change. In this example, 3000 calories is what's known as a calorie maintenance level. It's the number of calories required for the body to maintain its current weight.

I should probably have you repeat "calorie maintenance level" with me, because if there's one thing more important than calories when it comes to losing weight... it's your calorie maintenance level.

2. While the above method is probably accurate enough for most people (it was actually very close for me), I can't say for sure if it will be as accurate for everyone. And, since this is the number that will be at the heart of your weight loss diet plan, I'm going to mention the second method. It's not so much a "method" as it is a "test."

Basically, you would start eating a certain number of calories each day and then closely monitor what your weight does when consuming this many calories. For example, if you maintained weight eating this certain number calories per day, you have found your maintenance level. If you gained weight, lower your calorie intake a little and see what happens then. If you lose weight, then you know you're already below your calorie maintenance level.

If you want to give method #2 a try, I'd suggest using your current calorie intake as the number of calories to start the "test" on. To figure this number out, pick a day and eat like you normally would. The only difference is you will be keeping track of the number of calories in everything you consume. At the end of the day add it all up. Do this for a few days and then take an average of all the days. This average is the average amount of calories you are currently taking in each day and would make a perfect starting point for method #2.

Now that you know what your daily calorie maintenance level is, it's time to officially create your weight loss diet plan.

To do this, just subtract 500 from your calorie maintenance level.

For example, if you figured your maintenance level to be 3000 calories per day, you would now start eating 2500 calories per day instead. It's really as easy as it sounds. Just subtract 500 from your daily maintenance level and then start eating this new amount of calories each day. By doing so, you would officially be in a calorie deficit. And, as you know, a calorie deficit is what makes weight loss happen.

As for how and when you should consume those calories, that's completely up to you and your own preferences. Eat them all in 3 big meals, 6 small meals, every 2 hours, every 5 hours... whatever. It literally makes no difference whatsoever how you do it as long as your total calorie intake is the same for the day. You may have heard differently... like how eating 5-6 smaller meals magically "speeds up your metabolism" or something along those lines. But the truth is that it's all nonsense.

I know everyone used to suggest (and many still incorrectly do) that a higher meal frequency was better for weight loss (hell, articles I wrote years ago may still even contain that recommendation), but research in recent years has proven it to be a silly myth with no scientific evidence at all. So, the key is to do whatever is easiest and most enjoyable for you. Whatever meal schedule is most likely to allow you to consistently eat the right total amount of calories per day... THAT'S what you should do.

All that's left to do now as far as your weight loss diet plan goes is make sure that the calories you are consuming each day are coming from the right food sources...

Besides just being a requirement for overall health and function, protein is an extremely important part of The Lose Weight Diet (and all weight loss diets) because of the roles it plays in controlling hunger and maintaining muscle while fat is lost. As far as food sources go, the best sources of protein tend to come from anything that used to be alive, or anything that came from something that used to be alive. Some high protein foods include:

Protein can also be found in all types of nuts, seeds and beans. And of course, there are always protein supplements in the form of powders, shakes and bars. I fully explain the purpose and benefits of protein supplements here: Protein Powder

As far as how much protein you should include in your weight loss diet plan per day, that depends on the person. For example, the average person who doesn't exercise at all needs less protein than someone who does. Something in the range of a MINIMUM of 0.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight might be alright in this case. For example, if the person weighed 180lbs, you would do 180 x 0.5 = 90 grams of protein per day.

However, someone who does exercise should eat somewhere in the range of .6 - 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight. In this example a person weighing 180lbs would look to eat between 108 - 180 grams of protein per day. This is what I'd recommend most often.

The only other thing you need to know about protein is that 1 gram contains 4 calories. So, for example, if you were to eat 100 grams of protein per day, that would account for 400 calories. (100 x 4 = 400)

Despite any crazy ideas that have been put into your head, fat isn't all bad. Some types are definitely terrible for you (trans fat), some types are much less bad but still not great (saturated fat), and some types are actually good bordering on REALLY good (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat). "Bad fats" can be found in all of the usual junk foods that you already know you shouldn't eat. "Good fats" on the other hand can be found in foods like:

fish

nuts and seeds

olive oil

fish oil supplements (see below)

(*Important Note* Practically every single person reading this should be taking a fish oil supplement. It's the most scientifically proven supplement there is, with a seemingly endless number of benefits. Put it this way, it will improve your body's ability to do damn near everything (including lose fat). I fully explain all of this in my article about supplements here: Fish Oil)

As for how much fat should be included in your weight loss diet plan... about 25% of your total calorie intake should come from fat.

To figure this out, the first thing you need to know is that 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories. So, if an example person figured out that their daily calorie intake should be 2500 total calories per day (again, just an example), they'd find that 25% of 2500 is 625 calories. They'd then divide 625 by 9 (because fat has 9 calories per gram) and get 69. Which means, this example person would eat about 69 grams of fat per day.

And of course, most of this fat should come in the form of the "good" food sources listed above.

Now that you know how much protein and fat your weight loss diet should include, it will be pretty easy to figure out how many carbs you should eat. Quite simply, the rest of your diet should be carbs. Once you factor protein and fat into your total calorie intake, whatever calories are left over to reach the number of calories you figured you need to eat per day... those calories should come from carbs.

1 gram of carbs contains 4 calories. So, for example, after factoring protein and fat into what you calculated your total calorie intake should be (500 below maintenance level, remember?), let's say you are 1200 calories below that number. In this example you would need to eat 300g of carbs per day. (1200 ÷ 4 = 300)

And, just like fat, not all types of carbs are equal. More complex, lower glycemic, nutrient-rich foods are much more ideal for appetite control and overall health than simple, higher glycemic, highly processed junk. Some sources of the "good" carbs are:

fruits and vegetables

beans

brown rice

oatmeal

sweet potatoes and white potatoes

whole grains and 100% whole grain products

The "bad" type of carbs would be the typical snack/junk foods like crackers, pretzels, chips, cookies, etc. as well as white bread and white rice, candy, and drinks or food high in sugar. While you should definitely try to limit these "bad" carbs as much as possible and get most of your carb intake from foods on the "good" list, eating some white bread or pasta once in a while won't kill you.

Remember, the most important part of The Lose Weight Diet is making sure you are 500 calories below your calorie maintenance level. Everything you just read about protein, fat and carbs was to give you an idea of how to divide those calories up so that your weight loss diet plan is as balanced as possible. The guidelines mentioned aren't just ideal for weight loss, they're also ideal for good health in general.

Your daily calorie maintenance level is the key number in creating your weight loss diet plan. It is based on many factors and is specific to each person. For example, you and your friend might be the same height and weight, but you might have maintenance levels that are hundreds of calories apart. Since the effectiveness of your weight loss diet plan depends a lot on this number, it is important that you figure it out as accurately as possible.

For the most part there are really only 2 methods of figuring out this "magic" number. The first is a pretty close estimate, and the second is as accurate as can be.

1. Here's the method for getting the "pretty close estimate" of your calorie maintenance level. It requires putting your gender, weight, height, age and activity level through a 6th grade level math formula. However, I have assumed that no one actually wants to sit around doing 6th grade math. I was right, wasn't I? So, I've included a calculator for it instead. All you need to do now is just fill out the quick form below and hit "Calculate!" and you will instantly get your estimated calorie maintenance level.

Your calorie maintenance level is pretty useful to know. Think of it like it's your body's weight loss password, and knowing it will get you into your own private weight loss system. Once you're in, you'll be able to control your weight with ease. In fact, for anyone wondering how to lose weight, this is the number at the heart of that answer. The best way I can explain why is by telling you the big secret...

Like I said, every person's body needs a certain number of calories each day in order for them to maintain their current weight. This is your maintenance level. If your diet plan is made up of the SAME number of calories as this maintenance level, your weight will stay the same. However, if your diet is made up of MORE calories than your maintenance level, you will GAIN weight. But... get this... if your diet is made up of LESS calories than your maintenance level... YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT!

You just learned the one simple fact that The Lose Weight Diet is based on. Pretty cool huh? I told you, weight loss is all about calories. More specifically, it's about creating a calorie deficit. You need to end up burning more calories than you consume. If your daily calorie maintenance level is 3000 calories, you will lose weight if you started eating 2500 calories a day. You would gain weight if you ate 3500 calories a day. I realize I was only supposed to explain how to lose weight, but you've also just learned how to gain weight.

Did you ever wonder how you gained weight? Now you know. You ate more than your maintenance level. To lose weight, you just need to reverse that. Simple, isn't it? You may have noticed that in the example above I subtracted 500 calories from the maintenance level. Subtracting 500 calories from your maintenance level is the magic weight loss number here. The reason for that is because there are about 3500 calories in 1 pound of fat. So, if you ate 500 less calories each day for 7 days, it would equal the 3500 less calories required to lose 1 pound. (500 x 7 = 3500)

Coincidentally, there are 7 days in a week. So, by eating 500 calories below your daily maintenance level, you would lose about 1 pound per week. Now would be a good time to mention that the healthy, safe, good, smart, and all around right amount of weight to lose for most people is 1 or 2 pounds a week. That is the widely agreed upon correct weight loss speed. I am bringing this up now because some people may be thinking, "If my maintenance level was 3000 calories, why shouldn't I just go straight to eating 1000 calories a day instead of only 2500?" Here's why...

Reducing your calorie intake by so much so fast is wrong, potentially unsafe and unhealthy, bad, dumb, silly, stupid, not smart, not good, and all around super incorrect. Got that? You'd end up losing muscle along with the fat. You'd be hungry, annoyed and feel like crap. Your body would go into a state where it actually KEEPS fat. Blah blah blah, blah blah. It would just be the complete opposite of the right thing to do. Remove this idea from your mind.

What about working out?

Here's another thing you may have been thinking. "I know how to lose weight... just eat fewer calories than I burn. I got that. I know I can do this by eating about 500 calories less than my maintenance level. But, instead of eating below my maintenance level, couldn't I just workout more and therefore burn more calories?" The answer is YES!

If your maintenance level is 3000 calories a day, and you are eating the full 3000 calories a day, you could lose weight by working out and burning those 500 calories each day. You'd still end up in the same calorie deficit this way just as you would by eating less. The only real difference is that it's quite a bit more work to burn off 500 calories every day through exercise than it is to just eat 500 less calories daily.

Weight loss is all about being in that calorie deficit. While you can technically accomplish this either way (through diet or workout), the best idea in terms of results and all around health is to do it using a combination of both if you can. A proper diet plan combined with a proper workout is the ideal weight loss scenario. But, I'll talk more about that later. First I need to cover one final Phase 1 question you may have...

"While explaining how to lose weight, you have only really mentioned calories. What about protein, carbs and fat? Don't they matter?" The answer is yes, but not in the way you might think.

You see, your total daily calorie intake is BY FAR the most important aspect of weight loss. Eat the right amount per day and you will lose weight regardless of where those calories came from. However, the foods and nutrients supplying those calories still do play many important roles in your diet and health for various reasons. As far as these "calorie suppliers" go, there's mainly just three; protein, carbs and fat. Despite what the many fad diets and commercial diet plans have scared you into thinking, your weight loss diet CAN and SHOULD contain a good amount of all three. (Exactly how much of each is coming up next.)

So, while you will definitely lose weight just as a result of being below your maintenance level, how much and what types of protein, carbs and fat you eat will indeed play many important roles in your overall weight loss results. Don't worry, I'll explain all of that next.