Weight Loss Tip #5: Knowledge is Power

Read, learn, and study about health and fitness topics as much as you can. Shatter the myths and learn new tips and techniques. But, make sure your sources are valid.

Here are a few things every person trying to lose weight should learn:

Sort out the weight loss and fitness myths from the facts- For example, did you know that doing 100 situps will not burn fat on your abs? The technique of working a particular muscle group, called "spot training" does not necessarily mean you will burn fat on that muscle group. Cardio and negative calorie intake will melt the flab, but sadly not always where we want.

Even though I am a self confessed supplement junkie, I'll let you in on a secret: there is NO supplement that will miraculously make you lose weight. Some may help, but don't waste your money on 99% of diet supplements which are often inexpensive, common ingredients (like green tea) inflated in price.

Learn the correct nutritional content of food- My brother and I, as preteens, were interested in losing weight. We had read that fish is low in fat. So, we went out to Long John Silver's and ordered a 3 piece deep fried fish dinner and congratulated ourselves on eating low fat. No joke! With the internet there is no excuse not to do the research. It's especially important to check the calorie content of foods when eating out, although companies at sit-down family restaurants are sometimes less than forthcoming. However, remember that bogus advertising and quakery has infested the net as well.

Learn good fitness techniques- In order to maximize fitness and weight loss and minimize injury, it's vital to learn proper technique, from a book, a friend, or ideally a trainer.

Know thyself- This is not something you can get from a book, but is nonetheless vital. You must identify why you overeat, what motivates you, what triggers your eating binges, what keeps you from the gym, etc. etc. etc. and then get a plan to overcome them that becomes second nature.