My Top 5 Weight Loss Tips for Women will help you keep the weight off for good! Quick weight loss fad diets won’t work in the longrun! Many have tried fad diets and failed again and again.

To get lasting weight loss (not just quick water weight loss), you MUST include fat loss in your program. This takes time. Go ahead and make the commitment to consistent exercise and changed eating habits!

Men and women store and burn fat differently. It is important for you to know this difference. Men have more testosterone than women (no big surprise!). This allows men to produce more human growth hormone as well as stimulate more muscle and bone growth.

And, other factors combine to allow men’s cells to take in more oxygen than women’s cells. This means that when a man is working at 50% of his physical capacity, a woman would need to work at 70% of her physical capacity to stay even. Its important to take this into account when your fitness program is designed.

How does this affect fat loss and weight loss? The differences in how hormones and fat cells work in men and women determine the effects on fat loss and weight loss. Because of genetics, women’s fat cells are 5 times larger than men’s fat cells. Women need more body fat to be healthy.

For instance, a woman with 10% body fat would be very, very lean (she would probably be a fitness competitor). Men in fitness competitions have body fat as low as 2-5% (I think Tom Venuto has 3% body fat when he competes). Fit women usually have body fat between 21-24%, whereas fit men have body fat between 14-17%.

With those facts in mind, here are my Top 5 Weight Loss Tips for Women:

1. Make a commitment to a lifetime of fitness, weight loss and fat loss. This commitment trumps all other fitness commitments. Without it, you will always fall to the inevitable obstacles, pitfalls and quick weight loss scams along the way.

2. Be willing to change your eating habits! Sixty to 70% of your weight loss/fat loss success or failure will depend on healthy, managed nutrition. Get to know your body and what types of food you are better off not eating. For example, grains/starchy carbohydrates cause some people to not make progress with fat loss.

You must burn more calories than you consume (caloric deficit is needed over time) in order to lose weight and burn body fat. This is the law of thermodynamics.

Even if you are a “workout warrior,” the law of thermodynamics still applies. You cannot eat as much as you want (or maintain a caloric surplus) and still lose weight! On the opposite end, you can’t starve yourself and expect to succeed long-term with weight loss and fat loss.

Find out your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is the amount of daily calories your body needs to maintain itself in a resting state. You will use this amount and your daily activity level to set your daily menu.

If you use severe calorie restriction (i.e., don’t eat enough), your body will store fat because it will think you are starving. And, you don’t want to lose muscle, you want to lose fat!

3. You must change your body’s composition! You must increase muscle mass to become a “fat-burning machine.” So, your metabolism will speed up when you build muscle–without getting bulky.

Concentrate on compound (multi-joint) strength exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, bench press, planks and rows because they work and build more muscle groups. Do less single-joint exercises like biceps curls and tricep extensions.

You must do more than cardio exercise to burn body fat, lose weight and change your body’s composition to “lean and toned!” Your muscles will waste away on those cardio machines if that’s all you do! Your body will not be toned. Some of the best fat-burning, body-toning cardio exercises are sprinting on grass, bodyweight cardio exercises (like mountain climbers), stepmill and jump rope.

4. Keep a food journal until you get a good handle on your eating habits. This will help you keep track of your eating habits and help you make needed changes.

Here is another fact: research has proven that you will have a better chance of succeeding with your meal plan if you keep a food journal. By logging your actual food choices, you are holding yourself accountable throughout the day. You will also be forced to plan your meals better. A food journal will also help you control emotional eating and binge eating.

5. Find a workout buddy such as friend, spouse or personal trainer. This is also a critical step to help you succeed. Don’t try to do your exercise program alone!

My observations show me that more women than men participate in group exercise classes. This is a great way to get the support you need to reach your goals.

Start burning fat and losing weight the right way! Your body will thank you and you’ll look great!

If you need help burning fat, speeding up your metabolism and losing weight, download my Free Women’s Fat Loss Guide now!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Check out my other great blogs:

My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!