As summer approaches many will be scrambling for quick ways to burn fat and lose weight. There are many low calorie diets on the market that promise big results. But these fad diets do not produce extreme fat loss only disappointment.

For quick weight loss results you must do three things: change your eating habits, create a daily calorie deficit and begin exercising. You may be surprised to find that weight loss supplements are not part of this formula. This is to steer you clear of fast weight loss failure that is sure to come from these supplements.

Step 1: Change Your Eating Habits

The biggest gains come from changes in how you eat and consume calories. The first change is to eliminate any eating three hours before bedtime. Second, eat your larger calorie meals earlier in the day and eat smaller meals in the evening. These changes are designed to give your body the opportunity to burn calories before you turn in for the evening.

You’ll also want to eat your simple and starchy carbohydrates in the morning or at midday. It is better for your body to not have to deal with carbs in the evening as they are more likely to turn to fat as you sleep.

Step 2: Create a Calorie Deficit

You will also want to create a calorie deficit in your daily eating. This means first you must understand what your BMR is (i.e. basal metabolic rate). To calculate your BMR, you simply take your body weight, and multiply by 10. So, if you weigh 250 pounds, your daily calorie requirement is 2500 calories. In order to lose weight, you will want to eat 80% of your BMR. In our example, you will be eating 2000 calories per day. At a 500 calorie daily deficit you can easily expect to lose 1 pound per week.

In your meal plans, you will want to divide up your calories and have six meals per day. These meals will be balanced in terms of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Doing this will insure that your body gets all of the required vitamins and minerals it requires. Also make sure you drink lots of water throughout the day. Water is a natural supplement that aids your body’s ability to shed body fat. And finally include at least one cheat meal per week just to keep things interesting.

Step 3: Exercise

You need to workout at least 5-6 days per week. Your fitness program will be a total body resistance and cardio training experience. You will want to include high-density weight training three to four times a week. To boost your metabolism, work your large muscle groups. For maximum muscle building gains, make sure you are pyramiding your weight. For example if you are bench pressing 100 pounds, you will want to increase your weight after each set so that you reach exhaustion by your last set.

For cardio, select exercises that are low impact and give you the maximum calorie burn in the shortest period of time. One of the best workout machines available is the elliptical cross trainer. For optimal muscle and cardio training you will want to use a technique called high intensity interval training.

Your high intensity interval training will be no more than 15 minutes each session. You will exercise in two minute intervals with high intensity workouts and then have 30 seconds of low intensity rest periods. For best results do your cardio training in the morning on an empty stomach. Some studies show that this technique will aid in extreme fat loss getting you the fast results you want.