The 12 day grapefruit diet is not a new concept. The original plan was developed in the 1930's. This fruit appears to be a dieter's dream. It has no fat, is high in fiber and low in calories. It also carries benefits for your skin as it is high in vitamin C.

So how does this diet work? It's very simple. You eat half a grapefruit before every meal. The enzyme it contains reduces your appetite so you consume fewer calories. It also speeds up the fat burning process helping you to shed pounds. Everyone knows that if you use more energy than you take in from the food you eat, you will lose weight. Some studies suggest that you could lose up to ten pounds in less than two weeks simply by introducing this change. Personally, I believe you would have a better chance of success if you also cut your portion sizes, ate four or five smaller meals rather than three large ones.And took more exercise.

It is completely pointless thinking that one simple change in your lifestyle is going to result in a big weight loss. You need to review all areas of your life. Do you eat food because you are bored? Upset? Do you get enough exercise? Most Americans are not active enough. You don't suddenly need to become a gym fanatic but a little extra activity every day will help. I am sure you can think of a million ways to add some movement to your sedentary lifestyle. You could take the stairs instead of the lift; get off the metro one stop early, walk to the store etc.

In the same way, you can make progress by implementing simple changes at mealtimes. Instead of frying your food which only adds extra calories, try grilling, baking or steaming. Learn how to cook rather than relying on prepackaged meals that add dollars to your bills as well as pounds to your waistline. Use herbs and spices to flavor your meals rather than salt to help prevent fluid retention.

Eat more fruit and vegetables. They are high in fiber, low in calories and very filling. Your skin will glow from all the extra vitamins and minerals you are consuming. Don't eat carbohydrates after 5pm in the evening as your body will not have sufficient time to use up all the energy they release. The body converts excess energy into fat.

Eat protein but chose the leaner cuts of meat and forget about sausages and other processed foods for now. Don't exclude all treats but go for quality rather than quantity. Stop eating when you are full and not when your plate is empty.

Don't mistake being thirsty for feeling hungry. And stop ingesting hidden calories via flavored waters, fizzy pop and perhaps the biggest culprit of all, alcohol.

You can shrink your waistline by using the 12 day grapefruit diet. but only if you combine it with a healthy eating and exercise program.

If you're trying to lose weight, the best thing you can do for yourself is also to exercise. Dieting is necessary because it really does matter how many calories you eat. But effective exercise for weight loss will make losing the weight much easier.

Any kind of movement you can do will help. If you're not used to exercising at all, even 15 minutes of exercise is a good thing. But experts do recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise 4 to 5 times a week.

An important tip to keep in mind is that you need to start out slowly. If you haven't exercised in a very long time, then starting out with 15 minutes of time is perfectly fine. The worst thing you can do is jump in gung-ho, hurt yourself, and not be able to exercise for a long time.

When you're trying to lose weight, it's important to try different types of exercise. Aerobic exercise is one of the best forms of exercise for weight loss. It's effective because it helps you speed up your entire body's metabolism.

Aerobic simply means "in oxygen." So when you're doing aerobic exercise, you're essentially flooding body with oxygen. You're taking deeper breaths and using parts of your lungs that you don't use in your everyday life.

When you can keep up on aerobic exercise for 15 minutes, then it's time to move up to a half an hour. Or if you're unsure, move it up to 20 minutes. And then gradually increase until half an hour. Good aerobic exercise includes fast walking, aerobic dancing, and anything that gets your heart rate and your breathing up above what it normally is.

Fitness experts have certain goals they set as far as your heart rate and your rate of respiration. It's not necessary to measure things when you're just trying to exercise to lose weight. But a good way to judge whether or not you're overdoing it, or under doing it, is your ability to talk.

If you're walking fast or even slowly jogging, and you're unable to talk to someone because you're breathing so heavily, you need to slow down. During any aerobic exercise you do, you should be able to hold a conversation with someone.

You'll be breathing heavily, and perhaps having to pause longer than you normally would. But you should be able to do it. If you're breathing so heavily you can't talk, then you need to scale it back a little bit.

Swimming can also be an aerobic exercise that's very good for weight loss. Even strength training can be somewhat aerobic, if you do it without breaks and it does elevate your heart rate enough. The best exercise plan for weight loss incorporates both aerobic activities and strength training.

Building up your strength through either lifting weights or some other form of strength training, is an effective exercise for weight loss because it raises your metabolism. With this boost to your metabolism, your body burns fat more effectively all the time.

The fat smash diet plan is quite a well known book written by Ian Smith. It became famous when Celebrity Fit Club was all the rage on TV. It is supposed to be a 90 day program and promises that you will not have to count calories and you will not end up feeling hungry. Sounds good doesn't it?

So what does this diet involve and more importantly does it work? The good news is that this weight loss program encompasses all the things a good one should. It doesn't promise that you will lose pounds without effort and you do not have to avoid whole food groups. In order to lose excess weight, you need to follow a healthy eating plan combined with moderate exercise. That is the basis of Ian Smith's approach. He also strongly encourages you to get support from your family and friends. This is a great idea as you will sometimes struggle to stay focused and committed. It is a lot easier to put the pounds on than take them off!

Far too often, a regime either focuses on the food or the activities but you need both to succeed. The Fat Smash approach is to undergo a detox first. Although the experts disagree as to whether we actually need to detoxify our bodies, it certainly helps by giving you an initial burst of motivation as you watch the pounds fall off. This part of the regime lasts for nine days during which you may feel rather miserable. It is a good idea to start at a time when you can rest more as you may suffer headaches, nausea and tiredness. So if it is a busy time at work, postpone following Mr Smith until later.

The regime is divided into four parts. The first is the detox during which you will eat mainly fruit and vegetables. There is quite a Japanese flavor to some of the dishes so if you have a store locally, you will find plenty of the suggested items on sale there e.g. Miso Soup, Tofu, Seaweed etc. Phase 2 allows you to eat a wider variety of foods such as lean meat, eggs, shellfish etc. Phase 3 reintroduces wheat, bread, pasta and thankfully some deserts while phase 4 allows you to eat some pizza and other fast foods. At all times, he recommends that you eat little and often. This is a great way to boost your metabolism rate helping you to lose pounds faster.

Ian suggests various activities you could try in order to get the recommended amounts of exercise. It is pretty pointless not to follow his advice as otherwise the system will not work. All in all this seems to be a good weight loss program and most of those who stick with his schedule will lose weight. The main criticism of the course is the way the Fat Smash Diet Plan book was written. But if you can tone up and slim down, does that really matter?