Lose Weight & Eat Great

If you've tried every weight-loss diet, then you're probably very, very frustrated with the promises that these programs make. And like most people, you wish for a simple program that told you how to lose fat in simple, easy-to-follow steps. We're going to give you some tips today on how to do just that, but first, here's a startling top-secret admission!

Nutrition is even more important than exercise when it comes to losing fat. And as hard as it is for me, a fat loss workout expert, to admit it, even my workout strategies might not help you lose fat if you aren't following a proper fat loss nutrition plan.

Eating properly has the greatest impact on fat loss, bar none. You have to have a nutrition plan, so spend a couple hours on your day off preparing as much food and as many meals as you can for the upcoming week.

But everyone knows that it is incredibly hard to make nutrition changes. So I want you to start making small, but consistent changes starting today. After all, you'll have a better chance of success if your goal is to eat more 2 more servings of vegetables today, rather than to eat perfect for the rest of the month.

To help you, I've broken down how to make some simple nutrition changes. For the first step, I recommend that you put aside an hour or two to plan your meals for next week. Take an extended trip to the grocery store with a set list of foods, including fruits and vegetables.

It's important to get a variety of foods in your diet (see how to get your 5-9 below). After your shopping, come home and do some washing, chopping, cutting, cooking, and freezing. Tupperware will come in handy.

How to Get Your 5 to 9 Every Day

You should get at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. In a perfect world, you'd get far more than that.

According to the American Diabetes Association, fruits and vegetables provide nutrients that 'help lower risks of certain cancers, heart disease, and other health problems'. In fact, I believe that a high consumption of fruits and vegetables also helps clients lose fat.

Now, 5 servings might sound like a lot, especially when I insist that all 5 servings be whole food, and not from juices. But I want you to get the benefits of the fiber, not just the nutrients. Here's a sample plan to get 3 vegetables and 2 fruits per day (and this only represents your minimum intake).

Breakfast: 1 apple (1-2 servings depending on size)

At work mid-morning: 1 grapefruit (1-2 servings)

Lunch: A vegetable salad with actual vegetables, not just some bad lettuce and carrot shreds. You should get some spinach, tomatoes, and peppers cut up in the salad. Make this at home for convenience. And you know what, throwing in some orange or strawberry slices to a nice chicken breast, cashew, and spinach salad really adds some desired sweetness. (4 servings)

Mid-afternoon: Carrot sticks & pepper slices (2 servings)

Dinner: 1 cup of broccoli and/or asparagus (1-2 servings)

Dessert: Blueberries (1 serving)

There, now you've eaten up to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables. You'll have reduced your appetite and increased your energy. All you needed was a little prep work.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Mens Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com