Did you know that over 51 million Americans are on some kind of weight loss diet all the time? On that statistic alone, I can safely say that diets don’t work.

Problem Number One: You’re Not Eating Enough!

If you’ve ever gone on a starvation diet or a calorie restricted diet, your metabolism probably slowed down to a crawl.

Here’s why: When you start eating less, or try to starve yourself, your body hits the “survival switch,” sensing that food is scarce. And because you’re genetically hard wired to fear starvation, your body does two things:

• It slows down your metabolic rate to conserve the energy needed to stay alive, and...
• It starts storing food as fat to stockpile reserves of energy for what it perceives are lean times ahead.

Here’s the key: Eat more and more often..

Scientific studies have proven that eating several smaller meals a day – instead of 3 square meals – improves metabolism because it trains the body to believe that food is in abundant supply. The body then does the opposite of what it does on a starvation diet:

• It speeds up your metabolic rate because it perceives that food, which keeps coming in every few hours, is plentiful; and
• It starts burning body fat because it perceives no need to store it for the future.

The best way to apply this is eating 5 smaller meals throughout the day, preferably every 2 or 3 hours.

This cranks up your metabolism and lets your body quickly burn fat in the safest way possible. It also promotes the maintenance of lean muscle.

The more often you eat, the more metabolic activity inside your body. And the more activity, the faster your metabolic fire burns.

Look at animals in the wild. The ones that eat small amounts of food all the time, like horses, are very lean with little fat. Animals that eat big meals spread out over time, like bears, have HUGE stores of fat.

NOTE: My recommendation to eat 5 meals a day does NOT give you a free pass or excuse to eat as much as you want. Overeating is not the answer. And loading up on sugary, high-carb foods will make you fat no matter what.

Stick with the guidelines I gave you in your Fat Loss Fast Start Program.

Here’s how you can break down your meals:

Meal #1: Breakfast

Meal #2: Mid-Morning Snack

Meal #3: Lunch

Meal #4: Mid-Afternoon Snack

Meal #5: Dinner

The fact is, if you do nothing else but eat the right types of food frequently – and you can do this even while sitting in front of your computer all day – you will lose weight and burn fat automatically.

Problem Number Two: You’re Depriving Yourself of the Foods You Love!

This is the 21st century... you’re not a monk shut away in a monastery eating bread, water and an occasional piece of dried fish!

You don’t have to deprive yourself. In fact, the more you make yourself miserable, the more likely you are to fall short of your goals.

Psychologically it is helpful to know that once a week you can cheat a little bit! That means enjoying a once-a-week “cheat meal.”

During your cheat meal, you can eat whatever you want... and you’re allowed to love it!

Whenever you have a craving for something not on the Fat Loss Fast Start Program, write it down for your cheat menu.

You have my permission to go nuts... and don’t forget to include dessert.

It’s best to make your cheat meal a late lunch or early dinner... you want to keep your breakfast healthy. But hey, if you want to have a dinner of French toast, bacon and hash browns, go for it!

After all, it’s YOUR cheat meal.

Just remember, it’s only once a week!