If you are overweight and wish to become slim and trim again it is important that you understand that strength training exercise is crucial for successfully losing weight and keeping it off permanently. Why you may ask is strength training important for losing weight? It is because a lot of people mistakenly think that weight loss is all about controlling calories and they believe they need to starve themselves into weight loss with restrictive food dieting.

Unfortunately, a lot of dieticians and nutritionists don't really understand strength training exercise and its effect on metabolism (the body's engine) and think that it is just about calories and food intake. Calories in, calories out they say is all that matters. If you have a calorie deficit, you are going to lose weight, and if you consume extra calories, you will gain body fat.

While that is basically true, it is only part of the picture. Sure, you need a calorie deficit to lose weight, but also important is how your body actually uses those calories. It is your lean body mass, your muscle tissue, that firm stuff underneath your soft, flabby fat that is the place where fat is burned for energy. And it is the health of this muscle tissue that determines whether you burn fat or store it.

To explain, let's say you are overweight and have a higher than it should be body fat percentage. Underneath that body fat you actually have strong muscles. Your body has strengthened those muscles in order to carry that extra body fat around all day. Just the very act of standing and walking around requires more effort when you are overweight.

Now this can actually work to your advantage as if you can keep all of that muscle strength in place while you are losing fat, then you can maintain the high metabolism (the rate your body burns fuel) that is associated with that lean body mass even while you are dropping body fat.

But if you starve yourself with restrictive food dieting you are likely to lose all the muscle resources you have that can help you lose the fat. It is a mistake a lot of people make. They try to lose body fat by starving themselves, and as the fat vanishes from their body their precious muscle tissue also disappears, slowing the metabolism.

Remember, muscle tissue is where the fat is burned every minute of the day and night so if you do anything to risk losing you are going to end up with less efficient fat burning mechanism. This means you will pile the fat back on once you stop your diet.

The best way to burn off the fat is to do the opposite of dieting. Start a strength training program set up by a fitness professional and increase the efficiency of your bodies engine. Just 2-3 sessions each week will slowly but surely burn off any unwanted excess body fat stores revealing that lean, strong, firm, shapely body that you dream of.

It really is that easy but, don't expect it to be instant. The good part is though, with very workout you will be one step closer to your fitness and weight loss goals.

My name is Carolyn Hansen, and my goal is to show you how to burn fat - without starving yourself - by combining strength training with the right foods that increase metabolism, decrease food cravings, and keep you looking trim. Come find out how it is done.