You might read our tips in our previous article that you should include breakfast in your menu for a successful weight loss plan. Besides does it avoid you from getting too hungry later and then losing control of what you eat, eating breakfast also raises your metabolism. Oatmeal is one of the most powerful breakfast foods of them all. If you are looking to get your body in great shape, you should incorporate this as a staple food in your diet plan.

Oatmeal is a perfect meal for the first meal of your day because it boosts your energy and has plenty of fiber to keep you full and satisfied. Oatmeal breaks down slowly in the stomach, giving you long-lasting energy. It is also full of water-soluble fibers, which play a crucial role in making you feel full over a longer period of time. Studies have also shown that oatmeal reduces cholesterol, maintains blood sugar levels and fights against heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and obesity.

Top your oatmeal with some blueberries and raspberries, if you want to add some powerful antioxidants to your oatmeal. The antioxidants contained in these delicious fruits are good to fight against heart disease, cancer, and a multitude of other ailments. Blueberries have also been proven to preserve vision. This powerful fruit rated highest in antioxidants among other fruits and vegetables.

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That whose body weight places them into the obese category is obviously seen from the outside. But what about the borderline overweight? Is that ten pounds over the ideal weight raising your risk of health complications? Are you just 'big-boned'?  Do you fall into overweight category?  How do you decide if you really need to lose weight - and how much you need to lose?

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Body Mass Index (BMI)

The body mass index, or BMI, helps clarify an important distinction between being overweight or being obese. If you weigh too much, you're obviously overweight. But if you have a very high proportion of body fat, you're obese. Generally, the BMI will accurately reflect your weight and proportion of body fat as a function of your height and weight when categorizing you as healthy, overweight or obese.

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the BMI "describes body weight relative to height and is correlated with total body fat content in most adults". It is generally an accurate representation of muscle-to-fat ratio, though there are some limitations.

• It may overestimate the BMI of an athletic person, because muscle is denser and weighs more than fat.

• It may underestimate the BMI of an older person, or others who have low muscle mass.

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Everybody knows that more calories you burn equals more weight lost. Aside from healthy dieting, that means the high cardio exercises are your best choices to lose weight fast. Here is a list of the best exercises that may only take fifteen to thirty minutes of your day, but will give you the best fat burning for your time.

Biking

This can be done either way, with outdoors or a stationary bike. Some of the advantages of biking outdoors includes the weather, scenery, and the need for balance. Natural inclines can give some rest while hills give strong physical workouts. The change up also keeps all the muscles working. Biking is a great way to get into shape, and you can still move quickly. The stationary bike is just as good, and is a great way to burn a lot of calories in a short time inside. Some of the more advanced stationary bikes allow you to even program in hills and mountain climbing. Depending on what kind of resistance and speed you work out at, you can pretty easily burn 400-1,000 calories in just one hour.

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Aerobics

This is the best form of exercise for burning a lot of calories in a short time, and one form of aerobics, particularly step aerobics, is one of the most popular cardio exercises for women. This type of exercise targets the legs and butt, as well as burning calories giving you the best of both worlds. Done properly, step aerobics can burn over 400 calories in 30 minutes. It doesn’t get much better than that.

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When it comes to fast weight loss, the formula is simple and it never changes. You have to burn more calories than you take in, and that more calories equals more weight gained. Therefore, most people believe that losing weight is as simple as cutting way back on calories.

If you're eating 3,000 calories per day and you cut back to 1,000 calories per day, then those extra 2,000 calories have to be burned from your body, right?

It's as simple as 3 - 2 equals 1, right? Well, this is not exactly true.

First, let's talk about the average person who begins a diet. The scenario usually goes something like this...

One day you look in the mirror and you finally get fed up with the way your body looks (or the way that your clothes fit) - and on this day you get "angry" with yourself, and you begin cutting way back on calories in an attempt to starve yourself thinner.

So you officially begin your "starvation diet."

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