Do you know how much you need?

The first week of February's Hi-5 is now over. And the biggest question is still how do I successfully lose fat? And the answer is relatively short.

First off, the Hi-5 FitCamp is a fitness program that increases strength, lean muscle and raises resting metabolism to increase total caloric use over the course of a given time period.

So the exercise part is there. Every body in the class has gotten stronger, faster and although we don't measure other characteristics of health such as cholesterol, blood pressure and resting heart rate, I would be willing to bet that these all have improved as well.

However the place where probably 95% of fat loss programs fail is in the changing of eating habits.

Most people don't know how many calories their body requires, how many it is getting and how many it is using over the course of the day. Here are 3 steps you MUST take to get your diet tuned for fat-loss.

1. Know how many calories you need. If you don't know how many you need, how do you know that you need to restrict calories? Perhaps instead you actually need to eat more! Start a free account at www.caloriecount.com and then go to their metabolism meter. Plug in your variables and get an estimate of your total caloric needs. Even if it is off by 100 calories, at least you have a ball park figure to start from.
2. Know how many calories you are getting. Now that you have opened an account with calorie count, start tracking your food intake!! You'd be surprised at how much you are getting. START MEASURING YOUR FOOD! If you think you are eating 3 oz of meat and are really eating 8 oz that is going to be a problem. Accuracy is key!
3. Adjust calories as needed. Once you see how many calories you are getting, you will start learning how big a serving is; what 3 oz looks like and what a tablespoon of butter looks like. Most people have no idea what these amounts look like! The goal is to educate yourself.

Get these things in order and be consistent! If what you are doing isn't working, make a CHANGE! If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got.