You have to wear that old dress or suit and now you have to lose weight? Lose weight too fast and you could harm your body. Fad diets, diet pills, extreme fasting and other fast weight loss methods may work but they can also make you lose muscle, counter productive to a long term weight loss program, and can cause damage to your heart and other internal organs. Here are some tips to safely drop pounds fast.

Determine how many calories you consume, because burning more than you consume results in weight loss. Carry a small notebook for a week to track everything you eat. That means everything, every morsel, every sample, every sip of water. Now with the help of web sites like mypyramidtracker.gov figure out the calories in what you eat.

Now that you know the calories you consume, start cutting. This can be as simple as cutting down on portion sizes. Portion sizes are generally too large both at home and in restaurants.

There are a lot of other easy cuts that don’t significantly change what you eat. Soda and juice, cake, cookies, butter, ditch them. Salad dressing is the largest source of calories on most dinner tables! Getting used to the delicious taste of a salad with a pinch of lemon juice makes a big difference. End you consumption of white bread, sugar and carbs. These can easily be substituted with sugar substitutes and whole grain breads.

What about that side dish? Take a look. This part of the meal is often a minefield of bad food choices including French Fries, macaroni and cheese and potato salad. Replace these items with healthy alternatives such as steamed vegetables, cottage cheese, or salad (minus dressing).

Pumping iron increases lean muscle mass, which increases your metabolism. That leads to burning more calories even when sitting still. Aerobic exercise is the best for calorie and fat burning. Many experts say to enjoy aerobic activity for 30 minutes a day 3-5 days a week. Hog wash!. Make it seven days a week, which means an activity you can sustain day after day for the rest of your life.

You have your orders. Get it in gear!