So many folks, these days, are trying to lose fat, and get in better shape with little, or no real results. To complicate things even further, there are a myriad of diet pills, shakes, exercise machines, exercise books, and diet plans.

Small wonder most people wanting to lose weight get confused.

Heres the thing. There are rules for fat loss. Know, and follow the rules, and you stand a good chance of succeeding. Dont, and youll just spin your wheels.

Rule #1) Theres only one way to lose body fat. You cant sweat it out, you cant massage it out, you cant turn fat to muscle, or muscle to fat. These are two&bsp; different compounds.

For you to lose body fat, fat has to dissolve in your blood stream and travel to your liver. The fat is then metabolized, or burned for energy.

Rule #2) Starving yourself wont work. One thing to remember for a lifetime is that your body cant tell the difference between what you choose to do, or you have to do.

For this reason, if you starve yourself, your body doesnt know that you are choosing not to eat, it just thinks food is unavailable. This causes your body to go into survival mode, where it will hold on to as much fat as it can.

Rule #3) You have two fuel tanks in your body. You have a fat fuel tank, and a sugar fuel tank. Heres the thing your body wont burn both tanks at the same time.

In other words, if there is sugar (carbohydrate) in your blood stream, your body wont go into Ketosis. Ketosis is just a fancy word for the liver converting fat into fatty acids, or in essence, burning fat.

There are three types of sugar. Monosaccharides: foods like candy, and table sugar. Disaccharides: foods like fruit and cereal. Polysaccharides: foods like bread, rice, and pasta.

Please dont misunderstand me. You cant live without sugars (carbohydrates), because they fuel your muscles and your brain, but most people have either too much sugar (carbohydrate) a day, or they have it too many times a day.

Rule #4) You need to gain muscle to lose the fat. Gaining muscle raises your metabolism. In other words, for every ounce of muscle you gain, your body burns extra calories 24 hours a day to keep it healthy.

Also, if you dont gain the muscle, three things happen. The fat wont come off well. If any does come off, it wont stay off. Your shape wont change. Your size may, but your shape wont.

Be careful though. Make sure you know what youre doing in the weight room. Weights and exercise equipment are very unforgiving. You can seriously hurt yourself without proper instruction. Make sure your trainer or instructor is well educated, and&bsp; experienced. This will not only keep you safe, but help you learn proper training technique, so you can make the most progress with your program. Fitness or nutrition question? Email me at dwcrocker77@gmail.com or visit fitness4yourlife.org &bsp;

David Crocker of Landrum has served as strength director of the Spartanburg Y.M.C.A., strength coach, S.C. state champion girls gymnastic team, USC-Spartanburg baseball team, and Converse college equestrian team. He taught four semesters at USC-Union. David is also a regular guest of the Pam Stone Show. David also served as lead trainer to L.H.Fields Modeling Agency.