Fat loss tip extraordinaire or some old-school reverse psychology? Don’t worry, I had the same reaction when I first discovered eating fat was necessary for losing weight.

Too often we hear confusing messages about dietary fats and what it really does to your body like:

1. Fats make you gain body fat.

2. Fats lead to heart attacks.

3. Fats are evil and should be avoided at all costs.

To put it bluntly, the three points above are FALSE .

We’ve been completely misled when it comes to fats.

Fats are essential for our body’s hormone production, skin health, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and even burning body fat.

Studies have been conducted to attempt to elevate cholesterol levels using high-fat diets. Most all of them have back

I had some really crazy offers for fat burning remedies this week in my email inbox. Offers such as a six pack of hydroxycitric acid all the way to pre-packaged garlic cloves. I think I might have a problem!

These emails are like Entertainment Tonight or Celebrity News for me… probably because they are so comical in their claims and the poor grammar never gets old.

Getting back on track: I have a new-found love of herbs and spices after having dinner with friends at a restaurant in Toronto called Spice Route.

[Talking about spices got me thinking back to my weekend trip to Marrakesh, Morocco. The food markets in the town square were overflowing with herbs and spices.]

It’s Indo-Chinese cuisine that tantalized my taste buds like nothing of recent memory. Perusing

Flipping through my local newspaper last Saturday, I came across the above title minus the question mark. (Bonus points for anyone who can name my local paper in the comments section. Here’s a HINT)

I’m definitely uneasy about using descriptive words like “the best” or “#1″ when talking about any health related matter, especially exercise movements for fat loss, because we should all know by now that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to losing fat and staying fit.

[Now if these girls told me this exercise was #1, I just might have to listen!]

Think about it: If we all lose fat or build muscle the same way, then there would only be a need for one book or

Life is normally not very exciting. Most of us get up in the morning and live each day almost as an exact mimic of the one before.

We rise, brush our teeth, wash away our less than lovely aromas, go to work, deal with it on a reactive level, come home, toss in a frozen dinner, watch a little TV, and get ready to shut ‘er down and start it all over again the following day.

Personally, fitness is just one weapon I use in my arsenal to break up this boring cycle. Three or four times a week I’ll step into a gym, or onto a running trail and tell myself, “Self, you are going to be better than you were the last time we were here.” Then I don’t just “work out”, I train.

To be stronger. To be faster. To be better than I currently am.

Yes, the economy is in the toilet, but that’s not an excuse to lie down on your couch with your favorite cheap comfort food and justify your actions as trying to save some money.

Burning calories doesn’t require large amounts of cash.

Here are some frugal fat loss tips that’ll keep you striving for your fitness goals:

1. Shoe Leather Express

Don’t spend your cash on gas, parking, or car insurance.

Try walking, cycling or running to your destination. The only equipment required for walking and running is a comfortable pair of shoes.

Or pump up the tires on mountain bike sitting in your garage, grab a helmet, and some reflective clothing, and bike to work a couple of times a week.

If your commute to work is too far for this kind for these primitive

Here are 5 more fat loss tips for beginner & advanced readers.

1) No liquid calories (with the exception of a post-workout drink).

Get rid of all the juices, the sodas, and the sports drinks. Liquid sugar is the last thing you need when you are trying to lose fat.

You must also limit your alcohol intake – especially if you are adding mix to drinks…that is a double calorie bomb! A single “Jack and Coke” is over 200 calories (100 calories from booze and 100 calories from mix).

2) No fast food.

Do not eat at fast food restaurants. Even if you choose what you think is healthy, remember this:

Fast food restaurants are all about profit.

And in order to profit while giving you cheap, quick, and easy to prepare foods, the quality of the food ingredients will be poor -especially the protein.

Now you might have read that you can still make healthy choices at