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Your body is an effective machine. Fat stores are nature's way of ensuring survival when food is hard or impossible to come by.

Each pound of fat contains 3500 calories of fuel your body can use.

Everyone burns calories at a fairly predictable rate for basic life functions such as breathing, heart beating, digestion, etc. This is your BMR (basal metabolic rate) or the rate at which you would burn calories in a coma. Your activity level burns additional calories on top of that number.

Fat loss is accomplished by forcing your body to use its fat stores for fuel by creating a calorie deficit. In the forums you will see CICO alot. This means Calories In-Calories Out. If the calories in are more than out you will gain weight and vice versa.

Get a food scale. The difference between 1 cup of food and the serving weight of the same food can vary greatly. Plus it's just easier to put a dinner plate on a scale and weigh the food as you add it than it is to get all your measuring cups and spoons out.

Be patient. It takes time to lose weight. It takes time to change habits and start new ones.

You don't have to eat "clean" to lose weight. You don't need to buy fitness equipment, buy weight loss supplements, or invest in a "program" to help you drop the weight. You don't have to make it complicated at all, it really is as simple as eat fewer calories than your body uses and this site will help you figure out how many calories you're eating...FOR FREE

There's so much great advice in the forums. If you have any specific questions or concerns there are plenty of veterans that would be happy to point you in the right direction. All you need to do is ask.