You may have tried every diet on the planet to burn fat. Heaven knows that there are enough diets out there for each person in the United States!

There are several reasons that diets don't work. Here are just a few of them:

Deprivation
Only effective for the short term
Advocate no habit/lifestyle change
The foods are boring
Do not advocate exercise
Expensive

Does this list look familiar? Those are just some of the reasons that diets don't work in the long term. In order to work, a diet must focus on complete lifestyle change. That means that it is workable whether or not you go to a restaurant, are on an airplane, or travel a lot. A real weight loss solution does not focus on deprivation or cutting out an entire food/nutrient group (i.e., low carb diets).

The truth is that to burn fat and lose weight, you need to focus on a sensible eating and exercise plan. That's right, use a common sense approach to nutrition, eating and exercise:

Limit sugars
Restrict your fat intake
NO sodas!
Drink lots of water
Exercise regularly
Stop buying "diet" food

You need to eat whole foods in sensible portions. This means fruits, vegetables, lean meats and lots of water. Use fruits as a snack instead of something with sugar in it. Drink water instead of a diet or regular soda. If you do these things, the weight will come off, and it will stay off as long as you make these changes an integral part of your life.

Speaking of lifestyle change, you do need to exercise. That is the truth that no one wants to tell you. As long as you take in more calories than you burn, you will either continue to gain weight or maintain your current weight. Regular exercise raises your metabolism to help your body burn calories around the clock. Weight bearing exercises put more muscle on your body, which is instrumental in burning fat. Muscle will burn fat even when you are sleeping! And exercise helps fend off osteoporosis and a host of other diseases.

Implementing these small changes will definitely help you to burn fat and be healthier in the long term.