Lose weight. Get more energy. Lower your cholesterol. Feel great. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it's not – what I've done here is to condense down vast quanities of research and information regarding nutritional data, pertaining to exercise, weight loss and health.

First off, this diet isn't about low carb or low fat. All of that is just fad, and hype. The reality is you lose weight when you burn more calories then you consume. Period. If you expend 1500 calories a day living, and you eat 1000 calories of chocolate cake a day and nothing else you will lose, on average, 1 lb a week. Now, health concerns are paramount, and that is why what you eat matters. Obviously, subsisting on chocolate donuts (while perhaps fun for awhile) isn't healthy.

What is healthy isn't a mystery either. All fad diets aside, experts agree you need lots of fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates. You need protein (but not a lot) you need fat – healthy fats are essential for healthy weight. You need dairy. Your body craves these things and if you cut them out in an unrealistic way you'll end up over indulging on simple carbs – because when your blood sugar is low, your body craves simple carbohydrates – its up to you to prevent that state, and to feed your body the food it needs to be healthy.

Alright, enough overview. I want to tell you a story, the one I know best is, of course, my own. In the course of that story I will provide a 3 week jump start weight loss program and a way to change your eating habits to stay lean and fit for life. I will also share with you recipes I have developed, from simple to gourmet, that taste fabulous and still let you lose weight. I love to cook – one of the difficulties with most diets is that cooking is barely required and you can't be creative at all. Well, if you love to cook like me – this is definitely the program for you – but wait! If you don't like to cook, I have the real simple version included as well, which is also great for busy days even for those who like cooking.

One more thing, I don't know about you – but I am insulted by most diets. Almost all of them tell us 'don't substitute; follow this plan exactly as written'. Well, I know you know how to think, so I will provide you with guidelines for substituting and altering the plan so that you eat what you enjoy – there is no reason to eat oatmeal if you can't stand it. Again, if you don't want to get creative, that's fine. Just follow the diet as outlined in the example program and you'll do great too.

Who am I that I feel qualified to this? Well, I spent many years enrolled in a doctoral program wherein my primary job was to distill the most important, relevant information out of dense scientific material. I've taken that skillset and applied it to weight loss, health and exercise. This article will begin to share with you what I have learned, and in simple form detail a program that if you follow WILL work for you. I also lost over 20 lbs as I developed this program...more to come