Re:
Best methods to lose fat...in the most powerful order...
1) Lifting weights, being active. Weights is chosen as #1 of 'activities' because it has a muscle sparing effect, and burns a great deal of calories during the allotted time. Walking an hour each day with a book on tape, or running, or playing games. ANYTHING of activity for at least an hour, which should be mandatory will burn calories.
2) Diet...here you would switch your body to a fat burning machine by lowering your carbs to under 80 g, and switch to consuming fats. After about a month, and for as long as you almost constantly consume a high protein/high fat diet...your body will begin to use fats as fuel. Carbs are stored as fat, and only in a small way used in the brain and liver.
3) Know your maintenance calories intake. Any calories over it, will be stored, and calories under it will be burned. It's as simple as that. It won't matter how many protein, carb, or fat grams you take in, it's all about calories.
Energy in, Energy out. That's it. So you can tell how many calories you need to lose or gain based on how much your body consumes when you're NOT active, such as working @ a desk, or resting, and then adding any activity to the equation. If you want to lose weight, then eat for your maintenance level, and just be active. Starving yourself is the WORST thing for losing weight. Not only is NOT sustainable, but it also puts a screeching, break halt on your body eventually. Few people can live forever on 1500 or less calories, and you don't want to, because then you're body is only sustainable if you eat less than you really crave.
If you seek to add muscle, eat enough calories to supply lost calories due to working out, AND add more calories via protein and fat, like 250 or more. And slowly increase.
I'm not totally 0 on carbs, and I will have alcohol now and then, but in my basic meals I don't add large carbs sources, like potatoes. I feel better, more energy, and with the added fats and protein, my muscles are harder. Food crazings don't exist as they did and I can tell I'm leaning down. Don't buy my thoughts? Just research a bit deeper on this topic. Dr Gregory Ellis is a good pit stop on the road to nutrition. Atkins was close, but his theory of eating as many calories as you want is wrong, as are a few other points about what he says.
A-Unit