Many people still come to me asking how to lose weight and they tell me exactly how much weight they need to lose.  First of all, the people looking to make a change in their bodies should erase the term “weight loss” from of their vocabulary.  When you step on the scale it only tells you how much weight you exert against gravity at a given time; it doesn’t discern how much weight comes from fat, muscles, water or bones.  The focus should be on fat loss only.  Many weight loss programs will lead to muscle loss, and since muscle is the location where fat is burned, the more muscle you lose the less fat you will burn.  Losing weight is fairly easy compared to losing only fat.  A considerable amount of water weight can be lost in a very short period of time leading to a false sense of accomplishment.  The scale is your enemy- stay away from it!  Even with a perfect diet and exercise program it’s biologically impossible for the human body to burn more than 2 lbs of fat at its best a week.  The most accurate way to gauge fat loss is through body fat percentage tests such as skin fold calipers (which is what I use with some of my clients), hydrostatic weighing, or you can simply monitor how your clothes fit you.