Part 4: Learning how to diet
Most people have little or no clue how to diet effectively. They think that simply cutting out a meal or doing away with one food will solve their problems. The trick to dieting is knowing what you are eating! Don't set unreasonable goals and try to force yourself to eat almost nothing. And don't set a maximum for yourself that you then attempt to hit because most likely you WILL GO OVER YOUR LIMIT! The best solution is to create a reasonable goal and to strive for changes in the types of foods you eat in general. 3500 calories= one pound so time is your best friend when talking about losing weight. 100 calories taken off your diet a day will result in a pound being lost every 5 weeks. Doesn't sound like much? How about over 10 pounds that year? Sounds better now doesn't it? And all from sacrificing 100 calories more a day which really is a minimal sacrifice.
The best tips for dieting are these: stay away from the deserts and snacks in general. While these can be okay they are very high in calories, easy to lose track of, and also can destroy a long time effort of losing weight in a single bite. One big cookie can be hundreds of calories of fat and can erase your week's work at losing weight. The best trick is this: eat lots of fruits and vegetables. The vegetables provide most essential vitamins and nutrients (which you should get from a vitamin anyways) and are so low in calories that you can basically eat until your full. Fruits are necessary for energy. The best ones are strawberries, grapes, and blueberries. They are low in calories yet provide the tiny bursts of sugar for energy. The main component of any good diet is replacing a high calories food with a low calorie food. That job was made for fruits and vegetables.

Part 3: Dieting
The word "diet" often brings up painful images of a person eating nothing but horrible tasting food and depriving themself of anything good. This is all a myth! Dieting simply means that you regulate your caloric intake below a certain amount. It doesn't mean that you have to deprive yourself of what you like to eat. However, be weary that going on a diet will usually mean that you will have to sacrifice certain foods.
Many people see the common diets as the best ways to go because they find calories and grams of fat, carbohydrates, and protein confusing. Unfortunately, this encourages the popularity of poor diet ideas. Atkins is a key example of a BAD diet. It doesn't reduce calories! It replaces carbs with fat with the hope that the person will exercise enough to burn off the fat. The only problem is that would require immense workout time and would deplete a person's energy and ability to exercise due to lack of carbs. This is just one example of the many poor diet choices which many people feel work simply because a company sells their products.
THE BEST WAY TO DIET IS TO CREATE YOUR OWN WITH SOME ASSISTANCE. Find out the amount of calories you should be eating each day to lose weight and then manage your eating habits. Later posts will have suggestions and tips for the best foods for dieting.

Part 2: Exercise
The most fundamental lesson about exercise that you can learn is to just do it! No matter what the exercise, it most likely is helping your body to grow stronger, last longer, and be healthier. The biggest obstacle people face with exercise is willpower, they simply will not do it because they believe they don't have to or just can't push themselves to do it. Many believe that it will have little impact. Many believe that it simply isn't worth the time. They are wrong! Exercise is good for the body in almost every way and it is recommended that an adult or child gets exercise every day. And when they mean every day, they mean every day. Don't take a week off from exercise and believe that it doesn't do any harm.
The two main types of exercise are muscle building and cardio. Both are essential! Muscle building improves ability while cardio improves both heath and respiratory function and is the primary calorie burner. Do both every day and you will notice the results.

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Let's talk about the elephant in the room, calories. They are everywhere and are daunting to any dieter or anyone looking to stay healthy. You need only look on the back of a food label to frighten yourself away from a certain food or drink. However, the most basic understanding of calories is essential. They are energy! Calories are measurements of energy that food provides. If you consume more energy than you expend, you gain weight. If you do just the opposite, you lose weight. Calories are given from three different sources (Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat). Each gram of each one contains a certain amount of calories. One gram of protein contains 4 calories. One gram of carbohydrates contains 4 calories. One gram of fat contains 9 calories. The most essential element of nutrition is that a healthy amount of each should be obtained daily. However, what is defined as a "healthy" amount differs from person to person. Overall, a person consuming 2000 calories a day should try for these goals: 65 grams of protein, less than 50 grams of fat, and 350 grams of carbohydrates. One may ask why I advise more protein and less fat than the nutrition guides on most foods. It is simple. Any type of exercise will usually require more protein intake to rebuild muscles. Also, fat is useful but is not always 100% essential. Fat can be used as a reserve storage for energy but most people will rarely need to rely on this reserve of fat when going about the day. Carbohydrates are essential. They provide energy for any activity and help to heal the body. In general, don't fret about calories but don't forget them either!

The number one thing about health, nutrition, and exercise one needs to understand is that there are many diverse ways in which one can practice them. However, that doesn't contradict the fact that there are general rules and guides that can help almost anyone looking to improve their fitness.