The ideal calorie-burning training program involves a combination of both these types of exercise. Ideally get advice from a fitness professional as to how to structure your program. As a rough guide, if doing a 60-minute workout at a fitness center or using a home gym, divide your program into approximately 40 minutes cardio and 20 minutes weight-training, or do aerobics one day and weights the next.

Always eat 3-4 hours before exercise. Your best choice is a high-carbohydrate, low-fat meal, with foods like breakfast cereal, fruit, yogurt, fruit juice, bread, pasta and rice. Avoid fried food and other high-fat options. These low-fat, carbohydrate-rich foods give you the necessary energy to enable you to exercise for up to one hour at a time, and help to optimize fat-burning.

Some athletes drink a sports drink during their training, but be aware that these drinks typically have a high calorie-content and are not required unless you are exercising vigorously for more than one hour at a time. Drink water instead.

After exercise, refuel your energy stores with a high-carbohydrate, low-fat meal again. People sometimes say they don't feel like eating after exercise. That's fine, but you should not exercise again within 12 hours unless you have replenished your energy stores with sufficient carbohydrate. If you don't recharge your energy stocks correctly, you will end up too tired to do any exercise at all. So keep eating and drinking, but choose high-carbohydrate foods and plenty of water. For more details visit http://www.soundbodytrainer.com/