It has almost become cliche, the statement reading, All you need to do to lose weight is eat less and move more! Everyone in the world knows that eating less is the best policy when trying to lose weight, but moving more seems to be the hurdle that causes the weight loss or diet plan to fall off the wagon again and again. But, what if I told you that exercise was causing you to lose less weight?

Most people exercise early in the morning on an empty stomach. Maybe this is because they have read somewhere that the morning is the tight time to exercise or that the only free time in the day is during the morning. Whatever the reason, exercising on an empty stomach, fresh and early can wreak havoc on your stomach. Exercise burns calories and will make you more hungry after the workout.

Paired with the euphoric state the body enters into after prolonged exercise (often as little as 30 to 45 minutes) can lead to overeating.

This is not to say that people who exercise in the morning are going to eat five eggs, three pieces of toast and two large glasses of orange juice after a workout, but the calculation of calories burned is often far higher than the actual calories burned during exercise.

Paired with the fact that many people underestimate the amount of calories they are consuming in a day, combines to make for a slower weight loss plan.

Losing weight quickly is not something that the body should aim to accomplish in any circumstances. Slower weight loss is weight loss that will stay off and weight loss that can be maintained indefinitely. But, approaching weight loss in the right way can help to boost that weight loss, especially during times when the pounds and the inches just don't seem to be getting any smaller.

The key to an effective weight loss plan is to work in your work outs before another activity and not a meal. If you are going to hoof it on the treadmill for 25 minutes, as soon as you are done, shower and head out for a trip to the park or the coffee shop for a low-fat, sugar-free latte.

Another great choice is fiber. Fiber is going to fill up up without risking a huge number of calories, so before that workout eat a low-fat, low calorie snack bar that contains a lot of fiber. All-Bran makes great bars of this nature as does Slim-Fast.

The biggest downfall for people trying to lose weight are protein shakes and exercise waters. Many of these shakes contain huge amounts of sugar as do the exercise waters. Everything you just burned off was added right back into your body with sugar. Watch the labels closely and only choose very low calorie waters and protein shakes that are very low carb.

When choosing to lose weight and start a weight loss plan for life, getting the most out of your workouts is important. No only because working out is good for burning calories, but because activity in general is good for the heart and the body. Exercise can cause higher levels of hunger, so take precautions and watch your after workout snacks very carefully.