Got fat? Got two weeks? Then I've got a plan for you. Well, the plan actually belongs to the folks at RealAge. I'm just passing it along.

It's a simple plan, and it works like this: Whatever you do for exercise (walk, bike, run), just mix in a few short bursts of high-intensity effort. It can up your fat-burn rate by 36 percent in just a couple of weeks.

Sustained, moderate exercise has fat-burning benefits too, but new research indicates that interval training is better. Consider this: When moderately-active women did a 60-minute cycling workout with four-minute bursts of high-speed pedaling and two-minute rests, they significantly bumped up their fat-burn after just 14 days. Time to amp up your routine, don't you think?

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Hundreds upon hundreds of crunches, leg lifts, and twists, yet a six-pack is nowhere to be found. Sound familiar? If so, it's time you got off the floor and on your feet again, because the only way you're going to get those abs popping is to reduce your body fat.

Generally speaking, the men and women you see gracing the covers of fitness magazines have a body fat percentage of less than ten percent. And, as you can tell by looking at them, they definitely have ab muscles. The thing is, so do you; the only difference is, if you can't see yours, it's because they're hidden behind a layer of subcutaneous fat.

To shed this fatty layer and expose your six-pack, stick to a sensible diet (no simple sugars, keep unhealthy fats to a minimum, eat plenty of protein, and keep caloric consumption under control) and follow a cardio program that works for you. For some people, this means utilizing a high-intensity interval training workout, which has been shown in numerous studies to blast fat at a rapid rate. Other people prefer longer durations of moderate-intensity cardio work, which is effective in its own right. One suggestion would be to alter cardio programs every four to six weeks, so as to avoid reaching a fitness plateau. Another great way to help reach your goals faster is to incorporate a resistance training program, ideally in the form of a weightlifting circuit routine. Follow this approach and those ab muscles of yours will come out from hiding in no time.

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Despite what many late night infomercial spokespeople may claim, there's no magic pill that can make you lose weight. Even the fat burners that have shown some promise still require that a healthy diet and regular exercise program are still followed.

Could it be possible that it's the diet and exercise that's actually causing the weight loss, and that the fat burner pills have no impact whatsoever? It's entirely possible, actually. And, there are some definite cons to using fat burners, chief among them being an increase in blood pressure. What's more, certain fat burners may also disrupt sleep cycles if taken too close to bedtime, in addition to causing some people to feel jittery and anxious.

So, even if there is any truth to the claim that fat burners can help boost metabolism, it may be at the expense of your overall health.

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A reduced risk of cardiovascular disease has long been associated with the antioxidant properties found in red wine. The high level of polyphenols can help keep arteries unclogged and the heart pumping at a healthy rate. Well, it turns out that these same polyphenol compounds may help prevent against fat storage.

A recent Israeli study found that the polyphenols found in red wine help your body block the absorption of fat. And, just in case you're not much of a wine drinker, it seems as though similar results can be obtained from red wine marinades.

To make your wine shopping more enjoyable, why not try visiting some of your local vineyards? There, you'll be able to sample many of their unique varieties during a wine tasting. For a listing of vineyards in your area, visit Wine and Times, the website that allows you to plan your own winery tour anywhere in the U.S.

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Doctors suggest limiting workouts to around an hour per day, in addition to stressing adequate rest in between workouts. Getting enough sleep at night is crucial to total body health, as it is during times of rest when the body repairs itself. All too often, people will throw themselves into a workout program with the fury and zeal of a barbarian. This "storming the castle" approach may have worked for the Visigoths, but it's not always the best in terms of keeping you safe from over-training.

Many people who burst into their new workout like they were training for a title fight tend to lose steam very quickly. After two or three weeks of running as fast as they can and lifting far more weight than they can handle, they are nowhere to be found in the gym. By contrast, people who ease their way into a workout program, gradually increasing the level of difficulty and intensity as the weeks and months progressed, tend to have a much lower rate of attrition.

Over-training can be just as harmful to your body as not training at all. Does this mean that if you have never exercised before you shouldn't start now? Not at all. Just be cognizant of how important it is to take it easy when you're just starting off. Trust me, follow this approach and you'll be storming castles in no time.

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It takes burning roughly 3,500 calories worth of energy to work off one pound of fat. The most effective way to torch this many calories is, as you probably expect me to say, to start exercising.

Because increased physical activity burns additional calories and, over time, can increase your metabolic rate, implementing a consistent exercise program into a somewhat sedentary lifestyle may be the weight loss solution you're looking for. Even if you work out as few as three times a week and burn approximately 600 calories during each workout, you're still burning 1,800 calories a week, which translates in a loss of one pound every two weeks.

To really rev up this weight loss process, you should also follow a healthy diet. Be mindful of your caloric intake, as most people tend to think that they consume far fewer calories than they actually do. Before long, with this combination of regular exercise and healthy diet, you'll see and feel your body changing for the fitter.

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Many people living in cold-climate regions of the country look to the warmer months as the perfect time to make a great escape from the gym. No longer must they stare at a television, unable to hear it over the whirring sound of a fleet of treadmills, hoping to dear God that someone will at least put on the ball game. Instead, they can take in the scenery and relaxing sounds of nature as they make their way through the great outdoors.

Aesthetics and mood-enhancing soundscapes aside, the greatest benefit of all may be the extra fat-burning boost you get from working out outside. A study published in the journal Obesity showed that men who exercised in direct sunlight lost 20 percent more body fat than indoor warriors. While several factors play a role in this fat-burning disparity, researchers posit that one reason in particular is the increase of appetite-suppressing leptin that is produced during a sun run.

Take extra caution when exercising outdoors, however. Be sure to apply sunscreen before heading out and stick to a familiar route when hiking trails.

Love getting that runner's high? If so, why not try a runner's low ... followed by a runner's high ... and then another runner's low, etc.? Alternating between bursts of high-intensity and low-intensity activity -- commonly known as interval training -- is a proven way to quickly shed body fat and improve cardiovascular function.

In fact, numerous studies have revealed that interval training is more effective than working out at a constant, moderate pace. Not only does it challenge your body to train at a higher level of intensity than it is used to, but it also allows short periods of recovery, thereby allowing you to muster up the energy to blast through your workout without faltering toward the end.

Interval training can be applied to just about any form of cardio workout. Runners can try a 30-second sprint for every 3 to 5 minutes of lower-intensity jogging. Swimmers can try something similar; for every one lap (or half lap, depending upon your fitness level) at high-intensity, complete a few laps at a more measured pace. Whatever your exercise of choice happens to be, you can modify it so that it incorporates intervals.

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If you're looking for a way to help you look ooooh so good this summer, try adding a daily cup of oolong tea -- fortified with green tea -- to your diet.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who drank this green tea/oolong tea mixture lost an average of 2.4 more pounds over a three month period than people who drank regular oolong tea. Catechins, an antioxidant found in green tea, have been shown to stimulate the body to burn fat.

Another option, of course, is to drink green tea on its own, which has also been shown to have a fat-burning effect. My guess is the reason for the green tea/oolong mix is that some people don't care for the taste of green tea by itself (myself included). But, if you can stomach it, go for it. Or, you can also try different flavored green teas, such as Celestial Seasoning's Blueberry Green Tea, of which I am quite a fan.

If you're busting your tail in the gym, but the pounds keep sticking around, you're probably wondering why. If you're eating as healthy as you can, but your bulging waistline serves as no indication of your effort, you're probably wondering why. And if you're doing both of these things and more, you're probably ready to punch a hole in the wall and scream at the top of your lungs: "Why am I not losing any freakin' weight?!!!"

Okay ... calm down. Everything is going to be just fine, I promise. Tell you what, why don't you take a second to let your blood at least reduce from a boil to a simmer and then we'll start to deconstruct your approach and, as best, we can come up with a solution. To help us in this endeavor, we'll refer to a recent article published in the current issue of Maximum Fitness magazine, which is aptly titled 6 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight.

For the next six days, I'll offer one of the tips in the order that they appear in the Maximum Fitness magazine article. So, you can either wait to read them day by day or, if you don't have that kind of patience, you can run out to the bookstore and pick up a copy of the magazine. Your call. Either way, we're going to get to the bottom of all this and find out what's keeping the numbers on your scale from getting any lower.

Possible Reason #6: Your Exercise Program is Imbalanced. To maximize results from your weight loss and fitness efforts, it's best to follow a program that covers all the bases. Resistance training is a great way to build lean muscle and reduce fat, but it may not be enough by itself to produce the results you're looking for. Therefore, be sure to also include regular cardio sessions and spend some time stretching as well. The same logic applies for doing cardio by itself; you will drop pounds, but not as fast as you would if you also weight train. The solution? Take a moment to reevaluate your workout. Be sure to include both resistance training and cardio sessions throughout the week. And, if you opt to do them both in the same day, perform your weight training first and then finish with your cardio.

Well, that concludes this six-post series. I hope it was some help. For more diet and fitness tips to help you kick-start your weight loss, join us for AOL Body's America Takes It Off!

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Whenever I write about abs, or getting a six-pack, or just about anything related to toning up your midsection, I always feel the need to mention fat loss. I use it as a kind of disclaimer, really; without dropping body fat, a person will never have a defined stomach. Do as many ab exercises as you want; the fact is, if you don't drop some of the blubber, you're abs will never pop.

There, I feel better. Now I feel as though I can speak freely about two lesser-known ab exercises that will help tone and firm those muscles in and around your stomach.

First up is the Barbell Roll-Out. Start by kneeling on the ground while holding a barbell out in front of you (also on the ground, not in the air). From there, roll out until your chest just about touches the floor. Next, pull yourself back using your core muscles.

I've come across research suggesting that water has a thermogenic affect on fat. I've also come across research suggesting that research suggesting that water has a thermogenic affect on fat is unsubstantiated and untrue. As this scientific tennis match continues, new research gives the advantage to those who believe the former.

Based on a study conducted in Germany, water can cause a rise in metabolism and contribute to the burning of fat. In said study, researchers found that drinking a 16 ounce glass of cold water increased the metabolism of volunteers by as much as 24 percent over their normal metabolic rate, with this increase lasting as long as 90 minutes.

What caused this increase? Researchers posit that it has to do with the energy generated by the body as it warms the water during digestion. This could very well be the case, as there was no mention of the volunteers drinking warm water or any subsequent effects.

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