At some point, you looked in the mirror and saw all of that extra fat on those hips and thighs and decided that you can't stand it anymore. You wish you could just blink your eyes three times and make it instantly disappear, but that stuff only happens in the movies. So, you need to find another way to get rid of it. Keep reading and you'll find some quick and easy weight loss tips to help you do just that.

Now, I have to admit that these tips aren't magical in any way, and they don't involve taking artificial substances that make your heart palpitate. They're just simple things that you can do right now to shorten the amount of time it takes for you to drop those pounds.

Control Your Portions

If you don't have a set of small plates at home, then go out and pick up a few. From this point on, every meal you eat will be on a small plate - about 7-inches in size. This is big enough for you to enjoy what you're eating, without being tempted to over stuff your plate with food.

The smaller plate forces you to eat only a certain amount of food at each sitting. Your lean meat will need to be cut to a certain size in order to fit on the plate. With an ice cream scoop, you can serve yourself one scoop of a side dish food.

Don't Skip Breakfast

Thinking that you'll lose weight more quickly if you skip the first meal of the day is simply false. The truth is, you'll actually lose weight faster by eating a small breakfast each morning. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. It may be a bowl of oatmeal, cold cereal, some fruit slices with wheat toast, or a dish of yogurt.

Anyway, you need to make sure you eat something at the start of the day. This will give your body an energy boost and get your metabolism running. Plus, you'll avoid the problem that many breakfast skippers face - overeating at lunch.

Drink More Water

You've heard that you should drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Well, whether you can actually drink this amount doesn't really matter. Just try drinking several glasses of the clear liquid each day, because it is a proven way to cleanse your body of fat cells.

Get Rid of the Junk Food

I know you probably don't want to hear this one, but if you really want to lose weight quickly, you need to go through your cupboards (and special hiding places), and give away, or toss, all of those chips, cookies and candy. If you don't do this, you'll find yourself derailing your diet because you're too busy munching on this stuff between meals.

And, don't try telling yourself that you won't touch it, because you absolutely will if it's easy for you to find. So, say goodbye to all your snacking favorites. Replace them with fresh fruit, nuts, trail mix, health bars, rice cakes and other healthy snacks.

Increase Your Activity Level

When you work out your muscles, your body burns fat quicker. So, find some kind of exercise or fun activity that involves moving your body for at least 20 - 30 minutes a day. You can go outside for a brisk walk, dance around your living room to your favorite music, ride a bike or rollerskate around the neighborhood, play tennis or volleyball, swim, etc.