Leaving out the obvious is a common fault in “how to” instructions – which is why I always had my user manuals “idiot tested.”
Step 4: Yarn over hook.
As you can see in the photo, at this point, you have 2 loops on the hook plus the yarn wrapped over the hook.
More explicit instruction from About.com
So – I should have two sticthes on my hook, and need not worry about my inability to lose one 
This reminds me of the time my ex decided to learn to knit. He would not be shown, rejecting help from myself and his mother, and obtained some instructions from a magazine article. He was well away with it and storming up his piece, when I admired his unuusal zig zag stocking stitch… Being ambidextrous, he found no difficulty whatsoever in knitting back and forth across the rows. The article simply failed to state the “obvious” turning of the work between rows.
