If youre over your goal weight or your doctor wants you to lose weight due to health reasons, there are ways you can lose weight fast safely. Most experts recommend sticking with a steady weight loss rate of one to two pounds a week. This is the most effective long-term weight management strategy out there.
However, many eating and diet plans only leave you feeling more hungry or unsatisfied throughout the day, or they tell you not to eat anything from one of the major food groups. As a result, these plans are simply not sustainable. Thus, it can be difficult to find and stick with a healthy eating plan.
Each person has a unique need and eating style, so the tips that may work for you may not for another. Perhaps a low carb diet helps you lose weight, or one that focuses on whole grain foods. These may not work for another person, though.
There are some general tips that help most people lose weight and those are plans that help you:
If youre looking to lose weight quickly, just remember that this is rarely a sustainable endeavor. Its always best to focus on long-term health and habits. Nonetheless, here are some tips for losing weight fast.
You can cut out or cut back on starches and sugars (carbohydrates) by implementing a low-carb diet and eating more whole grains. You will eat fewer calories and your hunger level will reduce. Plus, youll burn stored fat for energy rather than carbs. When eating more whole foods, you will benefit from ingesting higher fiber while digesting them slowly keeping you fuller for longer.
Studies show that low carb diets reduce appetite, resulting in eating fewer calories without feeling hungry. That being said, most people find it hard to stick to a low carb diet over the long term, leading to yo-yo dieting.
Summary
Balance out your plate with:
To preserve your muscle mass and health while you lose weight, eat a recommended amount of protein. The average male needs 56-91 grams per day, while the average female needs 46-75 grams per day.
Load up on leafy green vegetables in particular, as they have lots of nutrients and are low in calories. Just be careful of high-carb (complex carb) choices such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and corn.
You need healthy fats too, such as avocado and olive oil. Try some nuts, seeds, and olives too. Use butter and coconut oil in moderation because they have a high saturated fat content.
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Exercise will help you lose weight quickly, particularly by lifting weights. This will allow you to burn calories and prevent a slow-down of your metabolism. Strength training three to four times per week is a good start. If you cant or dont want to lift weights, try cardio workouts such as jogging, walking, running, swimming or cycling. Combine the two for the best results.
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If you go with a low-carb eating plan, you dont have to count calories so long as you eat mostly fat, protein, and low-carb vegetables. If youre not losing weight despite this, start keeping track of calories. Just remember that eating not enough calories can be dangerous when it comes to weight loss.
You should reduce your caloric intake by implementing a sustainable, healthy amount of food.
Counting calories can be helpful for some people but not everyone. If you stress out about your caloric intake and your weight, you will end up feeling guilty about your food choices. You may also participate in restrictive diets, which could lead to an eating disorder.
Speak with a healthcare professional, like a registered dietitian, if you are having struggles with food.
Or, you could chat with a trained volunteer at the National Eating Disorders Association helpline at no cost.
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Check out these tips to help you lose weight fast:
In addition to these weight loss tips, do all you can to reduce your stress level and implement a fitness routine.
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Check out these sample meal plan ideas which are low in carbs (2050 carbs/day). Each meal includes protein, healthy fats, and vegetables.
If you still want to eat complex carbs, you should add whole grains such as:
Many people lose weight quickly in the first week of their new diet, then taper off after that and slow down to a more consistent rate. Expect to lose body fat and water weight that first week. Especially if youre on a weight loss plan for the first time, you may lose weight more quickly than others.
Just remember that most doctors recommend only losing one to two pounds per week. Any faster than that is not safe, but you should speak to your doctor about the right choice for you.
In addition to weight loss, a low-carb diet boosts your health in many ways:
Other diet plans that lower caloric intake and increase whole foods are linked with better metabolic markers and slower aging
Summary
When you reduce your intake of carbs or replace refined carbs with complex carbs, you will experience lower hunger levels. Feeling hungry is why most people cant maintain a steady weight loss plan, so finding a way of eating that keeps you fuller for longer is the best bet.
When you incorporate a sustainable low-carb or low-calorie eating plan, you can consume healthy foods until you are full and still be able to lose weight.
Quick weight loss may be your goal, but dont neglect the long term. Its quite easy to lose weight but losing fat takes longer. Thats why sustainable weight loss is more difficult to achieve.
If you have a goal of losing weight for a special occasion such as a wedding or vacation, or you just want to improve your health, weight loss is a goal many people share.
Its important to set realistic expectations, and part of that is knowing what a healthy weight loss rate is.
Weight loss happens when a person consistently consumes fewer calories than they burn each day. Weight gain, on the other hand, happens when a person consistently eats more calories than they burn.
Any food or beverage with calories in it will count toward your daily caloric intake. The number of calories you burn per day is called your energy or calorie expenditure.
Calorie expenditure involves these three components
When the number of calories you take in equals the number of calories you are burning, you can maintain body weight.
If your goal is to lose weight, you have to create a negative calorie balance by eating fewer calories than youre burning or burning more calories with more activity.
SUMMARY:
You can achieve weight loss when you consistently take in fewer calories than you burn every day.
Many factors impact how fast you lose weight. You cant control all of them.
Fat-to-muscle ratio affects the ability to lose weight.
Because women have a higher fat-to-muscle ratio than men by nature, they have a five to 10 percent lower RMR than males who are the same height.
As such, females will burn five to 10 percent fewer calories than men while at rest. This is why men usually lose weight more quickly than women when they consume the same amount of calories.
Changes in body composition happen with age. Your fat mass increases while your muscle mass decreases. This change can contribute to a lower RMR.
Older adults over 70 likely have RMRs that are 20 to 25 percent lower than RMRs of younger adults. This decrease makes it more difficult to drop pounds as we get older.
Initial body mass and composition can impact how quickly you can lose weight. You should know that the different absolute weight losses will correspond to the same relative weight loss by individual.
In order to lose weight, you have to create a negative calorie balance. Lets say you take in 500 fewer calories per day for eight weeks, you will experience faster weight loss than if you only ate 200 fewer calories per day.
Getting enough sleep is a big part of weight loss. Chronic sleep loss can prevent effective weight loss and how fast you lose pounds.
Just one night of not getting a good nights sleep can boost your craving for high-calorie, nutrient-low foods, such as cakes, cookies, sugary beverages, and chips.
Chronic sleep deprivation also contributes to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and certain cancers.
Other factors affecting weight loss rate include:
SUMMARY:
Age, gender, and sleep all affect weight loss, as do medical conditions, genetics, and certain medications.
Its confusing to know which diet is best for quick weight loss. But there is no single weight loss diet that is the best. Everyone is different, and different diets work for different people.
Low-carb diets such as keto can help you drop pounds initially but studies do not show positive results over the long term. Instead, sticking to a healthy, low-calorie eating pattern is the best way to lose weight.
Just be careful to only moderately reduce caloric intake or work alongside a registered dietitian to come up with a diet plan that will work for you.
A combination of diet and exercise, including aerobic and resistance training, will help you maximize fat loss while minimizing muscle loss.
Dont eat a lot of processed foods and be sure to incorporate healthy, whole foods like vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, whole grains, and proteins.
SUMMARY:
Sticking to an effective weight loss diet is tough for most people. Always select a diet based on your preferences and health status.
While you may want to experience rapid weight loss, you shouldnt lose weight too quickly.
Rapid weight loss boosts the risk of gallstones, malnutrition and dehydration.
It can also lead to:
Though you may lose weight fast when beginning a new diet, you should aim to only lose between one and three pounds a week, or one percent of your body weight.
Weight loss is never a linear process. You may lose more one week and not as much the next. Thats why its easy to get discouraged if you dont lose weight in one week or it plateaus. Its a good idea to keep a food diary to help you maintain focus.
Research shows that those that use self-monitoring techniques, such as writing in their diary, have more success with losing weight and keeping the pounds off
SUMMARY:
Losing weight too fast can result in gallstones, fatigue and muscle loss. A healthy weight loss goal is one to three pounds per week.
You will lose weight when you consume fewer calories than you are burning.
Many things affect weight loss rate, including age, gender, starting weight, sleep quality, and calorie deficit.
Diet and exercise are essential for weight loss but many other factors are at play here. Sleep quality and stress levels impact hunger, metabolism, body weight, and belly fat. All you have to do is make small changes to your diet and daily routine and you will lose weight.
Here are some of the top weight loss tips for females.
Refined carbs are highly processed, meaning they reduce the amount of micronutrients and fiber found in the final product.
These foods can boost your blood sugar levels, increase your hunger levels and increase your belly fat and body weight.
Limit the use of white bread, prepackaged foods and pasta. Instead, go for whole-grain products such as brown rice, oats, quinoa, buckwheat, or barley.
Resistance training will help you build up muscle while increasing endurance. This is especially good for females over 50 because it boosts the number of calories your body will burn while at rest. Plus, it ensures bone mineral density which protects you against osteoporosis.
You can lift weights or do some body-weight exercises to start out.
Drink lots of water to easily achieve weight loss. When you drink water before a meal, you can boost weight loss while reducing the number of calories you take in by 13 percent.
Protein such as meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, legumes and dairy should be part of your healthy diet if you want to lose weight.
Getting good sleep quality is essential when you want to lose weight. Its just as important as diet and exercise. In fact, sleep deprivation has been linked with increased body weight and higher ghrelin levels, which is the hormone that stimulates hunger.
Cardio, or aerobic exercise, boosts your heart rate so you can burn extra calories. Go for between 20 and 40 minutes of cardio per day.
Use a food journal to keep track of what you eat. This will hold you accountable while making healthier choices. You can also count calories this way while helping you stick to your weight loss goals.
Add more fiber to slow down how fast your stomach empties so you stay fuller for longer. Increase your intake of fiber to 14 grams per day, adding fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, seeds, and whole grains.
This will minimize external distractions while you eat. Eat slowly and focus on how your food looks, tastes and smells. Eating slowly will make you feel full, resulting in reductions in daily caloric intake.
Choose healthy, low-calorie snacks to minimize hunger levels between meals. They should be high in protein and fiber so as to curb your cravings. Try whole fruit with nut butter, Greek yogurt with nuts, and veggies with hummus.
Fad diets promise quick weight loss, but they can actually be harmful for you. Studies show that women who cut out certain foods from their diets increased overeating and cravings.
Fad diets promote unhealthy eating habits that can prevent long-term weight loss.
If you dont have the time for a full workout, squeeze more steps into your day to burn extra calories and boost weight loss. Take the stairs rather than the elevator, park far from the door, or take a walk at lunch.
Set smart goals so you can more easily reach your weight loss goals. These goals must be specific, achievable, measurable, relevant, and timely, holding you accountable over the long term.
Dont just vow to lose 10 pounds. Vow to lose 10 pounds in three months by writing in a food journal, hitting the gym a few times per week, and including one serving of vegetables in every meal.
High stress levels can lead to higher risk of weight gain.
It can also alter eating patterns and result in binging and overeating.
Instead, wind down by exercising, listening to some tunes, doing yoga, writing in your journal, and talking to friends.
Switch to a smaller plate size to help you maintain portion control. People who use smaller plates for their meals tend to eat less and feel more satisfied than people who use a large plate
Probiotics are beneficial forms of bacteria that have been known to promote weight loss. They do this by increasing the fat excretion and altering hormone levels so your appetite is reduced.
This can help prevent weight gain while you increase fat burning.
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How to Lose Weight Fast: The Fastest Ways for Real Weight Loss Results - Mercer Island Reporter