So you want to lose weight fast, right? That’s pretty much a given.
I mean, no one says, “I want to lose weight, but I want to do it really slowly over the course of a few years.”
When people want to lose weight, they usually want to do it as quickly as possible. However, a lot of the most common “fast” weight loss programs are actually unsafe for your body (1).
So here’s the deal – we’re not going to talk about fad diets here… those aren’t good for your body and the results don’t last.
Instead, we’re going to talk about safe ways to lose at least 3 pounds a week or more – using nothing but correct nutrition and exercise.
Let’s start:
How To Lose Weight Quickly – And Safely
Want to know the most important weight loss formula you’ll ever learn? It’s simple – burn 500 more calories than you eat every day, and you’ll lose 1 to 2 pounds in a week (2). If you want to lose more weight than that, it requires that you eat less calories or burn off more with exercise. Let me put it this way – if you eat between 1100 and 1300 calories in a day and exercise each day for an hour, you can see weight loss from 3 pounds up to 5 pounds in as little as a week. Even more if you’re over 250 pounds.
However, you should not cut calories any lower than that… it’s not safe.
You might be tempted to cut starch and salts out of your diet, but those results aren’t going to last – the weight you lose will be in fluids instead of fat.
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What To Eat To Lose Weight Fast
If you want to lose weight fast, you should follow some simple principles. Eat as few added sugars and starches as you can, and limit fats from meat and dairy products (3).
Try eating egg whites, veggies, skinless chicken breast, shellfish, non-fat dairy, fruits, soy products, 95% lean meat, and fish.
Want more tips?
Don’t ever skip meals – that sets you back further than when you started.
Eat sitting down at a table from a plate – when you eat standing in front of the fridge it’s impossible to control portion size.
If you’re tempted by certain unhealthy foods, get them out of the house to avoid any risk of temptation.
Drink lots of water to stay hydrated.
Don’t eat when you’re bored – instead find something to do so the ‘boredom hunger pangs’ go away.
Eat veggies to stay full for longer.
You’re going to want to write down your meals and what you eat in a food journal – it will force you to be accountable for what you eat and make you think twice about eating something bad for you, because you know you’ll have to write it down in your journal.
A great way to keep track of why you eat the things you do is to quickly write down how you were feeling right before you ate a meal. Your emotions and feelings are almost as important to your diet as the foods that you eat.
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Try doing that, and look for patterns. If you find an eating pattern based on emotion, it might be a good idea to talk to a professional about other, healthier ways to handle feelings and emotions.
The Exercise Plan For Fast Weight Loss That Works
ok, I’m not going to mince words here – if you want to lose weight, and lose weight fast, you have to get off the couch and move a lot. At least an hour a day of moderate exercise is required if you want the fastest weight loss.
As for which exercises you do – focus on cardio exercise and strength training. Cardio, because it burns the most calories, and strength training, because it burns the most fat and keeps your metabolism high even after you’re finished working out.
If you’re not currently doing any sort of exercise and you’re very overweight or have a health condition, make sure to talk to a doctor about an exercise plan that’s right for you. Remember, safe weight loss is what we’re looking for here.
Make sure not to rush into doing everything all at once – you want to ease yourself into this program so that you don’t injure yourself.
When you’re feeling up to the task, you can try High Intensity Interval Training ( hiit ). This is where you do short periods of very high intensity working out, followed by a slower, gentler rest period, and do that over and over.
hiit has been found to be most effective at burning calories and fat, and building muscle, than almost any other type of exercise.
Avoid The Crazy Fad Diets
Remember, we’re looking for sustainable weight loss that lasts here. Avoid crazy fad diets unless you want to put back on all the weight you lost (and more) immediately after stopping the diet.
Avoid any diet that tries to get you to buy detox pills, or potions, or laxatives, or tells you to fast. Definitely avoid programs that tell you that you can lose more than 3 pounds a week. In essence – go with your gut – if it sounds too good to be true, it’s almost certainly too good to be true.
Many of these diets – especially ones that emphasize fasting – tell you to eat less than 1100 calories in a day. In fact, that actually hurt your body and your ability to lose weight, because it destroys the muscles in your body.
Eating less than 1100 calories in a day will cause your body to burn fat, but to also burn muscle in order to keep itself going. That’s going to bring your metabolism to a crashing halt, and make it virtually impossible to lose more weight.
Plus, if you’re trying to stick to the crazy rules of some insane diet, chances are you’re going to crave the regular, “normal” foods you used to eat… and not be able to stick to it for long. Pretty soon you’ve gained all the weight back and are unhappier than you were before!
The best way to safely lose weight is through proper diet and exercise. If you can do that, you’re practically there!
It has been my experience with patients that if you lose weight too quickly it can give an undesired affect and misconception that you are doing the right thing. Just keep a close eye on it and you should be fine, but remember that results are NOT typical each week.
I still cannot believe that some people can down more than 3,000 calories per day and looked all ripped and toned.
It is simple. If you eat and do NOT use the energy your body makes from it, you are going to get fat. These ripped folks are burning through 5-10k calories per day sometimes.
I used to eat when I got bored or plopped down in front of the TV. It was a routine of mine and it was not a good one. I am glad I am without that issue now and have lost enough weight to boost my self esteem.
When I was overweight, it was by like 100 pounds. The first few weeks I lost more than 10 pounds each week and I didn’t feel like I was being unsafe, you know what I mean?
Great tips. Losing weight is one thing, but doing it without hurting yourself is key.
Things do not get any easier than this. Cut those calories and workout more. Simple. Lazy almost.
It does seem a bit lazy, doesn’t it?
I was told by my doctor that cutting my calories that far is not a good thing. He suggested that I only cut about 200 calories from my diet for now. Does that make sense?
I agree. Cutting calories is one thing that should not be messed with TOO much. If you can get down to 1300-1500 you are in good shape. The rest of the weight loss comes when you exercise more.
I prefer cardio workouts, but I know I can tone faster with weights. I just do not want to hurt myself if I use them incorrectly.
I could NOT believe how much less I ate when I starting eating at my kitchen table. It really helps.
I agree. It makes a huge difference when you are not planted in front of the TV with your dinner, right?
Most trainers will tell you that losing more than 2 pounds per week is not safe. BUT, I can see with these tips how it wouldn’t be so bad for you. Most people lose weight quickly within the first few weeks anyways.
I think the biggest downfall to any diet is when people think they can lose weight fast. It is not going to happen. You do have good tips here though that keep people safe.
I agree. Be safe because if you get hurt or hurt your body on the inside losing weight too quickly, what benefit is that to you?
Safety is a major part of losing weight AND a normal workout. People always think they have to do overboard just to see results, but that is not always the case. Take it easy and in a few short months, you will see a major difference.
The first thing people do is freak out if you lose too much weight too fast, but if you are going to be honest with yourself, the most weight is lost in the first few weeks. Then there is a slow down period, so how unsafe is it really?
This is a good way to lose a bit of weight quickly. Most people freak out when you lose more than 2 pounds per week, but at this rate, in this manner, it is not that bad.
Just like you said, eat less and exercise more and you will lose weight. The part that people are forgetting is the eat less part.