If you’re looking to shed weight, you’re probably impatient to see results as soon as possible.
A desire to feel fitter, happier and more confident can tempt us to try diets that aren’t good for us and only provide temporary weight loss.
So, is there any way to lose weight quickly and for good, while respecting your body and keeping it healthy?
Happily, the answer is yes – you just have to change certain key things about your lifestyle.
In this guide to losing weight fast, we’ll explore what you need to know to slim down for good.
First, we’ll consider fad diets that get quick results in unhealthy ways and look at why we don’t recommend them.
Next, we’ll work our way through seven simple but powerful steps you can take to shed excess weight starting today.
Finally, we’ll close by noting how a tailored healthy eating plan can help you meet your goals.
Let’s start with a quick overview of ways to lose weight quickly that promote unhealthy eating.
Each of the following plans has a reputation for getting results if you follow them to the letter, but they often deprive your body of vital nutrients and slow your metabolism down so much that it’s very easy to pack on the pounds at a later date.
Keto and Atkins – low carb diets: You must eat high levels of fat, small amounts of protein, and cut out carbs.
Weight Watchers and Slimming World – points-based diets: Both allocate “points” to every ingredient and limit how many you can have in a day.
Dukan diet: A high-protein diet that is complex and cuts out lots of healthy foods.
Zone diet: Prescribes 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat.
Slow-carb diet: Focuses on filling carbs that are hard to digest.
Flat Belly Diet: Mostly made up of foods rich in monounsaturated fats.
Body Reset diet: A low-calorie 15-day plan.
Cambridge diet: Revolves around low-calorie soups, smoothies, and snack bars.
In sum, we don’t recommend any of these programs, because they promote unhealthy weight loss through chronic deprivation.
You might imagine there’s no such thing as bad weight loss, but some of the above is even hard on your heart.
You could go from feeling proud to asking “Exactly how much weight loss is concerning?” before you know it.
So, what should you do instead?
We want to help you create a healthier, fitter body that lasts, rather than just a few weeks of skinniness that quickly flips back into rapid weight gain.
Our recommended diet plan for healthy weight loss involves taking seven simple steps and sticking to them.
By building muscle, boosting the rate at which you burn fat, and increasing your intake of nutritious, energizing foods, you can get the figure you’ve always wanted – all without making yourself ill or exhausted.
Here’s what you need to do.
People often imagine that weight loss exercises need to be complicated, but the truth is that any increase in aerobic exercise will help with weight loss goals.
In particular, try to get extra walking (or any workout) in the evening to keep your body burning calories at a fast rate.
If you’re like most people, your metabolic rate lowers as the day goes on, meaning you don’t burn through as many of the calories you’ve eaten that day.
As little as half an hour of walking, running, cycling, or using a cross-trainer can keep your body using calories at a faster rate for up to three hours.
When you first think about increasing your water intake, you likely think about pouring glass after glass.
However, if you search for answers to the question “can you eat water?”, you’ll quickly realize that a huge proportion of our daily water intake actually comes from our food.
Foods with high water content also tend to be rich in fiber, and both of these aspects keep you feeling fuller for longer, which curbs the urge to snack.
Good examples of foods with plenty of water include cucumbers, grapes, cranberries, tomatoes, pineapples, watermelons, artichokes, and asparagus.
As we briefly noted above, there are dozens of bad fad diets that claim to offer you a magic shortcut to long-lasting weight loss.
Some of these endure for decades (like the Atkins diet) while others are newer (like the Body Reset diet) while not any better for it.
When we’re desperate to feel better, these fads can be so appealing, and we may set aside our understanding of science and fall for ideas like “clean eating”.
Eating whole, fresh foods in moderation will help you achieve a slim figure that lasts, even though weight loss takes longer in the first instance.
Vegetables are packed full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water, so it stands to reason that they support both overall health and any weight loss efforts.
Aim to make vegetables at least half of every meal, and you’ll soon see the benefit to your waistline.
People often ask “Is caffeine healthy?”, and studies suggest that up to 400mg of caffeine a day is good for your health.
For one thing, coffee is a diuretic, while means it encourages your body to shed water weight and lessen bloating.
It also boosts your metabolism, helping you burn more calories per hour.
There are loads of healthy, spicy food options, not least of which include chilis themselves.
The reason why spicy foods help with weight loss is that they contain a compound called capsaicin, which has an influence on hormone balance.
Crucially, it encourages you to produce more adrenaline, which in turn burns more calories.
Finally, make sure you choose a healthy breakfast to start your day with the right food.
Aim for something that fills you up and stops mid-morning hunger pangs as well as reducing your appetite at lunch and dinner.
Excellent ingredients include Greek yogurt, fruits, whole grains, eggs, and vegetables.
You now know how to make changes to your daily life that support safe, sustained weight loss.
However, there’s more you can do to get into the best shape of your life.
At HealthyEating.com, we offer you a customized diet plan that fits your specific needs, tastes and goals, whether you have a lot of weight to lose, want to boost heart health, or get stronger.
We have a huge collection of recipes that fit with your diet plan, and you can even generate customized shopping lists to make sure you get everything you need for the week ahead.
Plus, our calorie counter takes all the guesswork out of meal planning and makes sure you stay on track. With our help, healthy eating has never been easier or more varied.
