The Healthiest Way To Lose Weight Fast

Everyone wants to lose weight quickly, especially if you have set your mind to a goal. Losing weight quickly, however, is relative. When you first incorporate dietary and lifestyle changes you may experience quick weight loss, especially if the strategies are drastically new for you. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among other well-respected health organizations, recommends that you eventually level off to a weight-loss rate of 1 to 2 lbs. per week for the greatest success. It takes eating 3,500 calories fewer than you burn to lose just 1 lb.—or about a 500 calorie reduction per day to yield a 1 lb. per week weight loss.

Step 1

Reduce your daily calories to about 1,200 as a woman or 1,500 as a man—the minimum amounts recommended by the National Institute of Health. Eat three 300- to 400-calorie meals with two 150-calorie snacks at regular intervals throughout the day. Do not skip meals or go to long between eating sessions or risk feeling overly hungry, irritable and fatigued—all of which may drive you to binge.

Step 2

Increase physical activity. Strive to achieve at least 60 minutes of continuous, moderate-intensity cardiovascular activity five days per week. Use activities like walking, jogging, swimming or dancing. Split the 60 minutes up into shorter 20- or 30- minute bouts if you are pressed for time as this can be as effective according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Depending on your size and intensity level, you can burn between 300 and 1,000 calories an hour.

Step 3

Choose high-volume, nutritionally-dense foods. Bulk up your starch servings with fresh fruits and vegetables. Serve yourself only ½ cup of whole grain pasta and fill out your plate with broccoli and zucchini. Eat a smaller serving of cereal at breakfast and round it out with a generous amount of strawberries. Save 100 calories or more at each meal with these strategies.

Step 4

Eat a diet higher in protein. Increase the amount of lean meats, egg whites, whey protein powder and low-fat dairy you consume, making them comprise between 25 and 35 percent of total daily calories—the upper limits recommended by the Institute of Medicine. Research from the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease in October 2009 shows a short-term high protein diet, as compared to a standard protein diet, helped overweight and obese subjects lose weight more quickly. Round out the rest of your diet with healthy carbohydrates like produce and whole grains and good fats such as olive oil and avocado.

Tips and Warnings

If you are extremely active—like an endurance runner, you may be able to tolerate more calories and still lose weight. Losing weight too quickly usually indicates you are cannibalizing lean muscle along with fat. Your metabolism may slow down as will your daily activity level because your body will automatically seek to conserve energy.