Most people want to lose weight fast. Shedding pounds too quickly can be unhealthy and lead to only short-term results, however. To avoid health risks, try to follow the recommendations given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and aim to lose only one to two pounds per week maximum.
Cutting Calories
Changing your diet can have a significant effect on your weight-loss goals, even without consistent exercise. Weight loss can be viewed as a numbers game, which is the idea behind calorie deficit. If you cut back 500 calories per day, for instance, you are cutting back the equivalent of one pound of body fat per week.
You can achieve a 500-calorie per day deficit by eliminating two 20-oz. sodas per day or by switching out your large café mocha for a cup of black coffee with a dash of low-calorie sweetener and skim milk. Lose two pounds of weight loss per week by creating a calorie deficit of 1,000 calories per day. It may sound like a lot, but it’s not when you spread it out throughout the day—200 to 300 calories per meal is ideal.
Use low-calorie, healthier alternatives to the foods/drinks you enjoy and eat a healthy diet, such as the one recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, consisting of nutritionally-dense foods like vegetables, whole grains, fruits, low-fat dairy and lean meats. Eating these types of foods can help to reduce the number of calories you consume each day as well as improve your body’s overall health. Most importantly, eliminating unhealthy foods and drinks from your diet will lead to fast and healthy weight-loss results.
Exercising
Combining a healthy diet and exercise plan can lead to fast weight-loss results. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, recommends using a three-pronged approach to losing weight: assess your weight, lose the weight and prevent it from ever coming back.
First, find out your body mass index, or BMI, by using a BMI calculator. If your BMI puts you into the “overweight” or “obese” category, eating healthy, nutritious foods will jumpstart your weight loss right away, and adding a consistent exercise regimen to the mix will speed up the weight-loss results even faster. The CDC recommends 60 to 90 minutes of moderate exercise, such as jogging or walking briskly, most days of the week for weight-loss purposes. These simple tips will lead to noticeable results within two to four weeks.
High-Intensity Interval Training
As the name implies, high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a hardcore training regimen that can help you burn fat fast. A 2008 study published by the National Institutes of Health proves that HIIT increases fat oxidation, or fat burning, as well as improves muscle capacity and carbohydrate oxidation. In other words, HIIT helps to increase muscle mass and directly reduces body fat.
A sample HIIT program consists of a jogging/sprinting interval regimen. Start by stretching and walking briskly for 10 minutes to warm up. Next, begin jogging for 60 seconds followed immediately by a 60-second sprint. You repeat this rest-and-work interval cycle five to 10 times per workout. Use HIIT three to five times per week for fast weight-loss results.
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