Whenever you want to lose weight and tone up fast, chances are you have a wedding coming up or a trip to the beach planned with your friends. Regardless of your motive, the solution is still the same: you need to be very disciplined with the way you eat, and you must exercise as well. Just changing your diet or just exercising will only get you part of the way there. Do both at the same time for fast results.
Step 1
Eat breakfast when you get up. Prepare a bowl of oatmeal with low-fat milk and berries or have an egg white omelet with chopped up vegetables and whole wheat toast. Prolonged fasting, which occurs when you skip breakfast, can increase your body's insulin response, which in turn increases fat storage and weight gain, according to MayoClinic.com. Grab a granola bar and eat it on your way to work if you do not have time to prepare a meal.
Step 2
Reduce your caloric intake to create a deficit. Utilize an online service like The Daily Plate to track your calories for a week and figure out your average intake. Subtract 500 to 1,000 calories from this number and eat that many calories a day.
Step 3
Drink water with your meals to give yourself a false feeling of fullness, and drink it throughout the day. Give up all other beverages that contain calories, such as lemonade, soda, sweet teas, dessert coffees, slushies and alcohol. By drinking water, you will save yourself empty calories and keep your body hydrated.
Step 4
Include more fiber-rich foods in your diet. Fiber stays in your stomach longer than other substances you eat, slowing down your rate of digestion and keeping you feeling full longer, according to Caloriesperhour.com. Fill up on foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans.
Step 5
Choose healthy foods when eating at restaurants. Pass on the deep-fried, pan-fried and batter-dipped foods on the menu. Stick with options that are baked, boiled, broiled or steamed. Ask how foods are prepared, and avoid anything that is cooked in butter, covered in creamy sauce of smothered with cheese.
Step 6
Run or do some other form of cardio three days a week on alternating days to burn fat throughout your entire body. Aim for at least 45 minutes of cardio and alternate your intensity back and forth from high to low to increase your caloric expenditure. Running, elliptical training, swimming, jumping rope, stair climbing, rowing and cycling are effective forms of cardio.
Step 7
Lift weights to boost your resting metabolism and create better muscle tone. Do exercises that target all of your major muscle groups and work out on three alternating days of your cardio. Bench presses, upright rows, bent-over rows, triceps dips, biceps curls, bicycle crunches and lunges are examples. Perform 10 to 12 reps and three to four sets of each exercise.
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