Quick weight loss doesn't often have long-term staying power, but it's great way to jumpstart a diet plan or lose a few pounds before a big event. Since one lb. equals 3,500 calories, you'll need to find a way to burn more or eat less to lose weight. In effect, you can figure out exactly how much weight you can lose and how quickly you can do that by determining the number of calories you eat now and lowering that number as well as increasing the number of calories you burn during exercise. There are some simple tips that can help stack the deck in your favor though, by revving up your metabolism and making the pounds fall off more easily.
Eat Regularly
When you're exercising more and eating less food make sure to space your meals out evenly throughout the day. Registered dietitian Lisa C. Cohn recommends eating something every three to four hours to keep your metabolism from slowing down. By the time you're feeling hungry your body is already thinking it's in famine mode and has slowed down your metabolism. To lose weight quickly you'll need to keep it revved up for all of your waking hours.
Turn the Heat Down
Your metabolism will work overtime trying to keep you warm, so if you lower the thermostat in your home by a few degrees you'll burn a few more calories. Additionally, exercising in a cool room will burn more calories, too. Although it appears that people gain weight during the colder months, that's caused by a lack of exercising and eating more, not the weather.
Add Metabolism-Revving Foods
There are foods that will speed up your metabolism, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz, author of "You, On a Diet." Caffeine keeps you awake and it also burns more calories. Green tea contains both caffeine and phenols that work together to burn even more calories than caffeine alone. The capsaicin in red peppers, cayenne pepper, jalapeno peppers and habanero peppers has shown to double calorie burn for up to three hours after eating them.
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