Losing weight fast can be a troublesome task. Even if you're able to find a method that works, you'll need to strike a delicate balance between progress and overcompensation, since overly rapid weight loss can lead to heath problems. By following an organized plan of diet and exercise, however, you'll be able to lose weight in a healthy and efficient manner.
Step 1
Adjust your current diet to create a caloric deficit. This is the most important step of the process, since consuming more calories than you're burning on a day to day basis will prevent you from losing weight regardless of any other measures you might take. Calculate your basal metabolic rate using the following formula:
Female: 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Male: 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )
Construct a diet which falls between 500 and 1,000 calories short of this number; according to MayoClinic.com, this will allow you to lose between one and two pounds of fat per week through diet alone.
Step 2
Start a program of regular cardiovascular exercise. As per the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines, aim to complete either three weekly sessions of 20 minutes of highly intense cardiovascular exercise, or five weekly sessions of 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise. This will serve the dual purpose of burning calories directly and increasing your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories while at rest.
Step 3
Supplement your cardiovascular exercise program with at least two weekly sessions of resistance training. While resistance training burns relatively few calories, it signals the body to retain lean muscle rather than fat while losing weight. This will help you to obtain the coveted 'toned' look. At each session, train your entire body by using basic exercises such as the bench press, shoulder press, bent over row, squat and deadlift. For each exercise, perform three to four sets of 12 to 15 repetitions, resting no more than 90 seconds between sets.
Things You'll Need
- Cardiovascular exercise equipment
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