Gaining weight is always easier than losing it, especially with our eat-on-the-go lifestyle and large portion sizes. When it comes to losing weight quickly, many people will turn to fad diets and exercise routines. It is possible to lose weight rapidly, however it may not be the most healthy way to drop your extra pounds.
Exercise
Aim to workout everyday. You may want to start out walking or jogging daily if you have been inactive for a long period. Each pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, so you need to burn off at least 500 calories more than you consume every day to lose one pound of fat each week. Vary your workouts to keep your body from reaching a plateau. Once you lose a few pounds, you will find it more difficult to lose more weight. Incorporating both weight training and cardiovascular exercise will help mix up your workouts and allow you to target different muscle groups in each workout, so no group will get overworked or reach a plateau easily.
Diet
Eat a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables and meats with low-fat or fat-free dairy to maximize your weight loss. Set a goal for your daily caloric intake that is lower than your current caloric intake, but still enough to sustain your body. Women should take in at least 1,200 calories and men should take in at least 2,000 each day. Incorporate fiber into your diet to help you feel more full and to help your body process the other foods you eat more quickly.
Recommendations
Purchase foods you enjoy rather than only getting "healthy" foods. If you hate carrots but enjoy broccoli, don't purchase carrots just for the sake of their nutritional value. Instead, buy the broccoli and eat it steamed to fulfill the vegetable portion of the meal. Likewise, if you have a recipe that calls for a product you can't stand, find a comparable product and substitute it in the recipe. Incorporate exercise into your daily routine as soon as possible to see results. The more you exercise, the more results you will see. Understand that to quickly drop weight and keep it off requires a lifestyle change, not just a quick diet. The Mayo Clinic Diet offers a two-week lifestyle change program that helps you lose six to ten pounds in a healthy manner to quickly start your weight loss, then maintains your new lifestyle with a healthy diet and exercise routine to help you continue to lose one to two pounds each week.
Warnings
Don't fall for a fad diet that claims to help you lose weight through eating an abnormal amount of one type of food or requires you to drastically change your eating patterns. You will not be able to sustain these types of diets for very long, so any weight you lose will quickly be regained once you stop the diet. Avoid trying to lose more than 1 to 2 pounds each week after the initial large weight loss. Losing more than this amount is unhealthy and can lead to illness.
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