Anyone who's tried to lose a substantial amount of weight knows how difficult it can be, but a few simple lifestyle changes can help you lose weight fast. Losing even a modest amount of weight can greatly improve your overall health. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, suggests that weight loss of just 5 to 10 percent of your total body weight can significantly reduce your risk of obesity-related diseases, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Reduce Sugar Intake
Many Americans consume far too much sugar each day. The USDA suggests limiting your sugar intake as much as possible. Foods and drinks high in sugar include soda, fruit juices, snack cakes and cereals. Sugar contains 16 empty calories per tsp. This means some 12 oz. cans of soda contain about 10 tsp. of sugar, offering little or no nutritional value.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise helps you lose weight fast in two ways: burning calories and increasing your metabolism/energy. Weight loss is all about cutting and burning calories. Aerobic exercise, such as a brisk walk or cycling, can burn several hundred calories per workout. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, suggests that adults exercise for at least five hours per week for maximum health and weight loss benefits. Looking at the numbers, a 200 lb. person can burn 728 calories per hour jogging at 5 mph for 60 minutes. Five of these workouts per week equates to more than 1 lb. of weight loss per week when accompanied with calorie control.
Resistance Training
Resistance training, such as weightlifting, is often an under-appreciated weight loss tool. The misconception that lifting weights will bulk you up and even make you heavier is totally false. In fact, lifting weights or doing simple resistance exercises -- pushups, crunches and squats -- can increase your muscle tissue concentration and boost your metabolism. Increased muscle mass is excellent for weight loss because muscle burns more calories than fatty tissue.
Nutrient-Dense Foods
Focusing your diet on foods rich in nutrients and low in empty calories is a quick change that will have a dramatic effect on your weight. The USDA suggests eating a diet consisting almost exclusively of nutritionally-dense foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat milk/dairy, and lean meats and other protein sources. A well-balanced meal that is nutritionally-dense might include salmon, a side of whole grain rice and lightly seasoned steamed broccoli.
Member Comments