What Can I Do When I Need to Lose Weight Fast?

What Can I Do When I Need to Lose Weight Fast?
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While many people struggle with weight loss, most also want to lose weight quickly. Although the safest and most effective weight-loss regimens provide gradual weight loss, there are several methods that can help you lose weight at a faster rate. Remember that many faster weight-loss regimens show lower body weight numbers on the scale but may not have helped you to lose a significant amount of body fat.

Drink Water

Drinking water before meals can help fill you up so that you do not overindulge at a meal. CNN Health says that consuming 16 oz. of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner can help you shed excess fat faster. The study followed 48 men and women from ages 55 to 75 for three months. The women were instructed to consume no more than 1,200 calories per day and the men 1,500 calories per day. One group drank 16 oz. of water before meals, and the other did not. The water-drinking group lost 4.5 lbs. more on average than the non-water-drinking group. Consuming water throughout the day also helps prevent you from drinking sugary drinks such as soda.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is an popular method of shedding excess pounds. Not only does aerobic exercise burn calories immediately, it also helps boost your metabolism so that you are losing weight when you are not walking, jogging, running, swimming or bicycling. This form of exercise can be a fun way to lose weight, especially if you incorporate it into a group setting. Step aerobics and water aerobics classes are ideal if you enjoy working out with your friends. Perform aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes per day, five days a week for best results.

Strength Training

Working out with weights helps you build muscle, which requires more calories to maintain and will further quicken your weight loss. Try to train every major muscle group, including your chest, shoulders, back, arms and legs, for maximum weight loss. Your metabolism will further increase as you consistently strength train because you will constantly be building muscle. Allow each muscle group to rest for at least 48 hours before reworking.

Calorie Intake

The amount of calories you consume versus the amount of calories burned in a day will ultimately reflect how much weight you lose in a specific amount of time. If you cut calories only slightly and do not burn excess calories through exercise, your weight loss will likely be slow and steady. But if you consume much fewer calories than you normally would and couple this with a consistent, intense workout regimen, you will see a much greater weight loss in a shorter period. Be careful, however, not to decrease your caloric intake to a dangerously low level. Your body is programmed to recognize a dangerously low amount of calories as starvation and will decrease your metabolism to survive on a small amount of food.

References

Article reviewed by Eric Lochridge Last updated on: May 26, 2011

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