The secret to rapid and sustainable weight loss seems to be one of the holy grails of the nutrition industry. Unfortunately, there is no single gimmick or crash diet that will work for everyone. Nonetheless, by following some universal guidelines, you can maximize your chances of losing weight quickly and keeping it off.
Count Calories
The No. 1 factor in determining weight loss is caloric deficit. If you're consuming more calories than you're burning on a daily basis, it is scientifically impossible to lose weight. To ensure this isn't the case, keep a log of the calories you consume over the course of several days before starting your diet. In designing your diet, aim to consume approximately 1,000 fewer daily calories; according to the Mayo Clinic, this will allow you to lose approximately two pounds per week.
Importance of Protein
While protein is generally associated with building muscle rather than losing fat, it does play an important role in a weight loss diet. Since protein allows for the building and rebuilding of muscle tissue, a high-protein intake will allow you to maintain more muscle mass while losing weight, allowing you to retain strength, achieve a toned look and better maintain your weight loss over time. As a bonus, protein contains only four calories per gram -- as opposed to nine calories per gram for carbohydrates and fat. The International Society for Sports Nutrition recommends that you consume at least one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight daily.
Cheat on Occasion
Maintaining a consistent caloric deficit will eventually cause your body to enter starvation prevention mode. This means that your metabolism will slow down and your body will prioritize retaining fat over muscle, significantly decreasing your rate of fat loss and sapping you of your energy. To offset this effect, consume significantly more calories on one day each week. Although counterintuitive, this will actually increase your rate of weight loss as the weeks go by.
Don't Overdo It
In addition to triggering "starvation mode," excessively rapid weight loss can lead to a variety of health problems, and leave you prone to "yoyoing" or rebounding. The fastest safe rate of weight loss is approximately two pounds per week, so don't cut in excess of 1,000 calories from your diet at a time. Remember, you're much more likely to maintain a 10-lb. weight loss achieved over the course of a month than an identical weight loss achieved over the course of a week.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Counting Calories: Get Back to Weight-loss Basics
- "International Journal of Obesity"; High Protein Intake Sustains Weight Maintenance After Body Weight Loss in Humans; M.S. Westerterp-Plantenga, et al.; 2004
- "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition"; International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise; B. Campbell et al.; 2007
- "The Carb Cycling Diet"; Roman Malkov, M.D.; 2009
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