The healthy way to lose weight fast is through a combination of caloric restriction and increased physical activity. Combining these strategies, you can lose 10 pounds fast and improve your body composition at the same time. Scale weight loss is not always the best goal because it does not take into consideration the muscle and water that are lost while dieting. Instead, have a personal trainer check your body fat percentage and aim to lose fat while building muscle. Follow a few simple steps to lose 10 pounds fast the healthy way.
Step 1
Eat five to six smaller meals throughout the day. For example, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with two or three snacks in between. Another good strategy is to have some protein before and after your workout and/or before bed, along with your three daily meals. More frequent meals speed up your metabolism, allowing you to lose weight faster.
Step 2
Choose clean and healthy foods that encourage weight loss and discourage body fat storage. For example, clean protein choices are lean beef or pork and chicken, turkey or fish. Eat low-glycemic carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, brown rice or sweet potatoes. Healthy fat choices are olive oil, nuts and seeds and avocado. Have a serving of vegetables or fresh fruit with each meal.
Step 3
Do resistance training workouts three to five days per week. Not only does weight training burn calories for up to 48 hours, it also builds metabolically active muscle. This means that the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn at rest. According to "The Abs Diet," resistance training also targets trouble areas directly.
Step 4
Add 30 to 60 minutes of cardio immediately after your resistance training workout. Start out with low intensity, which burns less muscle, according to "Combat the Fat." Divide your cardio into several smaller sessions if time constraints do not allow one longer session. You can also add extra cardio days to accelerate fat loss.
Step 5
Have one cheat meal per week. Eating whatever you want for one meal actually keeps your body from slowing down its metabolic rate in response to lower caloric intake. Do not binge on junk food. Just enjoy the foods you have been craving all week.
References
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; CQC LLC, 2008
- "The Fat Burning Diet"; Mackie Shilstone; John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2005
- "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; Rodale, 2004
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