The most effective way to lose weight quickly is through diet and exercise. Both diet and exercise affect calories, and calories are the key to shedding excess pounds. You can start losing weight by burning more calories than you consume throughout the day. Since your body already burns calories, reducing your caloric intake as well as increasing your level of physical exertion can set this in motion.
Step 1
Limit your caloric intake. Limiting your caloric intake can create a caloric deficit. A caloric deficit of 3,500 calories is equivalent to 1 lb. of fat, according to the National Institutes of Health. If you create a daily caloric deficit of 500 calories, you trigger a weight loss of 1 lb. each week. A daily caloric deficit of 750 calories translates into over 1 lb. every 5 days, which is roughly 6 lbs. of weight loss a month.
Step 2
Choose healthier food options. To help limit your caloric intake, stick with healthy food options, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains as well as lean meats and low-fat dairy. All of these food options are relatively low in calories, naturally lowering your caloric consumption.
Step 3
Stick with foods you enjoy, advises the Mayo Clinic. While it's important to eat healthy foods while trying to lose weight, it's just as important to eat foods you enjoy. Eating spinach is both low in calories and high in nutrition, but, if you don't like the taste, you won't feel satiated and may end up eating something else on top of it.
Step 4
Practice moderation. Regardless of your food choice, you must practice moderation. This means paying attention to both serving size and calorie count. Four ounces of lean ground sirloin contains approximately 190 calories. But if you eat a half pound, you double the calories, and they can add up fast.
Step 5
Avoid drinking your calories. Juices, sodas, sports drinks, coffees, teas and alcohol all contain calories that can increase your caloric consumption without doing anything to sate hunger. This could eventually impact your weight loss goals.
Step 6
Start exercising. Swimming, running, aerobics and walking causes your body to burn more calories than normal, which can create a caloric deficit. The Cleveland Clinic recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise three times a week. But by increasing the length, intensity and frequency, you can increase the number of calories burned, and thereby increase weight loss.
Step 7
Integrate anaerobic exercises into your fitness routine. Anaerobic exercises are those physical activities that tend to focus on strength training, such as weightlifting or sprinting. This builds muscles, increasing the amount of calories your body burns at rest, which can increase weight loss more quickly.
Step 8
Think of other ways to increase your level of physical exertion. By incorporating more periods of physical exertion throughout the day, you increase the number of calories burned. Consider taking the stairs over the elevator, riding a bike over driving a car or using half of your lunch break to walk instead of surf the Internet.
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