What is “fast” weight loss?
It has been observed among people trying to lose weight that they typically lose about 1 to 2 lbs (0.5 to 0.9 kg) per week.
While losing 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a week may be technically possible for some people—especially those who are overweight—it’s not realistic for most.
Therefore, we consider losing more than 2 lbs. (0.9 kg) per week to be “quick” weight loss. Still, that may not seem fast enough to many people.
And what about severe caloric restriction?
What if you only eat 500 or 600 calories a day? While drastically cutting calories can make you lose weight quickly, consuming far fewer than your body needs can be counterproductive.
Severe caloric restriction can make you feel very hungry, deprived, and fatigued. And not only that, it often causes loss of muscle or lean mass.
Generally speaking, the more lean mass you have, the more calories your body burns at rest. Losing muscle from very low-calorie diets can slow metabolism, making it more likely to gain weight back in the future.
So losing weight quickly with severe caloric restriction may not be a good idea for many people.
A fast, healthy, and sustainable weight loss
Is it possible to lose weight quickly and permanently? Yes of course.
Recent research seems to indicate that people who lose weight quickly have the same chance of maintaining their weight loss as those who lose weight more gradually. Also, maintaining lean mass appears to reduce the risk of regaining lost weight, no matter how long it took to lose weight.
Therefore, to lose weight quickly but also healthy and sustainably, try to lose fat without losing muscle.
In addition, there are several factors that influence how quickly you can lose weight. Women normally lose weight more slowly than men. Since the metabolic rate tends to decline with age, older women may lose weight at a slower rate than younger men and women, despite exerting themselves as much or more.
Do you want to start losing fat in a healthy way while enjoying delicious and nutritious food that does not leave you feeling hungry or deprived?
Below, you will find the simple steps to start losing weight fast.
5 simple Steps to lose weight Quickly
1. Reduce carbs
Eliminate carbohydrate-rich foods such as sweets, bread, pasta, fruit, and similar items from your diet. Eating low carb can significantly speed up weight loss for a number of reasons.
For starters, according to high-quality research, very low-carb diets—also known as keto diets —reduce hunger. This allows you to eat less and lose weight quickly without purposely restricting calories and without feeling hungry or deprived.
Several studies have shown that low-carb eating is more effective than other diets for fast fat loss.
This impressive fat loss may be due in part to the reduction in insulin levels that occurs when eating ketogenic ally. When insulin levels are low, the body is predisposed to burn fat instead of storing it.
Eating 20 or fewer grams of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) a day may get the fastest results.
But instead of counting all carbs, you can simply choose the foods from the keto diet list below and abstain from any foods that aren’t on it.
Note: Be sure to read our tips for avoiding or minimizing keto flu symptoms before you start eating low-carb.
2. Eat plenty of protein
Protein is an essential nutrient that your body needs to survive and thrive. Additionally, increasing your protein intake can help speed up your weight loss.
First, protein can suppress your appetite by triggering the release of hormones that help you feel full and satiated.
Also, protein has a greater “thermal effect” than fat and carbohydrates. That means the body burns slightly more calories digesting protein compared to the other two macronutrients.
Eating plenty of protein can also help you preserve all-important lean mass and prevent your metabolism from slowing down while you lose weight.
In fact, several systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials have shown that diets higher in protein often promote weight loss while preserving muscle.
We recommend consuming 1.2 to 2 grams of protein per day for each kilogram of reference weight or ideal body weight. For example, a woman who currently weighs 170 lbs. (77 kg) but whose ideal body weight (or reference weight) is 130 lbs. (59 kg) would aim to eat 71 to 100 g of protein per day.
3. Maintain a moderate intake of fat
When you want to drop pounds quickly, eating less fat may make sense.
However, it is not a good idea to follow a diet that is both low in carbohydrates and low in fat. You’ll probably end up feeling deprived within a few days or weeks, and it’s certainly not viable in the long run. There is no need to fear fat.
That being said, eating excessive amounts of fat is not a good strategy to lose weight quickly. Even on a very low-carb diet, eating more fat than your body needs can slow down weight loss rather than speed it up.
Avoid adding excessive amounts of butter, heavy cream, or other fats to your food. Also, avoid or minimize the consumption of fat bombs or similar treats that provide very little protein or other nutrients.
Instead, eat just enough fat to give your food flavor and substance, but not so much that it fills you up. It allows your body to burn stored fat instead of the fat you consume.
4. Eat non-starchy vegetables
Green leafy vegetables and other non-starchy vegetables are excellent foods for quick weight loss. They are very low in carbs and calories, but provide fiber that can help you feel full.
The Atkins diet, which has helped millions of people lose weight, recommends eating two cups of leafy greens and one cup of other low-carb vegetables daily. This recommendation is intended to achieve rapid weight loss during the initial phase of the diet.
In the 2007 “A to Z” weight loss study, people on the Atkins diet lost an average of 10 lbs (4.5 kg) in the first two months, much more than people on the three other diets also under study. Other studies have also shown rapid weight loss in volunteers who included several daily servings of low-carb vegetables.
Although these studies cannot prove that vegetables caused weight loss, they do show that low-carb, high-fiber vegetables can be included in a diet for rapid weight loss.
How much low-carb vegetables should you eat? We recommend eating as many keto-friendly vegetables as you want while staying within your daily carb limit. For many people, this equates to two servings a day, but there is a lot of individual variation.
5. Engage in moderate exercise without overexerting yourself.
However, exercising regularly can provide benefits during weight loss.
Aerobic activities (eg, brisk walking or bicycling), and resistance exercise (eg, lifting weights) can increase your metabolic rate and help preserve muscle mass while you lose weight.
Although it is good to be physically active, exercising vigorously for several hours each day is neither necessary nor recommended for weight loss or good health. Plus, it can be overwhelming to make drastic diet and exercise routine changes at the same time.
So try doing weights, push-ups, or other resistance exercises for 15 to 30 minutes several times a week. Walk, run, dance, bike, or do some similar aerobic activity for 30 to 60 minutes most days if possible.
In short, try to move your body in some way on a daily basis without forcing yourself to do more than you can comfortably handle.
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How to plan meals to lose weight fast
Preparing a very low carbohydrate meal can be simple:
Begin your meal with a substantial portion of protein from sources such as meat, fish, eggs, cheese, or tofu.
Add as many low-carb veggies as you like
Use the fat as needed for cooking or in a salad dressing
Season with salt, pepper, and spices
Drink water, coffee, or tea
And what about the calories? We do not recommend counting calories when trying to lose weight. Now, we recommend that you only eat when you are hungry and stop eating as soon as you start to feel full.
