Losing weight fast requires creating a healthy, sustainable calorie deficit. Only then can you lose fat (and not muscle) and keep your metabolism humming.
Attempting to lose too much weight quickly by crash dieting isn’t just ineffective but also detrimental. It can slow down your resting metabolic rate, which makes it harder to maintain your new, lower weight.
Eat a Balanced Diet
When it comes to healthy eating, a balanced diet is key. Not only will you feel better when your body is getting all the nutrients it needs, but you will also lose weight faster.
A balanced diet includes all the food groups – fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains and protein. It should also be low in added sugar, sodium and unhealthful fats like those found in processed foods.
To help you create a balanced diet, try following the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate model. It suggests that half of your plate should be filled with veggies (either cooked or raw), one quarter with whole grains and two-thirds with lean meat, fish or beans.
Avoid labeling any foods as “good” or “bad.” Responsible nutrition experts are reluctant to ban any food. However, they do recommend limiting unhealthy choices to occasional indulgences. Write down the reasons you want to make these changes – it can be a great motivator!
Drink Water
Water is a great choice to support your weight loss goals because it has no calories. It is also a good choice because it can help curb hunger, especially if consumed before meals. Water can also help your body burn fat. This is because your body needs water to activate the process of lipolysis, which is the breakdown of lipids into energy.
In addition, drinking water may help to reduce your overall calorie intake by replacing high-calorie drinks such as juice, sugary sodas, sweetened tea and coffee, and alcoholic beverages. This can help you cut hundreds of calories from your daily diet without even trying.
Water can also help prevent overeating because many times our hunger pangs are actually a sign of dehydration. So next time you feel hungry, try a glass of water first and see if your cravings subside. Water can also boost your metabolism by making your cells work harder to warm up to body temperature.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep deprivation is one of the most common reasons that people struggle to lose weight even with a healthy diet and regular exercise. It disrupts hormones such as ghrelin and leptin, which regulate hunger and satiety. The level of ghrelin goes up when you are sleep-deprived, leading to increased hunger while the levels of leptin go down, which causes decreased feelings of fullness.
A lack of sleep also reduces the body’s ability to process insulin, a hormone that changes sugar, starches, and fats into energy. This can lead to a metabolic slowdown, which also makes it harder to lose weight.
If you want to lose weight, try to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Try to keep a consistent schedule by going to bed and getting up at the same time each day, including weekends. Make sure that your bedroom is a place for rest and sleep only, and turn off the TV, computer, or cell phone an hour before you go to bed.
