Losing weight can be a challenge for many people. Being overweight is associated with many different health risks including heart attack, stroke, and diabetes, just to name a few. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, obesity has more than doubled since 1970! With all the promotions for fast food, busy lifestyles and economic hardship, weight loss is getting harder and harder every year. I've created this post to provide a road map to weight loss. I'll detail some key components of how to lose weight fast, and most importantly, keep it off! Healthy weight loss is two-fold:
Proper Nutrition, Not Starvation, Can Lead to Fast Weight Loss
Most people are under the impression that in order to lose weight, they need to stop eating. While this does have some truth to it, there is a lot more to losing weight than just not eating. It isn't a coincidence that so many people drop 10 or 20 pounds just to gain back everything they lost. By going on extreme low calorie diets, your body will go into starvation mode, because it doesn't know when it will get more nutrients! By eating so few calories, your body slows down its calorie burning processes and starts hoarding fat. This is why you see results initially, but as soon as you start to eat again, your body balloons right back to your initial weight. In addition to that, your body won't be getting the nourishment it needs to function properly. You may feel like you're always in a bad mood, tired, or even show signs of depression. Due to a hormone imbalance, you might constantly crave unhealthy foods. Assuming you're trying to exercise, you likely won't have the energy to get in a great workout or to repair properly afterwards.
The key to fast weight loss isn't always low calories. It is consuming the RIGHT calories. If you're exercising like crazy and trying to live on 1,000 calories per day, your body is going to be a mess! So what should you eat to lose weight quickly? Without getting too complicated, you want to consume hefty amounts of protein, fiber and water. You want to avoid or limit things like sugars, starchy carbs and fats.
You don't have to count every single calorie you eat. You just need to make sure what you're eating is healthy. One of the easiest methods to use for weight loss is the plate method. Separate your breakfast, lunch and dinner plate into sections as follows:
1/2 your plate should be non-starchy carbs - I'm talking about VEGGIES especially. Things like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, etc. That doesn't mean cover them in veggie dip or saute them in 5 tablespoons of butter either! Learn to love veggies for what they are. A good, healthy source of nutrients.
1/3 of your plate should be lean protein - This is your fish, chicken, turkey, or any other lean meat. Things like beans are also great sources of protein.
The rest should be starchy carbs - This is a small portion of things like brown rice, wheat bread, wheat noodles, etc.
This isn't a state-of-the-art system, but it is a simple plan that everyone can follow that will work. If you look at your plate and you have 2 pieces of broccoli and a giant pile of noodles or fried rice, you need to make some adjustments.
Things to Eliminate Completely
In order to lose weight quickly, there are some common things you will have to get rid of completely:
White Flour - White flour and whole-wheat flour differ significantly in their nutritional value. In order to really get rid of that hard to lose belly fat, you need to let go of white flour products like white bread, white rice, tortillas, and anything else with white flour in it. What's the alternative? Whole wheat flour products
High Fructose Corn Syrup and other refined sugars - Read your ingredients! Sugar is a major factor in weight gain and the ability to lose weight fast. Sugar is sugar but getting your sugars from things like fruit, which provide some nutritional benefits, is much better than getting sugar from processed treats. What's the alternative? Eat things with natural sugars like fruit!
Exercise Leads to Muscle Definition and Keeping the Pounds Off
When it comes to weight loss, the most important benefits are the health benefits, but let's be honest, most people wouldn't mind having a better body too. As a trainer, I hear it all the time. "I want to tone up! Sculpt and tone. How do I get better muscle definition?" If your goal is to get some muscle definition, it doesn't matter how good your diet is. You have to exercise! Your muscles will not grow unless you make them work.
What Exercises Help You Lose Weight Fast?
Exercise, especially weight lifting, is not a simple thing. There are many different styles and techniques you can utilize. The exercise program that works best for you will depend on your goals and your individual body. There a few things just about everyone can count on when it comes to being able to lose weight fast:
You need to do cardio and Resistance Training - If you want to see the best results, you need to do a combination of cardiovascular exercise and weight lifting. I see people get frustrated all the time because they run on the treadmill for 60+ minutes per day but still don't look how they want. You cannot get muscle definition without muscles! In order to build muscle, you have to lift weights. And Vice Versa, to maintain a healthy heart and burn the most fat, you need to do some type of cardiovascular exercise.
Use a lot of full body exercises - When it comes to losing weight fast and burning fat, full body exercises typically work better than isolated exercises. An example of a full body exercise is a squat with a shoulder press. By using your legs, core and arms, you'll burn a significant amount of calories while improving your muscular strength. An example of a less effective calorie burning exercise would be a seated biceps curl. If your goal is to have nice biceps, this is a great workout for you. If your goal is to lose weight fast, you'll see much better results going with a high-calorie burner like the squat and press.
Bonus Tips for Rapid Weight Loss
Try High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) -HIIT is a safe, effective workout program to lose high amounts of fat in a short time. HIIT is so effective because it is great for weight loss while promoting muscle growth, as opposed to steady state cardio, which burns calories but doesn't offer much for muscular improvement.
Check out my article about the top ten best diet foods - If you're looking for some great foods to eat during your weight loss program, these are ten "super foods" that will help provide the right nutrients to safely lose weight fast.
If you want a professionally created workout program that will give you step-by-step instructions on how to lose weight, check out my workout program subscription. You'll never have to worry about the effectiveness of your exercises again. I'll give you everything you need to lose weight and get the muscle definition