How to lose weight fast

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST: TOP 10 STEPS FOR SUCCESS

 There are many reasons one might want to lose weight quickly, including (but not limited to): upcoming surgery, doctor’s recommendation, or even for an upcoming event or vacation. As a personal trainer, I’ve been asked some variation of the following questions: “What can I do to boost my weight loss?” or “It seems like it’s taking forever to lose weight. What can I do to speed it up?”.

Losing weight often feels slow, and that can be frustrating! Is there anything that you can do to speed it up without sacrificing your health? Yes! Thankfully, there are healthy ways to help you boost weight loss without crash-dieting.

10 BEST WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST

1. Intermittent fasting
2. NEAT
3. Getting rid of water weight
4. Tracking what you eat
5. Exercising
6. Eating plenty of protein 
7. Increasing water intake
8. Practicing mindful eating
9. Reducing sugar and carb intake
10. Getting enough sleep

#1 INTERMITTENT FASTING

Intermittent fasting creates a calorie deficit without having to count calories. Here are a few of the most popular types of intermittent fasting:

Alternate Day Fasting. As the name suggests, you’ll refrain from eating (or keep calories to <500 calories/day) every other day. On non-fasting days, you can eat whatever you’d like.

5:2 Diet. You’ll fast 2 days per week and eat 5 days per week. On fasting days, you may consume up to 500 calories for women and up to 500 calories for men.

Time-Restricted Feeding (TRF). Each day, you’ll have a specified “eating window”. For example, you will be able to eat normally during 8 hours of the day, and the other 16 hours you will not consume any calories.

Important note: Eating excessively on feeding days can cancel out any calorie deficit that was created during fasting days.

#2 NEAT

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy that you expend during the day while you do non-exercise activities.

Intentionally add movement to your day by increasing the amount of time you spend standing, walking, and fidgeting to add up to 2,000 kcals of expenditure per day (Villablanca, et. al. 2015).

See NEAT for Weight Loss for more info!

#3 GETTING RID OF WATER WEIGHT

Losing excess water weight can help you shed up to 3-5 pounds in just a few days. Check out this article for strategies.

#4 TRACK WHAT YOU EAT

Food tracking does two things initially:

1. Builds awareness so you can instantly see where you can adjust your nutrition to see results.

2. Increases mindfulness. When you must write down everything you eat, you might think twice before grabbing that additional snack or treat!

You can track calories, body fat percentage, and BMI with NASM's free tools. Find them below:

• Calorie Calculator
• BMI Calculator
• Body Fat Calculator

#5 EXERCISING

If you’re not currently exercising, just beginning an exercise routine will help you increase the number of calories that you burn per day to help you lose weight. If you already exercise, you can adjust the intensity of your exercise or the number of days that you exercise/week (while still giving yourself at least one rest day). Here are the exercise recommendations for adults (USDHHS 2021):

• At least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (or a combo of both).

#6 EATING PLENTY OF PROTEIN

Protein is satiating, helps you maintain lean muscle mass, and can help you maintain a healthy calorie intake. Adults should aim to consume 0.54 to 0.7 grams/pound of body weight for the average person, or 0.7 to 1.0 grams/pound for athletes or individuals looking to build muscle mass.

See How Much Protein for Weight Loss to learn more.

#7 INCREASE WATER INTAKE

Increasing your water intake can help you shed water weight (sounds counter-intuitive, but it works), reduce hunger pangs (dehydration can mask hunger), increase your energy mid-afternoon, and decrease your overall calorie intake (if you swap out caloric beverages and replace them with water).

Recommended daily water intake for women is 11.5 cups/day and for men 15.5 cups (IOM 2005).

Read more: Hydration: Through the Lens of Fitness

#8 PRACTICE MINDFUL EATING

Turn off distractions (like TV shows or social media), eat slowly, chew each bite thoroughly, and set the fork down between bites to give your brain enough time to recognize full signals during meals.

#9 REDUCE SUGAR AND REFINED CARB INTAKE

Packaged foods that don’t contain whole ingredients often contain excessive amounts of calories, refined carbohydrates, and added sugars. By sticking to whole-food items, you’ll reduce your overall calorie intake and boost your nutrient intake to aid weight loss.

#10 GET SUFFICIENT SLEEP

Adults should get 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Insufficient sleep can lead to decreased energy, increased cravings for sweet/salty foods, elevated hunger, and decreased motivation for exercise. Get more ZZZs to set yourself up for weight loss success!

SHOULD YOU LOSE WEIGHT FAST? IS IT HEALTHY?

Healthy weight loss typically occurs at 1-2 pounds per week (maximum). Adults with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or higher, or whose body fat percentage is in the obese category, are encouraged to begin a weight loss program by losing 5-10% of their initial body weight over a 3 to the 6-month period (ACSM 2014). In this case, it might be appropriate to lose weight at a faster rate since the individual will have more weight to lose.
Someone who does not fall into the obese category would likely have to use extreme, and potentially unhealthy, measures to lose more than 2 pounds per week. One example of unhealthy weight loss is if someone wants to lose weight for an upcoming event by not eating for a few days to meet their weight loss goal. This can lead to weight re-gain (likely with some additional pounds) once the person resumes their normal eating patterns.

thanks you!