How to lose weight fast

Dreaming of losing weight fast without unnecessary stress? We have good news for you — you don't have to starve yourself or spend hours in the gym. Everything is much easier than it seems. The main thing is to know what small steps will lead to great results. In this article, we will share with you proven tips that will help you get rid of excess weight effectively and in a short time without harming your body.

10 Ways to Lose Weight

Many people think that to lose weight quickly, you need to starve yourself or exhaust yourself for hours in the gym. But such extreme measures not only do not lead to stable results, but can also harm the body. In fact, to lose excess weight, you should not torture yourself, but gradually change your lifestyle and introduce useful habits. What exactly will help you lose weight quickly and safely — read below.

1. Try Interval Fasting

Interval fasting is not a diet, but a way of organizing your meals in which you alternate periods of eating and fasting. Instead of restricting foods, you simply shorten the window of time during which you eat. Studies show that interval fasting helps you lose weight quickly just as much as traditional low-calorie diets, but you won't feel hungry and stressed all the time.

There are several popular interval fasting regimens:

• 16/8 — 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours per meal (for example, you eat breakfast at noon and dinner before 8pm).

• 5:2 — five days a week you eat as normal and two days you limit calories to 500–600 kcal per day.

• Alternate days — one day you eat normally, the other day you reduce calories or fast completely.

To lose weight quickly, in the «eating window» try to emphasize healthy and balanced food, and never overeat.

2. Keep Track of Your Diet and Exercise

If you want to lose weight fast, it's important to be clear about how much and what you're eating, as well as your level of physical activity. The best way to keep everything under control is to keep a food and exercise diary.

What you should write down in a food diary:

• Everything you eat in a day;

• calorie count;

• how much protein, fat and carbohydrates are in your diet.

This way, you can easily see where you are overdoing it with calories or where you are missing useful nutrients. Nowadays, it is convenient to do this through mobile applications — many of them calculate calories and the balance of the calorie and nutrient balance themselves.

What is important to record in a training diary:

• how much time you spend on physical activity;

• how many steps you take in a day;

• what kind of exercise you do;

• with what weight you do the exercises.

Regular recordings help you track your progress, see real changes and adjust your training plan in time.

3. Practice Good Nutrition

It is impossible to lose weight fast without proper nutrition. Your diet should consist of healthy foods. It should contain plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole-grain cereals, quality protein and healthy fats. Give up fast food, convenience foods and sugary snacks, which quickly raise blood sugar levels and just as quickly cause hunger.

However, it's not only what you eat that matters, but also how you do it. Here are some simple rules to help you develop a conscious approach to the eating process:

• Eat at the table. Eat mindfully, without rushing, paying attention to what is on your plate.

• Eliminate distractions. Put your phone away, turn off the TV or computer so you can concentrate fully on eating.

• Eat slowly. Chew your food well and savor every bite. This way, your brain will have time to get the signal of satiety you will not overeat.

When you eat consciously, the body begins to better understand its true needs, and extra pounds go away gradually and naturally.

4. Add Protein to Every Meal

Protein plays a key role in the weight loss process. It helps you feel fuller for longer, reduces appetite and keeps your energy levels high throughout the day. This is all thanks to its effect on hormones. This nutrient reduces the level of ghrelin (hunger hormone) and increases the level of satiety hormones.

If your goal is to lose weight quickly, try to add protein foods to every meal. These can be:

• eggs;

• lean meat or fish;

• cottage cheese;

• Greek yogurt;

• nuts and seeds;

• legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans);

• quinoa.

5. Reduce the Amount of Sugar and Fast Carbohydrates You Consume

One of the common causes of weight gain is excessive consumption of fast carbohydrates. Such foods are digested in a short time and converted into glucose, causing a spike in blood sugar levels. In response, the body produces insulin, a hormone that helps transport glucose into the cells. Excess nutrients that are not utilized immediately are converted into fat deposits. Over time, this leads to an increase in body weight.

That is why, if you want to lose weight quickly, try to minimize in your diet:

• sweets (candies, cakes, chocolates);

• carbonated drinks and juices;

• white bread, rolls, pastries;

• sugary breakfast foods like cereal and candy bars.

Replace fast carbs with healthy alternatives:

• Vegetables, berries, and fruits;

• whole-grain foods (oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice);

• nuts and seeds.

In addition to helping you lose weight faster, reducing the amount of fast carbs in your diet will also improve your overall health.

6. Eat More Fiber-Rich Foods

Fiber is a plant-based carbohydrate that improves intestinal function, helps normalize digestion, and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. It is slowly digested, which helps to reduce appetite and prevents overeating.

To lose weight quickly, try to include more fiber-rich foods in your diet every day. These can be:

• Vegetables (broccoli, spinach, carrots, cabbage);

• fruits (apples, pears, berries, avocados);

• legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas);

• whole-grain cereals (oatmeal, buckwheat, quinoa);

• nuts and seeds.

7. Maintain a Healthy Gut Microbiome

There are trillions of bacteria living in the human gut. Some of these microorganisms help to digest food, control appetite and even influence the metabolic rate. And some, on the contrary, contribute to gaining excess weight.

To lose weight quickly, you need to maintain a healthy intestinal microflora. To do this, you should introduce into your diet:

• Plant-based foods. Try to have about 75% of your diet made up of plant-based foods — fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals.

• Fermented foods. This includes foods that contain live probiotic cultures — sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, natural yogurt, tempeh, miso, etc.

• Prebiotic foods. They stimulate the growth of beneficial microflora in the gut. Prebiotics are found in chicory root, artichokes, onions, garlic, asparagus, bananas, avocados, as well as in oats and barley.

8. Get More Sleep

Quality sleep is one of the most underrated factors that directly affects how quickly you can lose weight. This is because constant sleep deprivation disrupts the hormonal system (increases the level of hunger hormone and decreases the level of satiety hormone). As a result, you want to eat more often, especially cravings for sweets and caloric foods. In addition, chronic sleep deprivation causes your body to conserve energy, slowing down your metabolism. This means that it becomes harder to burn calories and easier to store fat.

To lose weight quickly and then maintain your normal weight, try to sleep at least 7–8 hours a day. It is also useful to follow the regime — lie down and get up at the same time to establish internal biorhythms.

9. Control Stress

Besides the fact that during stress we experience unpleasant emotions, it also negatively affects our weight. What is the reason for this? When we are under a lot of stress, our bodies increase levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. High cortisol increases appetite, triggers cravings for sweets, fat and calories, and slows down fat burning. That's why constant nervous tension can derail all attempts to lose weight, even if you eat right and exercise.

If your goal is to lose weight quickly, you need to learn how to reduce your stress levels. This will help you:

• walking in the fresh air;

• practicing breathing exercises or yoga;

• a hobby that relaxes you;

• rest and adequate sleep;

• sessions with a psychologist.

10. Add Exercise or Cardio to Your Routine

Physical activity is one of the best helpers if you want to lose weight fast. Regular exercise helps to speed up your metabolism, burn more calories and form a beautiful trim figure.

You don't have to work out for two hours in the gym at once. Even moderate exercise gives excellent results if it is regular. You can start simple:

• daily brisk walks;

• morning workouts at home;

• cardio exercise (running, bicycling, swimming);

• strength training with your own weight or light dumbbells.

The main thing is to choose an activity that you enjoy. Then every activity will be a pleasure for you, and the pounds will start to disappear before your eyes.

Important: To lose weight quickly, you should combine cardio and strength training. Cardio helps you to actively burn calories, while strength training maintains your muscles and speeds up your metabolism.

How to Lose 5 Kilograms Quickly

Quickly lose weight by 5 kilograms — the goal is quite ambitious. To realize it, you need to approach the process comprehensively. That's why you should:

• Make a menu. Write out your diet for the week in advance. You should eat small meals divided into 4–5 meals. Each meal should include proteins, vegetables and some complex carbohydrates. Exclude from your diet sweets, white bread, sodas, as well as fried and salty foods. Do not skip meals, because starvation throughout the day can lead to overeating in the evening.

• Count calories. To lose weight quickly, you need to create a calorie deficit (women — about 1200–1400 kcal, men — 1500–1700 kcal per day). To calculate them, use apps.

• Drink water. Drink 2 liters of water daily. You should start with 1 glass in the morning, which is drunk on an empty stomach.

• Exercise. Exercise 3–4 times a week. Do 30 minutes of cardio (brisk walking, jumping rope, running) and 15–20 minutes of strength exercises (squats, push-ups, plank, etc.). On the rest of the days, you should not forget about activity. Take every opportunity to walk, climb stairs, do short exercises.

• Get a good night's sleep. Sleep at least 7–8 hours a night, and try to go to bed and get up at approximately the same time. Good sleep is the key to normal metabolism and appetite control.

• Avoid stress. If you feel that your emotional stress level is high, make it a habit to meditate or do breathing exercises.

Following these recommendations, you will be able to quickly lose weight by 5 kg. However, remember that everybody is different and results may vary.