Four Ways to Lose Weight Fast

While it does require a degree of sacrifice and work to lose weight, it doesn’t have to be a slow and onerous process. If you do things right, you can actually lose weight fast. When I say fast, I mean really fast, like 2-3 pounds or more every week.

The faster you can safely lose weight, the better. Seeing the pounds coming off and your clothes fitting better each week will really help you stay motivated to stick to your diet and workout plan. Plus, it’s a lot easier to stick to a weight loss diet if you know that you’ll only need to be really strict for a month or two.

I know about this from personal experience. I tried to lose weight the slow way by eating a little less or doing slightly more exercise for several years. My results are, I believe, pretty typical among people who are only losing a pound or less every week. I eventually gained even more weight.

By going on and off the slow-and-steady weight loss diet, I gained an extra 25 pounds of fat. This happened because after weeks of hardly seeing results I would become frustrated and go off my plan completely. Afterward, I’d feel guilty and start the process again.

Once I decided to get aggressive, the weight came off quickly. I became much more strict about my diet and performed demanding workouts that made my lungs and muscles feel like they were on fire. As a result, I lost 20 pounds after only 4 weeks. After less than 6 months, I lost 70 pounds of fat and put on about 10 pounds of muscle. This was all done without starving myself or taking worthless supplements. All I did was tweak my diet and workout plan by doing the 4 things that are described below.

You can do all of these things together to make up your entire weight loss plan or add 1 or 2 of them to your current program to give your progress a boost. The more that you employ, the faster you’ll lose weight.

1. Intermittent Fasting

This type of diet, also referred to as “IF,” is rapidly becoming known as the way to quickly and easily lose weight. As its name implies, intermittent fasting is based on not eating for several (12-20) hours at a time. You’re not starving yourself but instead simply going without for a predetermined amount of time.

Going without food for 12-20 hours forces your body to use stored body fat for energy which in turn will help you lose weight quickly. You won’t starve or lose muscle either. Almost all of the weight you lose will be from any excess body fat you’re carrying, which is what you want to lose in the first place.

When done right, intermittent fasting will help you will lose 2 or more pounds a week without counting a calorie or planning your meals.

A side benefit of an IF diet is that you will have more energy than when you’re following a typical weight loss diet.

If you’d like to give IF a try, here are a couple of tips to make it easier and more effective. I also recommend that you check out this article on intermittent fasting for a step-by-step plan.

Start with shorter fasts. Your first fast should last no more than 12 hours. This is long enough to see benefits without driving you cuckoo. Increase the duration of each fast until you are fasting for 20 hours at a time.
Drink plenty of water. This will help you stay full during your fast and keep you hydrated which makes losing weight easier. I find that water with a little lemon or lime juice added works really well at curbing hunger.
Keep yourself occupied. Since you aren’t going to be spending time cooking, preparing, and eating food you will have more time on your hands. Don’t spend this time thinking about food. You’ll ruin your fast for sure. Use the time to do something that you enjoy that’s not food-based and fasting will seem effortless.
Don’t binge after your fast is done. This will only make you feel sick. Eat a normal sized, low carb meal instead. If you’re hungry again in a couple of hours have another meal or a snack.

2. Go Low Carb

If intermittent fasting isn’t for you, the next best thing for losing weight fast is to go on a low-carb diet. This type of diet can help you lose 2 or more pounds a week.

When I write low-carb, I mean that you will eat less than 75 grams of carbohydrates a day. The fewer you eat, the faster you’ll lose weight. As a point of reference, this is the amount of carbohydrates found in 1.5 cups of rice, 2 slices of bread, and 18 ounces of cola.

You don’t have incessantly scan food labels and count every single carbohydrate as the number above may imply. All you really need to do is know which types of foods you shouldn’t eat. Do this, and you’re right on target to fast weight loss.

Foods To Avoid When Eating Low Carb
The key foods to avoid are foods rich in processed and refined carbohydrates (i.e. flour and sugar) and fruit juices. These include bread, candy, cookies, crackers, flour, fruit juice, pasta, soda, and rice. Anything that’s either made from these ingredients should be avoided.

Now that you know what not to eat, it’s time to learn what you should. The first thing to focus on is eating protein rich foods like chicken, fish, pork, and red meat. The fattier the protein, the better. Aim to eat about a palm sized portion of protein at every meal.

Next are fats. They will help you stay full and keep you healthy. Some fats can even help you lose weight faster. Make sure you eat some type of fat at every meal. This includes fat from avocados, butter, coconut oil, fish, nuts, and olive oil. Limit omega-6 fats from vegetable oils and trans fats as they are the two fats which are hazardous to your health.Last but not least are carbohydrates. Make sure that those that you eat are primarily from vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, onions, etc.). Fruits are okay in smaller amounts with berries being the best choice.

Don’t worry about eating every 2-3 hours a day when you’re eating low carb as it won’t help you lose weight faster. All you need to do is eat 2-3 meals every daily or whenever you’re hungry.

3. Lift, swing, and throw often

If your goal is to lose weight fast and look your best you must lift, swing, or throw something heavy like a barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell several times a week. Doing this will help you burn hundreds of calories during and after every workout. You’ll also trigger the release of fat burning hormones like HGH and testosterone to speed the process up even more.

Make sure every workout you do uses total body exercises. Examples include chin ups, dead lifts, farmers walks, kettlebell swings, shoulder presses, and squats. Do 5 or more sets with weights you can lift 6-8 times with good form with each exercise. Increase the weight when you can perform 5 sets of 8 reps.

The second thing to be aware of is the amount of time you rest between sets of each exercise. The less you rest, the more calories you will burn overall. Short rest periods also help boost the release of fat burning hormones. Aim to rest 60 seconds or less between every set. You’ll know you’re doing it right if you feel your lungs and muscles burning.Another great thing about these workouts is that they don’t take up much of your time. You can actually get in a great fat loss workout in less time than it takes to drive to the gym.

Check out this 10 minute workout for a complete program that shows you how to get fast results in very little time.

4. Take An Early Morning Walk

Going for a moderately paced walk for at least 45 minutes every day will help you burn extra calories. Walking first thing in the morning before breakfast can help you burn even more. Studies show that doing this helps your body burn more calories from your body fat so you’ll lose weight faster than when you exercise after a meal.

I took walks like this every day when I was working to lose weight and have continued to do so to keep it off. I also find that it helps clear my head and get my day started feeling energized and focused. These workouts have also enabled me to become an early riser, which is nice.

You now know 4 of the most cutting-edge and effective ways to lose weight. Best of all they won’t cost you extra money, lots of time, or require you to swallow a handful of pills to implement. Using them should actually help give you extra time each day and save money on your grocery bill too while helping you lose weight as quickly as safely possible.