1. Eat Fewer Carbs and More Lean Proteins
You can lose several pounds by following a low-carb diet for just a few days.
In fact, lots of research has shown a low-carb diet is a very effective way to lose weight and improve health (5, 6, 7).
A short-term decrease in carb intake can also reduce water weight and bloating.
This is why people who go low-carb often see a difference on the scale as early as the next morning after starting the diet.
Additionally, making sure you eat plenty of protein can help reduce your appetite even further while boosting your metabolism (8, 9).
Try eliminating or drastically reducing all starchy carbs and sugars for the week. Replace these with low-carb vegetables, while also increasing your intake of eggs, lean meats and fish
When you're trying to lose weight quickly then it can be helpful to eat a simple diet based on whole foods.
These foods tend to be very filling, and make it easier to eat fewer calories without getting too hungry.
During the week, you should make sure to eat mostly whole, single-ingredient foods. Avoid most foods that are highly processed.
Eating mostly lean proteins and low-carb veggies can be incredibly satisfying even if you're not getting that many calories.
Reducing your calorie intake may be the most important factor when it comes to weight loss.
If you aren't eating fewer calories than you expend, then you will not lose fat (10).
Here is a calculator that shows you how many calories you should eat to lose weight (opens in new tab).
Here are a few simple tips to reduce calorie intake:
- Count calories: Weigh and log the foods you eat. Use a calorie counting tool to keep track of the amount of calories and nutrients you are taking in.
- Eat only at meals: Reduce all snacks and don't eat anything after dinner.
- Cut your condiments: Eliminate calorie-dense condiments and sauces.
- Fill up on veggies: Fill your plate with vegetables and limit starchy carbs and added fats for the week.
- Choose lean proteins: Choose lower-fat proteins, such as chicken and fish.
- Don't drink your calories: Instead, opt for water, zero-calorie drinks, tea or coffee. Protein shakes are fine if you count them as a meal.
Exercise is one of the best ways to burn fat and improve your appearance.
Resistance training, such as weight lifting, can lead to a similar amount of weight loss as regular aerobic training. It also helps you add or maintain muscle mass and strength (11, 12).
Full-body resistance training workouts are also a great method to lower your body's carb stores and water weight, which can lead to a sharp decline in weight (13, 14).
Lifting weights can also protect your metabolism and hormone levels, which often decline during dieting (15, 16).
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is another very effective training method.
Research suggests that 5–10 minutes of HIIT can lead to similar or greater benefits for health and weight loss as five times that amount of regular exercise (17, 18, 19).
Like weight lifting, it can quickly reduce muscle carb stores and also boost other important aspects of weight loss, such as your metabolism and fat-burning hormones (20, 21).
You can perform HIIT three to four times a week after a workout or as part of your normal training regimen. It is very important to do this with 100% effort or intensity. Most sprints should not last more than 30 seconds.
Here are a few protocols you can try. These can be done running in place or outside, or applied to a cardio machine like a bike, rower or treadmill:
- Session 1: 10 x 20-second sprint with 40 seconds rest
- Session 2: 15 x 15-second sprint with 30 seconds rest
- Session 3: 7 x 30-second sprint with 60 seconds rest
- Session 4: 20 x 10-second sprint with 20 seconds rest
5.Cut Back on Sugars and Starches
The most important part is to cut back on sugars and starches (carbs).
When you do that, your hunger levels go down and you end up eating much fewer calories (1).
Now instead of burning carbs for energy, your body starts feeding off of stored fat.
Another benefit of cutting carbs is that it lowers insulin levels, causing your kidneys to shed excess sodium and water out of your body. This reduces bloat and unnecessary water weight (2, 3).
It is not uncommon to lose up to 10 pounds (sometimes more) in the first week of eating this way, both body fat and water weight.
This is a graph from a study comparing low-carb and low-fat diets in overweight or obese women (4).
The low-carb group is eating until fullness, while the low-fat group is calorie-restricted and hungry.
Cut the carbs and you will start to eat fewer calories automatically and without hunger (5).
Put simply, cutting carbs puts fat loss on autopilot.
Low-Carb Vegetables
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Kale
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Swiss chard
- Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Full list here.
Don’t be afraid to load your plate with these low-carb vegetables. You can eat massive amounts of them without going over 20–50 net carbs per day.
A diet based mostly on meat and vegetables contains all the fiber, vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.
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