How to Lose Weight Fast (Science-Backed Steps)
If you want to lose weight as fast as you can, there are several factors to consider.
Not only must the weight loss be natural, but it also has to be sustainable in the long term.
After all, what’s the point of quickly losing weight to putting those pounds on all back again.
In this post, you’ll learn about healthy factors to consider if you want to lose weight fast and how long it can take you.
Let’s dive in.
How to lose weight fast
Losing weight fast can take anywhere from weeks to months depending on your goal.
For example, if you follow a consistent diet and exercise, you’re likely to lose between 4 to 8 pounds per week (1.8-3.6kg per week).
The following factors can impact how fast you lose weight:
1. Stress
Studies show that stress can contribute to weight quickly. When the stress is unchecked and becomes chronic, it can also affect behavior around the food you eat.
If you are under more stress, the more ways your body finds to cope through eating. This can lead to overeating. Overeating adds extra and needless calories to your body.
To lose weight fast, you’ll need to eliminate or reduce any potential sources of stress in your life as much as possible.
Related: 10 Proven Ways to Significantly Reduce Stress (Backed By Science)
2. Calories
One of the basic (yet difficult) foundations of weight loss is calorie control. Controlling calorie intake and expenditure can go a long way to accelerate your weight loss.
The energy we get from food is what’s known as calories. The main energy sources from food include the macronutrients proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
A good way to increase your chances of success at losing weight fast is to track the calories you eat and expend.
These calories are ultimately either converted into energy for daily tasks and activities. Or they are stored as body fat.
When calories are stored, they remain in your body until it’s burned through physical activity. That’s one way to control calories.
The other way is to limit your calorie intake so that your body will utilize the reserves for energy.
I recommend consulting with a licensed dietitian if you are just starting to help you assess your nutritional needs.
Related: Low Calories Breakfast Ideas for a Healthy Weight
3. Sleep
There is a correlation between sleep and weight gain.
If you are consistently sleep-deprived, you are more likely to store more fat and take in more calories. You might end up eating excess amounts of food that may lead to weight gain.
A healthy weight depends on sleep. Getting enough sleep for up to eight hours can improve your body’s functions.
Related: The Importance of Sleep That You Need to Hear Right Now
4. Physical activity
Physical activity comes at different levels of intensity, starting from bed rest, sedentary, light, medium, and heavy.
According to research, weight-loss interventions such as following a proper diet and increasing physical activity are effective weight loss strategies.
Related: How to Maintain Weight Loss Without Dieting
Additional tips for losing weight fast
- Increase the variety of nutrient-rich foods you eat. Eat more vegetables.
- Track the calories you eat and the ones you burn throughout the day. Try to match the total calories need to achieve your goals.
- keep a food diary or a record of your food intake
- Get physically active. Do some exercises that you will enjoy. You can try fun exercises like swimming, kickboxing, jujitsu, or soccer. The more fun it is, the more likely you will stick with it.
- Replace alcoholic drinks with water, and then drink more water. Water plays a vital role in weight loss
- Start meal planning. Planning your food ahead of time gives you control over the number of calories to eat.
- Share your goals with people you trust and can help hold you accountable. There’s some power in a healthy social network.
- Reduce your stress levels
- Improve the quality of your sleep. For starters, aim to get up to 8 hours of sleep
- Celebrate any success you get along the way. No matter how small it is, getting excited about milestones you’ve achieved can go a long way to help you stay the course.
