You have spent considerable amount of time trying really hard to lose those extra pounds. You climb on the scales and the moment of truth has come; to your relief and joy you did it. You reached your weight loss goal. What a great moment. But how long does it last?

Often the weight lost doesn’t stay away for too long and it slowly creeps back. Another diet cycle follows, or you convince yourself that the only way is to be on a diet for eternity, or just give up.

If only you knew that maintaining weight loss is not that hard after all. Well for most of the cases. Read on to find out how and why.

Which diet?

Weight maintenance will depend on which diet did you follow to begin with and how much weight did you lose? To put it blandly if you did a 7 day radical – starvation regime and you lost a couple of pounds it is likely that you will put the weight back on. How to maintain the weight? Choose a better diet next time.

Any weight loss resulting from fast (a few days – 1 week), radical, very low calorie diets is mainly water, glycogen and some not significantly measurable fat. The minute you go back to your usual dietary patterns the weight will go back on as water, glycogen and some fat. You can also read how to lose weight fast but healthy for a step-by-step guide on how to lose weight and never get it back.

Think ahead

Plan for the after-the-weight-loss period before you even start a diet. For whatever reason you chose to lose weight and follow a weight loss diet, don’t just treat it as a blip moment in your life which now is over and thank god for that. Treat your weight loss as a time in which you will make lifestyle changes.

Is always best to choose a healthy balanced weight loss diet which will allow you to lose the weight you want and also teach you how to eat healthy and balanced post diet. These little habits which you will pick up on the way are the ones which will help you to keep the weight off.

A lot of the diet regimes these days do contain sections of how to go about it post-weight loss. Take the time to look into them. They may have valuable advice on what to do next.

Find your weight gain nightmares

Well what does make you put on weight? The simple answer for majority of people would be too many calories, the wrong foods and too little physical activity. Look into more specific reasons such as ‘which foods do you tend to eat more’? Is it too many takeaways, too much sugar, big portions and so on? For each person may be a different combination.

The principle however, is one. Whatever made you put on weight to start off is what will make you put on weight again if you don’t change it.

Keep a foods and drinks diary for a week

A foods and drinks diary is usually the best way to find those little weight gain nightmares mentioned above. It will provide you with the information of what do you eat, when and how much and you may find patterns which you didn’t know were there.

It is also helpful to include your emotion as well. For example how were you feeling –sad, happy, stressed etc- and what did you eat. You don’t have to be an emotional eater but you may choose specific foods based on your emotions. For example, you have those biscuits in the office every time you are stressed or you have that extra cake every time you meet your friends and are having fun chats.

Don’t deprive yourself

Changes your dietary habits or your lifestyle doesn’t necessarily mean deprive yourself from specific foods forever. Do have a takeaway day, or a chocolate moment or a cocktails night. Well maybe not have a ‘day’ everyday. For example have a takeaway day once a week or once every 2 weeks or keep those threats for when you go out. Allow yourself a piece of chocolate or an ice cream, biscuit etc once every so often.

You can still enjoy the things you like, only in moderation.

Keep a plan

Following from above, set your own plan on when you will be having a takeaway for example. This will help you keep more control on the foods you eat. Be flexible about it, your plan doesn’t have to be setting stone. For example if Friday is a takeaway night doesn’t mean that you can’t have it on a Tuesday instead or that Friday you may choose to eat something else.

The point is more like saying Tuesday was a takeaway night and Friday I fancied a pizza and Saturday we visited some friends and they ordered some food…..Well you either end up losing count and control or when you do want a pizza to feel as if you depriving yourself when you have to say no.

Don’t make food special

Food is food and is a fundamental need for life and that all it is. Some foods can have harmful effects to health or affect your weight, some foods taste better (depending on peoples taste) some foods have health benefits and so on. However, don’t start putting food in terms of treats or special or any other category. Foods are not rewards, or treats. A takeaway or cake or whatever else you like is a food item which you enjoy and you occasionally include in your diet. Connecting food with emotions can create emotional cycles and can make food items more important than they are.

A lot of people may say I achieved something today or this week so I earn a takeaway or I will treat myself to a piece of chocolate. If you want to treat yourself choose something else you enjoy such a pampering session, or a dress or fishing trip if you are man or a ticket to a game. There are loads of different things you can do and you can find ideas which they will not necessarily break the bank.

Keep an eye on your portions

Apart from what kinds of foods we eat what is also important is how much we eat. Use a smaller plate and avoid layering the food. If you are still hungry is best to have a little bit more once you finished what you have in your plate. We often pile the food in our plates and eat more than we actually need or past the point of satiety. Also a half empty big plate can make us feel as if there is not enough food but a full smaller plate may not even if the two plates have the same amount of food. See also: how many calories to lose weight

Think of the speed of your hands

A friend recently said to me that how much we eat does not depend only on how fast our mouth processes it but also how fast our hand puts it in our mouth. This is actually a very valid point. It is easy to lose control on how much you have eaten when your fork goes with 100miles per hour and you pile the food into your mouth. Take your time and put your fork down every so often between takes. Give your brain a chance to realise how much food you eat.

How to do you lose weight fast? Search no more, find all the information you need in one place. The guide includes step-by-step instructions, a diet, lifestyle tips, exercise advice and everything you need to learn how to lose weight fast but healthy.

Losing weight fast is not something bad provided that you do it healthy. There are many ways to lose weight quickly but most of them generate short term results. The requirement in this case is not just to lose the pounds fast and gain them back as soon as you terminate your efforts but to lose them and keep them off. The only way to achieve fast but permanent weight loss is the healthy way; healthy does not mean that it cannot be fast, it simply means that you are not going to engage into any fad diets or products that are not safe.

Our comprehensive guide is divided into four sections with each section representing a crucial stage in weight loss. In particular: the preparation, implementation, post-implementation and maintenance stage.

The preparation stage is about the principles of how to lose weight fast and how to get your body and mind ready for this task, the implementation is the stage that explains what to do to actually save calories and accelerate weight loss. The post-implementation stage explains the lifestyle changes you need to make to ensure that you will not get the weight back and the maintenance stage will help you stay on your new weight forever.

How to lose weight fast – The 4 basic principles
15 Tips to lose weight fast and healthy
Lose weight fast – The Diet
How to lose weight fast and keep it off
How to lose weight with exercise

How to lose weight fast – The 4 basic principles

Step 1: Set your SMART weight loss goals

Define in your mind what you mean by “I want to lose weight fast”. Do you want to lose 10 pounds in a week, 20 pounds in a month? What is your real goal? Write it down on a piece of paper and then make sure that it is a SMART goal, for example:

Specific: I want to lose the weight by the end of this year

Measurable: I want to lose 20 pounds

Attainable: Is it possible to lose 20 pounds by the end of this year provided that the maximum amount of weight you can safely lose in a week is 2-3 pounds?

Realistic: Are you willing to make the effort? Losing weight fast is not the easiest thing to do and will require a lot of sacrifices. Are you ready to change your lifestyle, habits, eating pattern, exercise habits and get into the lane of rapid weight loss?

Timely:  If you weigh 200 pounds and you want to lose 50 pounds in a month because you have a wedding or a special event to attend then this is not possible. Make your goal achievable and reasonable.

Step 2: Decide on the approach to follow in order to lose weight

Decide how you will approach the whole weight loss process. Are you going to follow a commercial diet and exercise program or you are going to make a plan and define your milestones? We are not against commercial diets or weight loss programs that are based on healthy principles but these days such programs are hard to find. It is important that you choose a program and stick to it for a reasonable period of time (say 2-3 weeks) rather than switching from one diet to the other. To help you identify which programs are good or not read weight loss with crash diets. Is it possible?

Step 3: Find on average how many calories you consume per day

To lose weight fast you need to know how many calories to consume per day in order to lose the weight in the time period you specified. It is important that you analyze your current eating habits and calculate on average how many calories you already consume. So, before staring a diet keep a diary (food journal) for a week and calculate the amount of calories you consume. Also start an activities diary to record how many calories you burn through exercise and activity.

Step 4: Calculate how many calories you need to consume in order to lose weight fast

When you have worked an average for how many calories are coming in and how many calories are going out it is easier to calculate how many calories to lose weight. In simple words weight loss means to use more calories than you eat. This can take place by either decreasing the amount of calories coming in or increasing the calories going out (i.e. with exercise) or both together.

In simple terms 1 pound of fat is equal to 3500kcal. So in order to lose 1lb of fat per week you need to eat 500kcal less per day than what actually need (3500kcal / 7 days = 500kcal per day). In general it is recommended not to lose more than 2-2.5kg per week and not to go below the range of 1000kcal per day.

IMPORTANT: When you lose weight fast you don’t just lose pure fat. You will lose some water, some glycogen (stored sugar) and some protein along with fat.

So let’s demonstrate with a real example:

1. Assume that you consume around 3000 kcal per day and your energy needs are 2000 kcal you have a 1000 kcal excess which leads to you putting on weight.
2. What you should do as a starting point is to go to at least to 2000 kcal dietary intake in order to have energy balance and not put on weight.
3. If you want to lose weight fast you need to consume less than 2000 calories per day (this is your energy needs)
4. Work out your diet to fall in the calorie range of 1500 kcal per day and you will be losing an average of 1 lb of fat per week (as mentioned above be aware that in reality you will not be losing just pure fat).
5. If you want to lose weight faster (i.e. more than 1 lb per week) then reduce your daily calorie intake but make sure that you do not go beyond 1000 calories per day since this is NOT healthy.

So far we have seen how to set your weight loss goals, how to access your current situation and how to calculate the amount of calories you need to eat daily in order to lose weight. Our next section is the Implementation stage where you will learn how to save on calories and lose weight.

15 Tips to lose weight fast and healthy

1. Have a Delayed breakfast.  I always recommend this tip so you may have seen it before. Delay having your breakfast in the morning but do not skip it all together. Our body tends to burn fat as a fuel in the morning when blood sugar is at its lowest. If you delay having food for 30min then you burn the fat more efficiently
2. Have a protein breakfast. Protein will make you feel full for longer and can keep your blood sugar more stable. Apart from the health benefits you will be less likely to feel hungry half way through the morning and have fewer snacks.
3.  Healthy cooking practice. You can have all nice fresh and healthy ingredients but the minute you throw them in the deep fryer or drown them in ketchup, mayonnaise or butter there is nothing healthy about them. Not to mention the calorie count. Foods can still taste as good if you grill instead of frying or if you use olive oil instead of mayonnaise. A simple meal like chicken and salad can become a health and calorie hazard in no time. Try roasting with herbs, or garlic, or a touch of lemon and mustard and you will see that it may even be tastier.
4. Use oil spray. An easy way to control how much oil you use when cooking is to use an oil spray. When I refer to oil spray I mean olive oil. Unfortunately a lot of the oil or cooking sprays are vegetable oils which can contain a lot of trans fats or increase their trans fat content when cooked. Yes they may be hugely advertised as being very healthy as they can be low in saturated fats however they do forget to mention the trans fat issue and in comparison the trans fats may be worse for your health than the saturated fats.
5. Remove the skin from the chicken and the fat from meat. Some chefs will argue that cooking meat with the skin or the fat will add taste. Fair enough but that does not mean that you have to eat it after. Apart from the calorific value of fat and chicken skin, it is also not very good for your health.
6. Prepare your lunch box the night before. We all know that juggling work, family, social life, pets etc can be hard work. But even if you don’t have all the added pressures not many people like to wake up an hour early in the morning just to get the lunch box ready. Lunch boxes are usually full of sandwiches, crisps or you just limit yourself in the canteen which hardly has any healthy options or the corner shop. Why not cook an extra portion of the meal you having for dinner. Take that extra portion and put it ready in your lunch box for the day after. Your lunch box will be a lot more interesting than sandwich every day and you don’t have to spend a lot of time on it.
7. Tackle the size of your portion. This does not mean stay hungry or skipping meals. Instead use smaller size dinner plates and fill them once without going for multiple layers. Did your mum tell you to eat all your food when you were little and to this day you can’t help but empty your plate even if you are stuffed? Go for a small portion and if you do finish and want more then have some more. However, don’t fall in the trap of eating a little bit and then a little bit more and then a little bit more…until you managed to eat a whole cow for lunch.
8. Beware of emotionally eating. If you are an emotional eater it could be that your emotions are dictating your hunger. With emotional eating it is not always that you are actually hungry but you do tend to crave specific foods which reflect your emotional state. For example you feel sad you want something to comfort you. There are a number of techniques which can help you to determine if you are emotional eating and/or can help you break the emotional eating cycle.
9. Cut down on sugary drinks. You will be surprised but ‘sugary drinks’ does refer to a large number of drinks. Hot drinks such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate etc. They may not seem as a lot of sugar however, if you do add a spoonful of sugar every time you have a drink by the end of the day you may have just consumed the whole jar. Do you have 3 – 4 cups of hot drinks through the day? In addition, drinks such as squash, ice tea, coke, lemonade, soda, milkshakes etc do contain a lot of sugar. Some fizzy drinks do come in sugar free versions however, there has been a lot of debate regarding the use of sweeteners and to be on the safe side is best to drink them in moderation. Fruit juices seem innocent but they as well do contain a lot of sugars. The 0.5g of sugar in a fruit juice will not tip the scales but when added to all the drinks and sugars you have consumed all day then it does make a difference. See also 5 foods to avoid while dieting.
10. Have a packet of nuts in your bag. Dried fruits and nuts can contain quite a lot of calories. However, they are very nutritious and can make you feel full. Have a packet in your bag, and if you are stack in the tube or traffic, or in the office and you are hungry or just bored have a small handful. They are great in satisfying that sweet or hunger craving and save you from the crisp and biscuit danger.
11. Sleep well. The body needs sleep to re-fresh and re-organise itself. Chronic lack of sleep can lead to hormone dysregulation and imbalances which can lead to weight gain. In addition, when tired people tend to crave sweet and high in calorie foods. It is called beauty sleep for a reason but also there are health aspects in having a good night’s sleep. Aim for both quantity and quality of sleep. Broken, restless sleep can be as bad as not sleeping. Try to follow some of the relaxation and de-stress techniques / ideas to help you enjoy a good night’s sleep.
12. Get a weight loss buddy. Studies suggest that the success of weight loss clubs is not necessarily due to the diet regimes they use but because of the support they receive. In addition, studies suggest that people tend to have more success with weight loss goals if they receive support from their family circle. A weight loss buddy may help you motivate when you need it, you can have someone to talk to about your plans, progress, problems etc; not everybody wants to hear for the 10th time that you lost 4lbs and how or how much you are struggling to say no to a biscuit. For others it may create a bit of competition which may be the element that keeps them want to continue. However, just don’t let it over consume you.
13. Eat the last meal of the day at least 2 hours before going to bed. Eat your last dinner at least 2 hours before going to bed. If possible have a 10 minute walk after dinner as this will aid digestion and leave your body with less work during your sleep time.
14. Drink plenty of water. In general it is recommended to consume an average of 2 litres of water per day. I prefer to say make sure you are well hydrated especially if you are exercising and/or you are in hot weather.
15. Say no to fast food restaurants. During the period of your diet try to minimize the consumption of fast food. They may advertise it as healthy and ‘diet friendly’ but in reality fast food is processed food which contains a lot of calories, fats and sugars.

Lose weight fast Diet

The following meal plan is part of our own diet that guarantees fast but healthy weight loss. The combination diet is a balanced diet, based on Mediterranean diet principles, and it is a perfect diet to follow if you want to lose weight fast. It is not restrictive and this makes it easy to follow by anybody who cannot stand crash diets and starving weight loss programs.  The week plan below is in the range of 1000-1300 calories per day but you can adjust it for your own needs and requirements.

As a first step follow our guidelines as explained in the Preparation stage and then start our diet for at least 2 weeks and evaluate your results. You can always contact us if you have difficulties or if you cannot get the results you want and our weight loss experts (the authors of the Combination diet) will give you personalized advice and support.

Click here to download the diet in PDF format for easy printing

How to lose weight fast and keep it off

So you have managed to lose the weight, now what? It is time to enter the post-implementation and maintenance stages to ensure that you will not gain the weight back. The best way to achieve this is by changing your lifestyle.

As with every weight loss regime I will say that if you don’t change your lifestyle and diet, those things which make you put on weight then you will put the weight back on post diet. This may sound like a glooming prospect; however, weight loss diets should not be seen as the ‘magic pill’ in a vicious cycle. You put on weight and when you want or need to you go on a ‘magic pill’ then you lose the weight so you can go back on putting on weight and pick a ‘magic pill’ when you want or need to….and so on…and on. I am sure some of you may have gone down that street a few times and you may feel fed up with it already.

Tips for a Transition to a Healthier Lifestyle

Tip 1. Look at the food and drinks diary you have kept in the week prior to starting your weight loss attempts. This can provide a valuable education and insight in respect to what you eat and drink every day. Find the things which you could change, remove or replace with a healthier option.

Tip 2. Treat the dieting period as the beginning of a healthier lifestyle and weight rather than a 2 week prison sentence you have to do in order to fit in that dress. If you set yourself up to not enjoy it you will not enjoy it.

Tip 3. Write a list of all the reasons why YOU want to lose weight or have a healthier lifestyle. All the people of the world may tell you about the benefits however, it is your life and it is your body. If you do not want to make those changes for yourself and for your own reasons you will not really be getting anywhere.

Tip 4. Keep the list with your reasons for losing weight and making lifestyle changes in your bag. Use it to motivate yourself and/or remind yourself when you want to give in to temptation.

Tip 5. Keep in mind that once you have managed to lose weight fast, your body will have adapted to eating less junk food, less sugars etc. You will not crave high sugary and calorific foods as much and once you have a high sugary and calorific food your body will let you know that it doesn’t like it.

Tip 6. If you struggling to keep variety in your diet invest in a recipe food which provides healthy eating ideas. Once you get the hang of it use your imagination and you can make food as interesting or as plain as you like.

Tip 7. Make a list of foods which you want to replace with healthier options. Your list can include olive dressing instead of salad cream, olive oil instead of margarine, mixed fruit and nuts instead of a biscuit and so on. This however does not mean that you cannot enjoy all foods. The occasional takeaway or having chips once every week or 2 weeks with a bit of mayonnaise will not kill you. It is the everyday practice which makes a difference.

Tip 8. Make sure that your cupboards are not full of snacks and junk food. If it is there looking at you day in day out you will just go for it. On a lazy day you may think “do I make 2 boiled eggs or just grab a packet of crisps from the cupboard?” Well I know what I am more likely to do…

Tip 9. Introduce physical activity whether it is exercise or just taking the stairs instead of the lift. It can do miracles for your health and weight.

How to lose weight fast with exercise

Why exercise? Yes, you can lose weight with a diet alone but adding exercise to any weight loss regime can help to achieve your goals faster and easier. It is also the best way to ensure that you will not get the weight back. Some people may argue that exercising is not exactly ‘easy’. I must admit that if you have never exercised before the first few days will be hard, but do not despair if anybody else can do it so do you.

Going back to exercising, in order to lose weight fast, exercise can increase the calories you burn daily. This takes place while you exercise and when you rest. You do need to use calories to fuel any physical activity, and the amount of calories you use will depend on the kind of exercise and intensity. Moreover, your body will be using some extra calories after you have finished exercising as it will need to recover and build the muscles you just used. On top of all this as you increase the muscles you have in time, your metabolic rate increases which means that in general you burn more calories.

Apart from the weight loss benefits exercise can have added health benefits. By exercising may improve your immune, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, mood and general wellbeing not to mention that you will look good. I couldn’t praise exercise enough and I am sure a lot of you have heard over and over again how important it is to exercise.

Is it hard to exercise? My answer will be yes and no. If you hardly ever used your muscles or if you are obese then even a small walk around the corner may feel like climbing a mountain. If you are relatively active then walking around the corner could feel easy. It is true that in order to have fitness gains you will need to work above the level you are however this does not have to translate to undertaking an army style boot camp regime. I am sure that a number of ‘weight loss’ related television programs do have their participants taking an exercise regime of that sort. However that is television.

My suggestion is to start from your own level. If you have never walked further than going to the car, then take a walk around the block not around the city. This is as good enough a challenge for your muscles and you don’t have to suffer for it. Start slowly and build up on what you have. Exercising should be enjoyable and not a torture if you want to stick to it (unless a torture is what you like which again would be enjoyable in that case). If you suffer and hate it you will not do it or you will give up eventually. Same as with a diet I always recommend to choose the type of exercise you like and work to the level you feel most comfortable with. This way it will feel not as hard and all the ‘after-pain’ should be a lot less.

Do you have to join the gym or follow a set exercise program? No you don’t. For some people it works to go to the gym for but others it doesn’t. Similarly some people find it easier to follow a fitness DVD at home or an exercise class or even have a personal trainer. The choice of exercise is a personal matter and you should opt for what suits your preferences and lifestyle.

Moreover, exercising doesn’t have to be a set program as any physical activity, even playing in the park with the kids is as good. Walking the dog, cycling to work or in the park, swimming, taking the stairs instead of the lift and a game of football with kids are all some of the numerous examples you can exercise without having to put additional time on the side. You can also read: how to lose weight with pilates

To sum up, learning how to lose weight fast is not as difficult as you may have imagined. In this comprehensive guide you have all the information you need in one place. We gave you the basic principles of fast weight loss, tips to lose weight fast, a healthy diet that works and advice to switch your lifestyle to healthy living. Now it’s your turn, set your goals, find your motivation sources and get started today!

References

1. Ascherio, A. Willet, W.C. (1997) Health effects of trans fatty acids. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 66 (suppl):1006S-lOS.
2. Aspden, W. Caple, F. Reed, Rob. Jones, A. Weyers, J. (2011) Practical Skills in Food Science, Nutrition and Diatetics. Pearson
3. Brill, J. B. (2009) The Mediterranean Diet and Your Health. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 44 – 56
4. Blackman, M.C. Kvaska, C.A. (2011) Nutrition Psychology. Improving Dietary Adherence. Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
5. Clark, C. Clark, M. (2007) The New High Protein Diet. Vermilion.
6. Truby, H. Baic, S. deLooy, A. Fox, K. R. M. Livingstone, B. E. Logan, C.M. Macdonald, I. A Morgan, L. M. Taylor, M. A. Millward D. J. (2006) Randomised controlled trial of four commercial weight loss programmes in the UK: initial findings from the BBC “diet trials”. British Medical Journal. BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.38833.411204.80

Are you desperate to lose weight quickly but you do not know where to start? Every time you climb on the scales or look in the mirror you think I need to lose weight. Time goes on and you still need to go on a diet but to be quite honest you don’t know where to start. It’s not laziness, it’s not that you are avoiding the matter is simply you just don’t know how.

People assume losing weight or going on a diet is a simple straight forward affair. We very well know that this is not the case. Whether being breaking the habits, or choosing the best diet for yourself, or what is a good diet or not, it is not as easy as it sounds.

In this article, I have summarised some steps and tips to help you start on the weight loss mission.

Step 1 - Consult a medical professional

Before you even think about any diet, if you suffer from any medical/health condition or have any health concerns consult the appropriate medical professional. Even if you know that losing weight is necessary due to a specific medical condition, do not just follow any diet, ask if the diet you are thinking of is appropriate or just ask for general guidance.

Not all weight loss regimes are appropriate for everybody and for some people changes in the diet may have detrimental effects to their health. Do not let the fact that you are desperate to lose weight take on your logic and force you into desperate measures. Your health is very important.

Step 2 - Find how much weight you want to lose.

It may sound not important but knowing how much weight you want to lose can help you decide on the type of diet regime you can follow. So do you want to just lose a couple of extra pounds, a few more or half of your current body?

Obviously the more weight you want to lose the longer it is going to take. Therefore, you should be looking at diet regimes that are designed for long term rather than shorter versions and vice versa. This does not mean that you cannot follow a long-term diet for a couple of months; the aim is to be realistic about your goals and stay away from desperate weight loss measures.

Step 3 - Be realistic about what your weight loss goals.

When choosing a weight loss regime be realistic in what you can expect from it. Yes there are hundreds of diets or methods which do promise the world and amazing weight loss results in less than 2 weeks etc. There may be exceptions (see also: How to lose weight in 2 weeks) and there may be some people whose body may work in extraordinary ways but in general do not expect to lose 10 lbs. in a week. If you have a lot of weight to lose, be prepared that it will take some time and there may be weeks which are slow, weeks which are fast or weeks where nothing is happening.

Each individual is different and each and every one will progress in a different way.

Step 4 - Keep a foods and drinks diary for a week

Record what you drink and eat for a week and you will learn a lot from it. You may already know that you eat too much or the wrong things but sometimes if you see it in writing and in detail you can find things which you never thought mattered. Keep it as detailed as possible as it is the small little things, such as the 2 sugars with coffee, or the sneaky biscuit in the office, which add up.

I remember a work colleague once who used to say to me that her big problem is picking. She would make the kids school lunch and have a packet of crisps or steal a couple of chips from the dinner plate and a piece of this and a piece of that….when she added them all up it was a big calorie surprise. You can keep such a diary by using Calories4 Weight loss our online food and fitness journal.

Once you have the foods and drinks diary find how many calories you need to eat to lose weight.

Step 5 – Find out your own diet style.

Let’s be clear here. No matter how good or healthy or successful a diet regime or method is, if it does not suit your needs it will not work. You may discipline yourself and follow it for a while but you will soon get fed up and hate the whole thing and eventually give up.

Losing weight can be hard to do for some people, so imagine if you are doing it in a way which is wrong for you. By all means even if you are desperate to lose weight, I would never recommend following a regime which may be harmful to your health just because it suits your style, so don’t go swallowing any tape warms in a hurry.

Ask yourself the questions: ‘What foods do I like to eat?’ ‘Do I have a busy schedule and eat out a lot?’ ‘Do I hate cooking and depend on ready meals?’ ‘Do I like a strict specific diet or do I prefer something more flexible?’

Ask as many questions you can think which will help you determine which way is the best way to go about losing weight. If you feel you can’t do it without support then maybe you should consider a diet club such as ‘weight watchers’ or ‘slimming world’ and so on.

Step 6 - Research about diet regimes

There are hundreds of weight loss programs out there and there are some ‘Diet reviews’ as well. Read what each diet has to offer, how does it work and what scientific evidence is there for it. Once you know all the above, like how much weight you need to lose and what style of diet suits you then look what diets are out there.

It may sound long winded but there are some important points here:

1. You are actually following something you like,

2. To the best of your ability you have found something which is safe and does not have massive health risks.

3. You are not wasting your money or energy in the process.

Step 7 - Plan

Ok, you worked out most of the above and you have found a nice little regime for you self or maybe you want something simple healthy and flexible. Before you start getting confused or lost in the process, plan.

When are you starting the diet? Usually at the beginning of the week is best but if for other reasons it doesn’t suit you set a day. Be realistic however, don’t start a diet the week you have that dinner party, or wedding or holiday trip etc but don’t use it as an excuse either. If you have more reasons not to start the diet constantly well maybe you should go back to square 0 and find if you really want to lose weight.

Make a list of the foods / menus / your diet plan and pin it in the kitchen & keep a copy in your bag. Whether it is a set diet plan or a flexible one or a DIY one have it pinned in the kitchen. You can refer to it any time you need. Keep it in your bag so if you are out you can have an idea about what your diet plan suggests etc.

Write your shopping list and do your shopping. What ingredients do you need for your meals for the week? Make sure you have them all as not having what you want on the day can make you get frustrated or deviate from your diet.

Step 8 - Exercise

Exercise can help you lose weight and also benefit your health and if that doesn’t really matter to you eventually you do look good. Exercise doesn’t necessarily mean join the gym. As with a diet regime choose the type which suits you best. Find what you like, and if you are unsure about it try different things. A lot of gyms do free day passes for trial or you may be able to buy one or two passes individually.

Other ideas include trying a sport such as football, basketball, tennis etc. Alternatively you can try exercise classes, dancing classes, cycling clubs. There are all sorts of options and activities on offer to choose from.

If money is an issue you can sill exercise for free. Try going running or even just walking, use the stairs instead of the elevator, go cycling in the park.

Points to remember:

1. Consult a medical professional. Similarly with dieting, if you suffer from any health conditions/complaints or have any concerns consult a medical professional.
2. Do you need to diet? For some people exercise alone may be enough to help them lose weight and/or sustain their current weight. If your issue is a couple of pounds and in general you follow a balanced healthy diet exercise may just balance that extra biscuit now and then.
3. Exercise alone is not the answer for everybody and for all your problems. Well just because you started exercising or do exercise doesn’t mean that you can get away with a nutritional murder. At the end of the day if you do consume more calories than you use, you will put on weight (unless there are underlying health issues or the gifted few who never put on weight).

In addition, if you are desperate to lose weight and have more than a couple of pounds to lose exercise alone may be a slow process or may not be enough.    

Step 9 - Which is the best way to go?

You worked everything out but still you are not sure which one is the best way to go? The healthy way is a balanced healthy diet however, for many people it doesn’t really explain anything and is general and confusing.

In general a healthy balanced diet is one which includes all nutrients and from a variety of sources. In simple words it has a little bit of everything. Opt for fresh ingredients and avoid takeaways, fast food, deep fried foods, processed foods etc. 

Step 10 - Lifestyle approach

A weight loss regime, no matter how good it is, will only achieve what is meant to achieve, weight loss. But this is what you wanted, yes? Well whatever the reason was making you put on weight in the first place will still the same unless you remove that reason. Is it too much food to blame, or the wrong kind of food, or sedentary lifestyle or all of the above?

Looking at weight loss as a way to change your lifestyle towards a healthier way rather than a magic temporary pill will probably have a lot more long term benefits. When making decisions and choices is always best to look at the long term goals.

Is weight loss with crash diets the same as looking for gold at the end of a rainbow? Wouldn’t be great if we could eat whatever we liked and when we did need to lose weight, we could pick up a miracle diet follow it for a week and get results in our doorstep. Wouldn’t be great if there was a bucket of gold at the end of the rainbow as well? Well for a lot of the available crash diets that’s more or less the case. I am holding my breath for the one diet that I might have missed.

Crash diets explained

There are actually hundreds of different crash diets in the market and it is beyond the scope of this article to look into each and every one of them. Crash diets are usually of restricted calorie intake and aim in achieving radical weight loss in a small period of time. Such diets are usually fasting diets sometimes combined with exercise and are often accompanied by supplements, diet pills or laxatives. It is very common for crash diets to be based on a fruit or vegetable which is meant to have unique weight loss powers. Examples of such diets are the cabbage, grapefruit and the acai berry diets. In general a lot of the crash diets are based in extreme eating habits such as drinking only juice (juice diet), or ingesting a tape worm (the tape worm diet, yes it is real).

Although crash diets are predominately short in duration (usually 3- 10 days) some may advocate that they can be followed for longer or follow a cyclical pattern such as one week on one week off (see also 17 Day diet review). Crash diets have in general been criticised as being unrealistic, unhealthy and that there isn’t such thing as quick weight loss. However, there are testimonies from people who swear they lost the weight and it is the best thing on earth. So what is the truth, and do crash diets actually work?

Crash diets: the theories answered

Each crash diet has its own theory behind it. In this part I will look at some of these theories and provide an answer for each.

Theory 1: In some simple terms one theory is that if you radically reduce calorie intake you will lose weight.

Well that is partly true. By reducing calorie intake the body will mobilise its stores to use for the energy it requires. In order to lose weight there will have to be a negative energy balance, which means that the calorie intake should be less than the calories used by the body. It must be note that in real terms this is a little bit more complicated than that and there are a number of factors that can influence the metabolic processes of the body such as medical conditions, and stress. But we will accept for the purposes of this article that this is in part true for the average healthy person who sleeps well and is stress free.

However, what is important to remember is the process in which the body will start using its energy reserves. Even if complete starvation takes place the first thing the body will start using is its glycogen stores (sugar stores) from the liver and the muscles. It will then start mobilising some fat and protein and within all the process it will lose a lot of water as well. The body does use some fat throughout the day anyway, but to it does need more time to adjust in burning solely fat once glycogen has started finishing. Protein is the most important thing so it will try to save it as much as it can. It will use some protein in the process but it will indeed try to spare it for as long as possible. What does all that mean in terms of weight loss? In the first phase (about 1 week) of fast like dieting what you lose is glycogen loads of water and some fat. In general the amount of fat lost is not measurably significant.

So yes you will lose pounds but is mostly glycogen and water with a small amount of fat. In addition, metabolism will start to slow down quite quickly so by the end of a week you will be burning even less energy.

Theory 2: The fruit/vegetable/supplement has unique properties and causes the body to lose weight very fast.

Whether is acai berry, or cabbage, or grapefruit or a juice from Mars there are not sufficient scientific evidence to show that either of these induces weight loss. Some studies which may be available are of poor quality and results are highly questionable. Some of the fruit may have different nutritional properties such as acai berry is an antioxidant and is no doubt that they may have positive effects in health. However, this is a different matter and not always related to weight loss.

To my knowledge these which have shown results in some scientific studies in aiding weight loss are green tea catechin and dietary calcium on its own or in combination with vitamin D (basically from food and not as a supplement). However, do not expect to drop dress sizes with just drinking loads of green tea. A healthy and appropriate weight loss program will be needed in combination.

Theory 3: The diet plan will change the body’s metabolism achieving weight loss and it will be all from fat.

Well there are ways to alter the metabolic processes and increase the metabolic rate (rate by which we burn calories). However, for any long term adjustments to take place (example retraining your body to burn fat more efficiently) do take around 2 weeks. Each person may react differently and may take slightly longer or slightly quicker in making such biological adaptations but at average 2 weeks is the time required (see also: lose weight in 2 weeks). A 3 day crash diet is unlikely to induce such long term changes.

It is true that your body will start adapting to extreme conditions almost immediately. The word is start and in extreme conditions it will adapt for survival. For instance in starvation or fasting style diets the body will start to make metabolic changes in the 1^st 8 – 10 hours after the last meal. If no food is being ingested as the day goes on changes will continue to be made with survival in mind.

In addition, the body can learn/adapt to burn more fat as fuel however, there is no such thing as burning only fat. We use a combination of fuels all the time. We can use one kind of fuel more or less according to the activities we carry out and our diet among other factors.

Theory 4: Fast weight loss with crash diets is healthier and safe.

There is not a yes or no answer for this. It is true that some studies have shown that obese people who achieve fast weight loss had better long term results in sustaining the weight loss and in terms of health. It is also true that a number of studies suggest that crash diets can lead to weight fluctuations related to yo yo dieting and have been associated with a number of health complaints and risks.

What is important to consider is what kind of diet is used and if someone is obese or not. There are major differences from biological to general health between obese/morbidly obese and just overweight people. It is often the case in obesity that health risks deriving from obesity outweigh the health risks of a fast weight loss. However, in either case I would not recommend to follow a crash diet just because you read somewhere that research says is better. Always consult a medical professional especially if there are any other medical conditions and complaints present. It could well be that the strain put on your body trying to deal with food deprivation is high and risky.

I would definitely argue that a crash diet such as the tape warm diet is not healthy or safe for anybody regardless of body size, age, or any other factor in the world. This is just an example to actually say that some diets are far from healthy or safe. Some very low calorie diets may be recommended for some situations, but it is usually advised to try and include a variety of foods and nutrients.

Also some of these diets are only meant to be followed for a very small period of time. They are not designed for longer as they may not be healthy or safe. If you are not getting results from a 1 week diet does not mean that you need to do it longer but that it is actually not working. Maybe it is true that you will not lose 1 dress size in a week. Moreover, restrictive and very low calorie diets have been associated with musculoskeletal complaints, and can lead to suppression of the immune system leading to high risks of contracting illnesses and infection.     

Theory 5: The diet is cleansing, detoxifying, as nature intended, healing, will aid digestion.

There are not actually sufficient scientific evidence to support that detoxing or cleansing the body has any health benefits. The body has its own mechanisms to filter and remove toxins. In addition, some of the theories in which foods are ‘toxins’ for the body and which are ‘healing’ foods are not based on scientific evidence.

Diets which are very restrictive in what kind of foods they allow such as just juice diets could lead in nutrient deficiencies. Very restrictive diets which are recommended for long periods have been connected with vitamin A, vitamin C and amino acid deficiencies. All nutrients are vital for the body, including fat. Nutrient deficiencies are far from ‘healing’ or ‘healthy’ for the body.

In addition some of these fasting/only liquids diets can lead to gastrointestinal complaints. Suffering from diarrhoea is not a form of detoxifying or aiding digestion or ‘the way nature intended’.

In simple words the benefits gained from a crash diet are not usually sufficient enough. Any weight lost will be mostly water and it will be gained back very quickly. If someone wants to use a crash diet to lose that inch to fit in that dress/trousers etc yes it is possible as long as you are aware that is not actually loads of fat what you are losing.

Article by Hara Hagikalfa.

Ask your weight loss questions and get answers from our experts

Not all weight loss programs are effective. There are a lot of things to consider before you go and try out a diet or exercise program. The following ten steps are essential if you want to lose weight fast:

1. Consult your physician first if it is safe for you to undergo a weight loss program. Some people, especially those that are morbidly obese, should have a supervised weight loss program because rapid weight loss could be dangerous.
You must be mentally prepared to lose weight fast.

2. Motivation plays a great role in reaching your weight loss goals. By keeping yourself motivated it will be easier to meet your targets.

3. Your meal plan should be nutritious. When you try to lose weight fast, you automatically think that cutting down on your food intake will be the answer. Actually, just limiting the food you eat is not enough. A healthy choice of foods and in proper amount is the best way to do it.

4. Choose your exercise routine wisely. Some exercise routines may be too much for you. You do not necessarily need to have a rigid routine to lose weight. Even a simple walking and jogging program can actually help you shed the extra pounds. If you are quite comfortable with it, gradually increase the speed, distance, resistance and the intensity of the exercise to achieve faster results.

5. Muscle building exercises. Muscles burn more calories than fat. If you want to accelerate your efforts you can consider adding muscle building exercises to your routine. This will maximize your weight loss efforts since the muscles you add to your body will also work hard to burn those extra calories for you.

6. Water should not be neglected. Since your body has to go through some diet modifications and exercises, it should be replenished with the minerals that you lose in the process. Water loss is rapid in people who exercise; Thus you should keep in mind that you have to replace the fluids you lose from sweating.

7. A positive change in lifestyle. Changing your lifestyle is the surest way to lose weight fast. Since lifestyle is the totality of how you actually live your life, following a healthy route will definitely be a strategy to adapt to your weight loss efforts.

8. Don’t be tempted with sweets and preservatives. There will be cases where you may crave for something too sweet or something too salty.  Whenever your sweet tooth starts bugging you, remember your goals and stay focused.

9. Your weight loss efforts should fit your daily routine. It is not healthy to juggle your jobs, responsibilities at home, plus a weight loss program. This will just stress you more so it is really important to map out your activities. It’s all about time management.

10.Discipline plus patience. Following the said principles is the most essential step in losing weight fast. Without discipline and patience you tend to lose hope and give up everything you have started. Your efforts should not be wasted by being too lax with your weight loss program and being impatient in seeing the results.

To lose 20 pounds fast seems impossible. But over the years dietitians, fitness experts and medical practitioners have proven that an effective diet and workout plan would definitely help you lose weight fast. The following tips are proven to be effective, particularly with people who really aspire and in dire need to shed off 20 pounds fast.

First: Make a meal schedule for six small meals a day and stick to it.

Limiting yourself to three large meals a day – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – will not help you lose 20 pounds fast. It’s not about the frequency of the meal but it’s all about the quality and quantity of the meal.

Experts agree that eating five to six small low calorie meals a day are much healthier because it allows your body to have constant supply of energy. In addition to that, this weight loss strategy will also prevent mid-meal hunger thus you get to unnecessary eating. It may seem hard to get used to this eating schedule but once your body had adjusted to it, you will notice that you are actually eating less than the usual and that your goal of losing that excess 20 pounds is just a few short weeks away.

Second: Increase your fluid intake.

Drinking lots of fluids is a really good way to make yourself feel full quickly and make you want to eat less and lose those excess pounds you have. However, not all fluids are good for you. If you want to lose 20 pounds fast avoid Carbonated, sweetened, and fruit-flavored drinks because they are loaded with calories which could make you gain a lot pounds. The healthiest drink in the world is water, eight glasses or more a day will keep you hydrated, boost of the metabolism, and could keep you full resulting to decrease food intake. In addition to that, plain distilled water contains zero calories, thus you do not have to worry of drinking a glass more each day.

Regarding the best water temperature, there are two opposing hypothesis about it: Some people say cold water is the best choice of fluid if you want to lose a few pounds because cold water needs to be warmed up to as it enters the body to coincide with the body’s normal temperature, thus calories are converted to energy to do just that. On the other hand, others say that warm water is better because cold water could coagulate the fatty food that you just consumed; imagine a melted butter placed in the fridge. Cold or warm – the bottomline is drinking eight glasses of water a day will surely help you to lose weight.

Third: Move as much as you can.

Eating just the right amount of food and increasing your fluid intake is not enough if you wish to lose 20 pounds fast. You need to add exercise in your weight loss routine. Keeping your body active makes you burn and lose calories. Low to moderate impact exercises, when done regularly, would definitely help you shed excess calories. To speed up the process, make it a habit to allot 30 minutes to one hour a day for workouts.

When it comes to weight loss and methods that can help you lose weight it is not always that hard to save calories and get rid of the excess pounds. There are a number of things you can do in your daily life, part of your routine that can really make a difference. In this short post we outline 10 quick and easy ways to lose weight. The tips and tricks explained here are not meant to replace your weight loss plans or programs; they can be used as an additional source which can help you understand better how to lose weight quickly.

1. Keep meats that are high in fat (burgers, fried food, junk food) outside your diet. They have nothing to offer to your body and health (other than calories and fat) and there are many better replacements both in terms of calories and healthiness.

2. Did you notice that people who eat spicy food do not have weight problems? This is true and the main reason behind this is that spicy food can accelerate your metabolism and help you burn more calories. So spicy up your food to make it tastier and boost your metabolism at the same time.

3. Salads are delicious, healthy and calorie friendly. Why not try having a salad for lunch instead of a heavy and calorie loaded meal? Salads give you a lot of energy at minimum cost. It goes without saying that you should avoid saucy salad dressings.

4. There is no valid excuse that can keep you away from walking or running for 30 minutes per day. This activity will clean your mind, give you more energy and help you lose weight. If the weather is bad then go to the gym or use the treadmill at home. If you don’t have one, then buy one. Do not expect that you will lose weight magically. You need to take actions and make the effort.

5. The last meal of the day is dinner. You should take your dinner at least 3 hours before bedtime and after that you should not eat anything. Do not make the mistake that many people do. Many people eat their dinner and until they go to bed they eat snacks and sweets (a bite of this and that), capable to blow up their weight loss efforts. A nice way to remind your self that you should not eat anything is to brush your teeth right after dinner.

6. When you need to drink something then this should be fresh water. There are no perfect substitutes of water despite what you want to believe. Better drink fewer juices and no soft drinks and fight your thirst with 6-8 glasses of water per day.

7. Weight lifting can help you lose weight fast. Do not be afraid of strength training and body building. The harder and more effort you put into exercise the more weight you will lose. Weight lifting can help you build muscles utilizing the fat reserves for energy.

8. If you do not have to go to a restaurant (because you are invited for dinner) then try to eat at home. Eating at home is better because you have more control on the size of the food portions and the ingredients used for cooking. Food cooked in restaurants is not really healthy and the more you can avoid it the better.

9. If you really have to eat out then prefer to order your own portion from the menu instead of taking buffet. Buffets are full of temptations and most probably you will not be able to resist and at the end you will feel bad. Also try eating only half of the food portion to make sure that you will not consume more calories than you really need.

10. Last but not least, if you are serious about losing weight quickly then keep a food diary. In the diary you can record everything you eat and drink and also calculate the amount of calories. Watch your diary and make sure that you do not eat more calories (keep your diet around 2000-24000 calories daily) than what you need and also used it as a tool to help you set your weight loss goals.

Many people comment on weight loss blogs and are asking if it is feasible to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks. The answer to this question is both positive and negative. On the positive part, it is possible to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks and the negative part is based on the fact that while you can you should not try and lose too much weight in such a short period of time.

Healthy weight loss is the only way out

Weight loss to be effective should be done naturally and gradually. Losing 10 pounds in just 2 weeks is very difficult to be done using natural and healthy ways. To make such a reduction in your weight you either have to follow a very strict diet or use chemicals (i.e. weight loss pills). Even by engaging such techniques the only thing you can achieve is to lose water weight and dehydrate your body and most probably what will happen is that you will get the weight back as soon as you stop the program. If this is how you want to lose weight then go ahead and do it, there a number of weight loss pills and diets on the Internet that will help you out. If on the other hand you want to lose weight in a way that you will not cause any other problems to your health and be able to keep the weight off then you have to do some sacrifices and be ready to work hard until you get the desired results.

Lose weight in 2 weeks

In this article we will not try to explain how to lose 10 pounds in a week but on how to lose weight in 2 weeks. The number of pounds you will lose in these 2 weeks depends on the characteristics and body structure of each person. What is suitable for some people may not work for others. A weight loss program that works for some may not work for others. This is the main reason why the question ‘is it possible to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks’ has two contradicting answers. What you should concentrate your efforts on is to set the baseline for weight loss. This means that you should start preparing your body for losing weight by creating your long term healthy plan.

When you start your efforts it is likely that you will lose a few pounds in the first 2 weeks. What you need to ensure is that this trend will continue and that you will not get the weight back. When we say ‘do not get the weight back’ we simply mean that once you stop your efforts and for a period of 6 months you will not return to your previous weight. The main idea behind this is that by that time hopefully you have already adopted a new lifestyle and eating habits and there is no longer need to follow any weight loss plan, process or program.

So, for the next 14 days try to apply the tips below and see for yourself how many pounds you can lose.

1. Drink at least 10 glasses of water per day
2. Do not eat ready-made meals. Avoid eating out or taking take away. Cook at home using healthy and low calorie products.
3. Eat more salads with not extra dressing except virgin olive oil
4. Stop drinking soft drinks and alcohol
5. Replace milk with low fat milk
6. Replace snacks with fruits and vegetables
7. Eat at least 2 apples per day.
8. Eat your last meal at least 3 hours before you go to bed
9. Start your day with a good breakfast
10. Start walking for 20 minutes per day the first week and 30 minutes the next week.
11. Replace meat with fish
12. Do not forget that your goal for the next 2 weeks is to lose weight. This may need some sacrifices but you need to be strong and do it.
13. Do not eat fried foods. Prefer barbequed or boiled. This will also help on how to lose belly fat
14. Do not buy take away coffee (latter, cappuccino). Prefer black coffee with a bit of low fat milk.

Learning how to lose 10 pounds in a week is difficult but not impossible. Weight loss is a problem for many people and for long lasting result, you need to follow a healthy plan based on natural methods and techniques. However, there are cases where you need to take rapid measures in order to lose weight fast. We outlined how to lose weight in a week in one of our previous articles, so in this article we will go a step further by outlining what you can do if you want to lose 10 pounds in one week.

Is it possible to lose 10 pounds in a week?

It is possible (because you will lose water weight) but difficult and it is not always suitable for every person or situation. Below we will explain in detail how to lose 10 pounds in 7 days and you can decide whether this method is appropriate for you or not. Always have in mind that before engaging into any diet or intense workout schedule you need to consult your doctor.

How can you lose 10 pounds in a week?

To lose 10 pounds in a week you need to save 35000 calories in a period of 7 days. One pound of fat is approximately 3500 calories so to lose 10 pounds you need to create a calorie deficit of (10 x 3500) 35000 or 3500 calories per day. This of course does not account for the water weight you will normally lose during the first days of your diet.

If you take in account that the recommended daily calorie intake for men is between 1800-2000 calories per day and for women 1500-1800 then you can easily recognize that you cannot save 3500 calories per day in order to lose 10 pounds of fat in one week. If this is confusing have in mind that:

Losing 10 pounds in a week may be possible because you will lose water weight as well but losing 10 pounds of fat in a week is impossible because you there is no way to save 3500 calories per day even if you do not eat or drink anything. This also depends on your current weight but in real terms, it will not happen. Do not also forget that the healthy weight you can lose in a week is 1-2 pounds.

How to lose 10 pounds in a week – the diet plan

Despite the fact that you may not be able to lose 10 pounds in a week, there are many things you can do to start losing weight. It may take more than a week to lose 10 pounds but at least you know that you are on the right track. Dieting is one of the tools to use and this is what we are going to explain in this section.

You need to adjust your diet and exclude certain food items that are high in calories, fat and sugars and give more preference to low fat products and items that are low in calories.

Examples of foods to avoid: Red meat, full fat dairy products, sodas, sweets, chocolate, cookies, alcoholic drinks, salad dressings, soy products, cakes. In general, avoid fried and processed foods and prefer steam boiled or barbecued.

You can also read 5 foods to avoid while dieting for a more detail explanation

Examples of foods to include in your diet: fish, low fat dairy, green tea, fruits, vegetables, water, lean meat, legumes, soups and salads.

You can also read how to lose weight in a week for a sample 1200 calories diet plan you can follow in a period of 7 days.

How to lose 10 pounds in a week with exercise

Besides dieting, the other tool you can use to lose weight is exercise. Exercise and physical activity is the only way to burn more calories per day and lose pounds. Below you can find a sample workout plan that you can follow but as we said above before starting to exercise you need to confirm your physical condition with your doctor.

Exercise Tips to make the most of your workout sessions:

1. Learn how to perform the different exercises correctly especially when weight lifting. Ask your trainer for advice.
2. Do not make big breaks between sets. Small breaks (30 -60 seconds) are better for faster results
3. Always have a bottle of water with you while exercising to ensure that you replace the liquids lost from sweating
4. When doing weight lifting try to keep the number of exercises between 6-8 and try to use exercises that cover all body muscles.

How to lose 10 pounds in a week without exercise

If you do not want to follow a pre-defined exercise schedule or a formal diet plan, you can still make an effort to lose 10 pounds in a week by following the weight loss tips below.

GET READY

Before beginning this 7-day challenge, consult your doctor to ensure your body and state of health are capable of such rigorous activities. Fast weight loss can sometimes create other health problems and this is highly undesirable. If your doctor decides you are in good health, gather all your willpower and energy, and get set to go.

MAKE A JUMP START

To begin your difficult journey you will need a jump-start. What you should do on day one is follow a very strict diet, which will help you get into the mood for fast weight loss. To start, you should eat a healthy breakfast such as cereal and low-fat milk, during the day you should only eat a couple servings of fruit, followed by a low-fat yogurt in the evening. In addition, you need to ensure that you drink a lot of water and/or green tea. Remember that this is only a jump-start for the first day, and should not be continued after day one.

LESS IS MORE

For the rest of the week you will limit the number of calories you consume through food. A good way to lower your caloric intake is to cut your food portions in half, and drink an ample amount of water. Water will keep your stomach full and lessen your desire for food, which means less calories consumed. Do not try to skip meals and then eat more; this is not the correct approach for fast weight loss. The correct way to approach fast weight loss is by eating small meals every 3-4 hours. Try to prepare your food on smaller plates; this will give you a more realistic understanding of how much you are eating.

NO MORE SNACKS

You need to understand that to lose 10 pounds in a week you will have to dramatically reduce the calories you consume on a daily basis. In order to lose one pound you need to burn 3500 calories more than you consume, this means that the calories you consume through food should be minimal. Therefore, during this week you should completely cut out: Soft drinks, sweets, chocolates, snacks, dairy products, canned food, processed food, fast food and fried food. You should also limit the consumption of carbohydrates and proteins. You are encouraged to eat fruits, such as apples and oranges, green vegetables, fish, white meat, and salads with no dressing.

BREAKFAST IS A MUST

As mentioned previously, breakfast is necessary, while dinner is obsolete for the next 7 days. Start your day one hour earlier than usual and spend 10 minutes doing stretching exercises to wake up all your muscles, and then walk for 20 minutes (you can also run for better results). Head back to your house, take a quick shower, and then eat a healthy breakfast of cereal and low-fat milk. After returning home from work in the afternoon, rest for about 30 minutes, and then exercise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. During this time you can walk, run, and do weight lifting exercises. Your goal is to work your muscles, and force your body to burn more energy. Do not just go through the motions of the exercises; you need to ensure that you push yourself to the limits.

SKIP DINNER

Dinner for the next 7 days is obsolete. As we mentioned before, this week will be drastically different from what you are used to. One big difference is the absence of dinner. To keep your stomach occupied you can drink water and green tea. By skipping dinner, you give your body enough time to burn fat from your fat reserves. This will not only show on the scale, but it will also have a positive impact on your appearance, as it will help you lose inches. If you find skipping dinner very difficult to do, then go to bed earlier, or try to keep your body and mind busy.

To sum things up, if you need to learn how to lose 10 pounds in a week you will need to make many sacrifices, and you will need to adjust your routine so that you consume fewer calories while burning more. Weight loss plans like this one, or like, “how to lose weight in 2 weeks”, are only suitable for a very limited amount of time. For results that last, you need to adopt healthy weight loss goals and routines; this is by far the best way to lose weight.

Last update: 14/06/2011 Reviewed by: Alex Chris

What is the fastest way to lose weight? Well, you have to follow a plan and stick to it. The first order of business then is to drink lots of water. Why does this work? Water suppresses one’s cravings and therefore the appetite. Also, it tones muscles, reduces cholesterol and aids in digestion and liver functioning. Not only that, water cleanses out the system and speeds up the metabolic rate so one can burn calories more proficiently. If you’re about 130 pounds, usually drinking eight glasses of water is enough for you to adequately burn calories and lose weight quickly.

Detoxing the System

Of course, drinking water in and of itself is not enough for you to lose weight fast. You also have to eat the right ‘stuff’ in order to see any measurable reduction in your overall weight. Some of the foods that assist in immediate results when it comes to losing weight also help detox the system of any contaminants and pollutants. If you cleanse the system, your digestive tract and liver functions at levels that help speed up your metabolism and burn calories. Thus, if you eat foods that cleanse your system and are lower in calories, you will resultantly be not only thinner but more energetic too. If you’re more energetic, it only stands to reason that you’ll also burn calories more swiftly as well. So, what are the foods that are helpful in this regard?

Cleansing Foods

Eat strawberries and raspberries. They contain elegiac acid. This substance is effective in ridding the body of any contaminants. Eating grapes help the arteries to function with precision while cranberries assist in flushing out the kidneys. Lemons are helpful in cleansing the liver.

Ways to Burn Fat

Eat low fat dairy products, such as some cheeses, yoghurt or skim milk to burn fat in the abdominal area. These calcium-rich products help reduce the amount of absorbed fat in this region of the body. If you add to your fiber intake you will also lose weight at a much swifter rate. By doubling your consumption, you will feel fuller and at the same time cleanse the system so you can burn calories with greater efficiency.

Don’t Hold the Hot Sauce

If you like any type of hot food, you’re in luck. Capsaicin, which is found in chili peppers, speeds up the metabolic rate and increases your ability to burn calories by roughly ten percent.

An Excellent Diet Drink

A good beverage to add to your diet, besides water, is green tea. By drinking around 5 cups per day, you can boost your metabolic rate as well as burn as much as eighty calories in a single day.

More Meals and Smaller Portions

Keep in mind as well that it is best to eat more meals and smaller portions. That way, you burn calories more effectively as well as stave off any hunger pangs. Pick fruits such as bananas, apples, cherries, blueberries, cantaloupes and watermelon for optimum weight loss. Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, cabbage, legumes, spinach, pumpkin, tomatoes, black beans, onions, and collard greens are also excellent foods to eat for quickly reducing one’s weight.

Select Grains

Choose grains such as whole wheat breads and rolls, whole grain cereals, oatmeal and barley to give any excess weight a quick “heave-ho.” Or, choose skinless chicken breasts, pork chops, tuna and salmon to burn fat and reduce weight at a quick rate.

Choice for Snacks

For snacks, good choices are popcorn (without butter of course), nuts, seeds, trail mix, applesauce, raisins, pretzels and granola bars.

Maintain a Schedule

When trying to find out the fastest way to lose weight, it’s also important to plan your meals. Write down a daily schedule as to when you’ll eat and what food you’ll be eating as well. By doing so, you can maintain a type of diary to make sure you’re keeping on track with regards to your weight loss plan. A good schedule might include breakfast at 7 a.m., a nutritious snack, such as an apple at 10 a.m., lunch at noon, another healthy snack at 3 p.m. with dinner scheduled around 6 p.m. As you can see, by following this type of schedule, you can eat a number of low-calorie, fat-burning foods throughout the day without feeling deprived.

Consume Beverages Separate from your Meals

Don’t consume water or tea with your meals. By doing so, your foods will be better digested. Drink a cup of warm tea about ½ hour after you eat.

To Lose Weight Quickly – Choose a “Blue” Food

An interesting note – certain colors affect our perception of what we eat. For example, any foods that are colored blue, purple or black normally suppress the appetites of most people while foods colored red stimulate the appetite. Therefore, it might be helpful for some people to design a diet where they add some foods colored blue in order to help them in their weight loss efforts. Much of what we enjoy eating then has a good deal to do with the color of the food.

Stay with the Program

In any event, the above information can assist you if you want to lose weight fast. By referring to it as you plan your diet, you can be assured you’ll see results in a short manner of time.

Weight loss is a big journey and so far in this web site we covered several aspects of it. The purpose of this web site is to provide free information on how to lose weight the healthy way. This means without taking any pills or buying any products but by following healthy guidelines. The guidelines are easy to follow and if you can manage to make them part of your daily habits then weight loss will be an easy game for you. This is very important because you should not think about losing weight only when you have to attend some event or when summer approaching. Maintaining you normal weight is something you should do all year long by following a healthy lifestyle and not rushing every now and then to find out how to lose weight quickly. In this post we outline 20 healthy tips you can adopt that will ensure that you will lose weight and keep it off.

1. A very nice tip that all experts agree about is the role of water in weight loss. Water is among the best weight loss products; has no calories at all and keeps your stomach full for longer time. It is one of the healthiest habits that most people neglect. People tend to look for a glass of water only when they are thirsty. This is not a good practice. Normally you should aim for 8-10 glasses of water per day. A way to increase your appetite for water is to drink a cold glass of water as soon as you wake up and before eating or drinking anything else. People who have tried this have to say that it does feel very good and also it helps you drink more water throughout the day. Other ways to utilize water for weight loss are to drink a glass of water 1 hour before your mail meals and to drink water while you are eating. This way you save many calories because your stomach will get full faster. To summarize, water can help you lose weight quickly if you: drink water first thing in the morning, drink water 1 hours before and during your meals and throughout the day you drink at least 8 glasses of water.

2. Quick weight loss means no soft drinks or sodas. If you are among those people who like to accompany their meals with a soft drink or soda then you have to change this unhealthy habit. Soft drinks contain sugar and lot calories. For quick results you should cut down the amount of sugars you consume. As a replacement of soft drinks you can try diet soft drinks that are very popular in our days. Diet drinks carry only a couple of calories and they taste as good as normal drinks. For even quicker weight loss results you can drink fresh cold water with a couple of lemon slices or why not try green tea. Drink green tea to lose weight because green tea is among the healthiest ways to accelerate your weight loss.

3. Most probably you already know that a healthy diet includes a lot of fruits and vegetables. This is absolutely true. When it comes to weight loss however there are a few tricks about how to utilize fruits in your diet that will bring you quicker and better results. The first tip is to prefer fruits that have high percentage of water, like watermelons, melons, tomatoes and cucumber. These fruits and vegetables are much easier to digest and carry less calories than other fruits and vegetables. Another tip is to prefer eating fruits instead of drinking their juice. This is better from a nutritional point of view because eating the fruits gives you more nutrients and vitamins but also there are advantages as far as weight loss is concerned. First by chewing you spend more energy (calories) than drinking juice and second you consume fewer calories. This is because to make a glass of orange juice you may need to squish 4-5 oranges, but if you eat oranges you probably eat only 1. Finally stay away from canned fruits and vegetables because they may contain sugars and more calories than fresh fruits.

4. So far you know that in order to lose weight quickly you need to drink a lot of water, avoid sugar full soft drinks and eat fruits and vegetables wisely. The next thing to note is when to eat and how much to eat. People who lose weight successfully share one common characteristic. They eat intelligently and carefully. This means that when you are hungry you do not just eat the first thing you see in front of you or the first thing that comes in mind. Before you eat something you have to stop and think if the particular food or drink will assist or destroy your weight loss efforts. Ask you self if the item falls in the category of healthy foods and if the number of calories it contains is accordance with your daily calorie plan. If it is not then skip it and find something else to eat that will help you meet your goals. There are a lot of foods you should avoid when you want to lose weight the healthy way. Another thing to take care off is how many times to eat per day and the size of the food portions. When you want to lose weight quickly you need to forget about the traditional 3 big meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Instead you should eat 6 smaller meals with 2-3 hours interval between them. This will ensure also improve your metabolism and by increasing the metabolism you lose weight faster. In those meals make sure that you eat small portions of low-fat food. For example you can start your day with a fresh glass of water and then you can eat your favorite cereals with low fat milk. At 11:00 you can eat an apple and at 13:00 you can eat a green salad (no dressing) with a piece of chicken breast. At 15:00 you can eat a few carrots (sliced with lemons) and at 18:00 you can have your last meal of the day. This may include salmon and boiled vegetables with rice. Which ever plan you follow make sure that you eat only when you are hungry and that you take your last meal at least 3 hours before going to bed. Take also care of sweets. If you feel that you need to eat something sweet prefer low fat yogurt with a spoon of honey or pieces of fresh fruits.

5. Unfortunately there cannot be quick weight loss with out exercise. Exercise and weight loss go together. We know that a lot of people are not great fans of exercise but the truth is that for fast weight loss results you have to exercise. Exercise can boost your metabolism and greatly assist your body in building more muscles and less fat. If you can manage to include exercise in your daily schedule then the results will not take long to come. Any form of exercise is good. You should choose the type that you like and you can perform. For example walking is easy to do by anyone but weight lifting is not for beginners. If you have not exercise for a long time then you should consult your doctor first. This will ensure that you will start smooth and not create any other problems to your health. Start with easy exercise for a short duration and gradually increase both the intensity and frequency of exercise.

6. When talking about how to lose weight quickly we should also mention a few words about weight loss diets, weight loss pills and other slimming products. In the minds of many people fast weight loss is associated with one of the above because marketers have managed to create the perception that in order to lose weight quickly you have to follow a strict diet or buy a miracle product. What we can say is that there is no miracle pill to lose weight healthy and there is no magic way to lose weight fast. Stay away from miracle weight loss diets and certainly do not take any weight loss pills or other chemical means to help you lose weight. There are some slimming products that can help your weight loss efforts but before buying them you first you have to read user reviews to see what people actually thing about the product and whether the results are good or not. Be careful and always research well before you buy. Even better get the opinion of your doctor or dietitian before attempting to follow any weight loss program or solution.

If you want to learn how to lose weight fast then you need to follow certain rules that will help you lose weight in a fast and healthy way. Fast weight loss is not an easy thing to do but it can be done if you follow the techniques below.

Limit daily calorie intake .

In order to be able to lose weight fast then you have to burn more calories than what you eat. You can achieve this either through exercise or physical activities. To know that your estimates are correct your need to keep a diet journal to record exactly what you eat or drink during the day. In the journal write down everything you eat or drink, every snack, the contents of each meal. Do not forget to include the small pieces that can play a big role in your weight loss efforts like the butter on your bread or the sugar in your coffee. Try to follow this process for a couple of weeks. What you can do later is to try and translate the food and drinks you consumed into calories and see what is your average daily calorie intake.

The general idea is that if you multiply your weight by ten, this will give you an estimate of the number of calories you need to consume each day in order to stay in your current weight. Although this may not be a 100% accurate figure because everyone has a different metabolic rate, it will give you an indication of how much calories you need to cut from your diet if you want to lose weight. If you manage to reduce your calorie intake by 500 calories per day then after a week you will lose one pound!

Reducing the daily calorie intake is easier than you think. Here are some examples to give you some motivation.

If you substitute coffee (with milk and sugar) with black coffee you can lose up to a pound per week.
Stop eating salad dressings. Eat only the salad. This can help you a lot since salad dressings contain a lot of fat.
Completely avoid soft drinks, sweets (sugar) and butter.
Always look at the nutritional labels of the foods you eat and try to avoid full fat foods with a lot of fat.
Have a look at your journal and identify the unhealthy foods. Try to find alternative foods that are more healthy and have less fat and calories.
Drink more water

Eat healthy

Choose low fat meals. Instead of eating beef or pork substitute those with chicken or fish. Both chicken and fish are very low in fat. In addition some kinds of fish like salmon and tuna can act as antioxidants something very beneficial to your health.

A high source of calories that most of the time are not taken into account are side dishes. Side dishes may contain a lot of calories that you do not seriously take into account. While you may be selective for your main meal you tend to forget that side dishes also have calories. If you want to lose weight fast you should replace your high calorie side dishes (chips, pasta) with lots of vegetables and salads (without the dressings).

Do not forget breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day when you want to lose weight fast. Try to include in your breakfast low fat yogurt and low-sugar cereals accompanied by low fat milk and a fresh fruit. Skip the full fat eggs and bacon and try to eat enough but healthy. Eating a healthy breakfast increases your basic metabolic rate and reduces your desire for snacks until lunch time.

Have a schedule for you meals

Each week you should have a schedule of what you are going to eat for the rest of the week. Make sure that the meals you choose will help you lose weight by reducing the total amount of calories you eat. Do not be fooled – you will not be able to lose weight if you just consume the same amount of calories but by eating different foods! Once you have your schedule setup you can make a list of what you need to buy for these meals and head over to the grocery stock and buy exactly that. Scheduling and planning your meals does not only ensures that you have a balanced diet but also it ensures that you eat healthy.

Portion size does matter!

Portion size is important if you are trying to lose weight fast. If for example you open a packet of rice cakes and eat them all in the same day this will not going to help you lose weight. By reducing the portion size alone will help you eat less calories and lose weight fast with not much effort.

You can lose weight and eat snacks at the same time

When you want to lose weight fast and healthy, this does not mean that you should completely remove snacks from your diet. There are different types of healthy snacks that are low in fat and have less calories than ‘normal’ snacks. Select snacks that are low in calories and fat and high in fiber. Examples of such snacks are:

dried apricots
nuts
rice cakes
fruits
cherry tomatoes
Vegetables

Eat more fiber

Fiber can seriously assist your efforts to lose weight fast. It is scientifically proven that fiber helps in maintaining the proper amount of water in your intestines thus helping the digestive system to be more efficient. So by eating enough fiber may give you a feeling that you are slimmer in only a couple of days. There is research that proves that fiber can help prevent incidents of stroke and heart disease.

Drink large quantities of water

You should understand that water is very important in your process to lose weight fast. Water is essential for the proper functioning of the body and beneficial to the health. Drink as much more water you can.

Exercise and physical activity.

You will not be able to lose weight fast if you do not include exercise and physical activity in your daily schedule. Have in mind that you can lose weight either by reducing the calorie intake or increasing the number of calories you burn. If you want to lose weight fast then you should do both i.e. eat less calories than those you burn. Exercise can help you a lot in burning those extra calories. There are many forms of exercise and physical activity to include in your daily schedule. Aerobic exercises such as jogging, walking, cycling, swimming, running etc. You should set a goal to exercise for at least 30-40 minutes three or four days per week and then increase that to 1 hour per day.

Weight lifting

Weight training can help both men and women build muscles, get rid of fat and improve their metabolism. If you really want to lose weight fast then you need to include in your physical activity schedule 30 minutes of weight trainning at least 3 times per week. Several scentific researches have shown that weight training can improve the body’s metabolism by 15%. In real terms this means an average woman might burn 200-300 more calories while at rest every day!

Get enough sleep

Make sure that you are getting enough sleep at night. Lack of a good night sleep may impair your ability to lose fat.

Be patient, weight loss takes time

Do not expect that you will be able to lose the weight you want in 2 weeks. Healthy weight loss can be achieved fairly quickly, but you’ll need to be patient. Set realistic goals that you can meet. Do not set high, unrealistic goals that you will not be able to meet or goals that will create other problems to your health. Your ultimate goal should be to build a healthy body, not to achieve a number of pounds!

Believe in your self

If you want to lose weight fast and you know that this will make you feel better, then you need to have confidence. If you do not have confidence that you can make it then most probably your weight loss efforts will fail. Be prepared that you will need to make certain sacrifices if you want to lose weight fast. You should be in position to avoid temptations like chocolate, ice cream, and cookies.

You need to always encourage and reward yourself to achieve the goals that you have set. Evaluate your progress fairly on a regular basis. If for a week you failed to meet your targets then do not get discouraged. You can try harder to meet your targets for next week.

Be consistent, disciplined and motivated. How to lose weight you need to follow your weight loss program religiously so as to see results.