"How to lose weight fast?"
That is a question I get on a daily basis from both the readers of my website as well as from the clients that I work with. In today's day and age people want results and they want them ten minutes ago. We are so conditioned to get what we want right when we want it; what with instant messaging, instant downloads, etc.
In this article I am going to break down some common ways for you to learn how to lose weight fast. I am going to throw some quick and easy tips at ya, and gonna answer some very commonly asked questions I get regarding fat loss in general.
A word of caution before we get started: Learning how to lose weight fast is not for everyone.
The reality is this: It is going to take work. Dedication. And a commitment to seeing beyond setbacks and failures. If you are looking for some quick, silver bullet solution to your weight loss than you came to the wrong place.
Still here?
Awesome. Let's get started!
4 ESSENTIAL WEIGHT LOSS TIPS
Wanna know what the most powerful thing you can do for your weight loss right now is? It's the first thing you should do, long before buying a gym membership or a diet plan. First thing is first, you need to learn how to-
1. Be Straight with Yourself. To take an honest, no-holds barred look at the way you are living your life. What you are eating, how much you are eating, what type of exercise you are getting, and how much. Also, you need to learn how to properly set your weight loss goals.
Okay, back to what I was saying...
It's critical for you to assess where you are at right now.
This is the first thing I ask my clients before I even ask them what their weight loss goals are. Over the next few days, write down exactly what you are eating. Keep a log of when you eat, what type of exercise (if any) you are getting, and even your stress and rest levels. Note what time of day you were feeling most lethargic and/or stressed.
Having this Point A is critical to understanding what kind of changes you need to make to your life. Often having our past behavior written out in front of us makes it seem more real to us, and it also gives you the opportunity to take a more objective perspective of what your diet and fitness routine looks like.
2. Don't Be Afraid to Plan. Many people fall back into their old habits because it is convenient and comfortable.
Look, eating properly is not going to a cinch. But it can be easy to manage your food prep time (and even save you a butt-ton of money) if you plan ahead. This could mean cooking all of your meals for the week on a Sunday afternoon. Generally doesn't take longer than 90 minutes, and then you don't have to worry about bupkis for the rest of the week.
3. Log and Monitor Your Diet and Exercise. This is my favorite tip, and is something that many trainers don't talk about. (Yes, even some of the trainers at my home gym. Sigh.) Not only does it take only a couple minutes per day to update, but it is a powerful motivational tool to be wielded on those days when you feel your motivation sagging.
More importantly, you can see precisely where your efforts are paying dividends and where you might need to re-evaluate your diet and workout regimen.
4. Don't Wait for The Perfect Day to Start. This is another common problem, and one that isn't limited to weight loss and fitness goals. Don't wait for that perfect pair of running shoes. Or for the gym to be open tomorrow. Or to have an iPod. Do what you can with what you have right now.
Ever heard of the concept of "imperfect action"? It's the premise that you should take action regardless of whether you deem yourself "ready" or not. All too often I see people talk themselves out of living a healthy lifestyle because they need to wait for that perfect day to start. (Ahem-New Years.) Only problem is, for most that perfect day is always just over the horizon, somewhere out there but it never actually comes around.
HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST - FAQ
1. How Quickly Can I Expect to Lose Weight? As with everything in life worth achieving, it all depends on how much effort you put in. With a decent combination of proper diet and regular exercise you should be able to easily see 1-3 pounds of fat drop off of your midsection per week. Of course, if you start skipping workouts or doubling up on your cheat days, then obviously your results won't reflect it.
2. How Do I Stay Motivated When I "Just Don't Feel Like It?" There are a few ways. You can do the motivational playlist, post a picture of the fat you on the fridge, etc. But my favorite one is this- Start small. Starting is ALWAYS the hardest part. Once you get those running shoes on and get out the door I find that things take care of themselves from there. Don't even think about it, just get dressed and walk out the door before you have a chance to talk yourself out of it. (P.S. I talk about motivation TONS in my weight loss newsletter. It's an easy and free reminder every day or two to stay on track.)
3. Do Fad Diets Work? No. A big fat no. Sure you might drop a bunch of weight in the first few weeks. But most of the time it is either water loss (which doesn't equate to fat loss, which is what you actually want) or temporary. Starving yourself actually has the adverse effect of slowing your metabolism. Your body, feeling threatened, goes into survival mode and works against you to keep energy (and rightly so). Fad diets are just that - a fad. What you want is a lifestyle change.
4. Do I have to Work Out for 5 hours a day at the gym? Of course not. Look, I used to train between 5-6 hours a day when I swam competitively - but I was also eating about 6,000 calories of food per day. You can easily stick to doing 40-45 minutes at the gym 3x a week as long as you eat respectably and still see significant weight loss.
5. How Much Do Genetics Affect My Weight Loss? Genetics obviously play a part. Not all of us are going to look like super-models, but that shouldn't hold you back from living a healthy lifestyle. We are given one life and one opportunity. There is no reason to live at any less then your best because you think even the best you won't live up to what society thinks you should be. Forget about the crap you see in magazines and on TV. Focus on you and you alone.
6. Why Don't I Just Take Some Diet Pills Instead of Working Out? Like I mentioned above, being healthy is a lifestyle thing. Popping a few pills is no substitute for regular exercise and giving yourself the proper fuel to not only keep your body in great shape but also giving you more and better energy than all the ephedrine and caffeine in the world. Make no mistake, the multi-billion dollar weight loss industry will always tell you what you want to hear. "Take these pills and lose twenty pounds with no exercise," blah blah blah. It's a bunch of baloney designed to sell you MORE crap.
7. How Long Will it Take to Adjust to My New Eating Habits? Breaking old habits can be super difficult. I know. The fact is that we are conditioned to always fall back to what is familiar and comfortable, even if what is comfortable and familiar to us is negative or counter-intuitive to our health. While this is not a hard-and-fast rule, in my experience with people I train it takes around 14-21 days to adjust to new, better habits. Once that happens, you won't believe how you were stuck in the bad ones for so long.
8. I'm Fine with Being Overweight. Is it really that dangerous? It can be, yes! There is a huge number of diseases that are directly linked to obesity, among them - heart disease (number one killer of adults in North America), high blood pressure, gout, diabetes (which has literally exploded over the past two decades - particularly among children) and even cancer. So yes, it's not cool.
9. Is All Fat Bad for You? Nope. There is a certain amount of fat that you should be ingesting over the course of the day as part of a healthy diet. The "good" fats are unsaturated, and can be found in nuts, whole grains, and vegetable sources such as olive oil.