If you want to lose 10 pounds fast, here are 8 quick weight loss tips. These are the same scientific techniques used by fitness models , natural bodybuilders and people in the know-how, to shed even the most stubborn of fat! People use these techniques to get down to a single digit body fat!
Now imagine what would happen if you implemented these tips if you just wanted to lose a couple of pounds (kilograms)! I would recommend you implement one tip every day to see quick results and to make permanent changes to keep off the unwanted fat for good.
So here are the top 8 tips to lose weight quickly:
1) Eat foods with a lower Glycemic Index
When you consume grains, starchy foods or simple sugars like rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, high fructose corn syrup, maltose, etc, these are converted to glucose rapidly in your body. Since too much glucose circulating around is bad for your body, your body produces a hormone called insulin, which stores the glucose as fat, hence making you put on weight.
Hence, consume foods like beans (navy beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, etc), sweet potato, yams, etc which have a low glycemic index, as your preferred source of carbohydrates. This will result in a constant supply of glucose, rather than a huge quick spike. Hence, your body will be able to burn off the glucose very efficiently.
2) Eat smaller meals, eat frequently
Eating smaller meals 4-5 times a day will boost your metabolism drastically as opposed to eating 2-3 large meals. Eating a big meal will also cause a bigger glucose spike. Remember, even protein gets converted to glucose (however much slowly than carbohydrate rich foods). Hence, your body will store the excess glucose as fat, rather than burning it up.
Smaller frequent meals will ensure a slow and steady glucose supply for your body to burn off all day long.
3) Dietary fats are your friends!
A lot of people still think that eating fats will make them put on weight. This is a big mistake! You see, fats like omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil), mono-unsaturated fats (olive oil, canola oil, avocado oil, etc), and saturated fat (coconut oil, butter, lard, palm oil, etc) are really good for your health and will make you feel full faster and keep you satiated longer, hence you’ll end up eating less. You should avoid polyunsaturated fats like soya bean oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, etc which are loaded with Omega 6 fatty acids. These fats cause low inflammation in your body, which causes insulin resistance and hence causes weight gain. Similarly, avoid foods that contain trans fat or partially or fully hydrogenated fats, which promote inflammation as well.
4) Chew food properly
This advice might hardly sound scientific, but there is indeed sound science behind chewing food properly. You see, your brain takes 20 minutes after you start eating to signal to your stomach that it’s full. So if you chew your food many times, you’ll end up consuming less food/calories and hence losing weight. Don’t believe me? Try it and you’ll be amazed at how less you end up eating and how full you feel! Chew your food at least 15 times before swallowing it!
5) Skip 2-4 meals every week
Make it a habit to skip at least one meal every 2-3 days. Doing so will not only boost your metabolism, but will also create a caloric deficit. It’s caloric deficit that causes weight loss. Two to four skipped meals a week is what you should aim for. Make sure you don’t overdo this. You don’t want your body to slow down its metabolism; but rather keep it confused enough to boost your metabolism from time to time.
Important: When you finally eat after skipping a meal, make sure you don’t binge! Make sure you eat as much quantity of food you normally would. You don’t want to end up consuming lots of calories, which would beat the whole purpose of creating a caloric deficit!
6) Lift weights to speed up weight loss
You should lift weights 2-3 times a week. Exercise both, the upper and lower body. Doing so will enable you to put on muscle. Not only will you burns a lot of calories while exercising, but the more muscle you put on, the more calories your body will burn even when you are resting. This is because muscles take more calories to be sustained than fat does.
You don’t have to lift very heavy weights. You can lift moderately heavy weights, with which you can perform sets with, without sacrificing your form, in order to avoid injury. Aim for 8-12 repetitions per set, and 6-12 sets of weight lifting per muscle group. Talk to your gym instructor if you have any doubts.
Also, here is a video on some easy full body weight training exercises you can do to get started:
7) Do cardio in moderation
Excessive cardio causes muscle loss, and will also result in overtraining and injuries in no time. You don’t want to lose muscle, as this will slow down your metabolism. Remember, the whole point of exercising is feeling good. So do not exceed an hour of cardio every day. Also, make sure you don’t mix weight training and cardio together. I would strongly recommend avoiding cardio altogether on weight training days, in order to prevent overtraining and muscle loss.
8) Consume ample protein, but don’t overdo it.
You don’t need to eat massive amounts of protein to gain muscle and maintain them! Remember, bodybuilders who eat loads of protein (sometimes in the range of 250 to 400 grams per day), have different goals then you, and are always on some sort of steroids, which enables their body to use up all that protein to build muscles.
Your protein requirements will definitely be less than bodybuilders. Aim for 100 to 150 grams of protein every day from meat sources such as eggs, chicken, beef, pork, and fish or from whey protein. Anything above 150 grams per day will most likely be converted to glucose by your body (although very slowly than compared to carbohydrate rich foods), and which might then be converted to fats, if your body has an excess supply of calories.
Stick to the above tips, and you will see quick weight loss in no time! Importantly, don’t try to be perfect. It’s ok to cheat by eating junk food once in a while. Not only will doing so confuse your body (increase your metabolism) just like skipping meals does, but it will also make it easy to stick to the weight loss plan. I personally have 2-3 cheat meals every week or take a day off and eat whatever I like (quantity in moderation though!)
Also, take the second week off from all forms of exercise when you start out. Thereafter, take one week off from exercise every time, after 8 weeks of exercising.
All the best!