How to Lose Weight Fast: 3 Simple Steps, Based on Science
There are many ways to lose a lot of weight fast.
However, most of them will make you hungry and unsatisfied.
If you don’t have iron willpower, then hunger will cause you to give up on these plans quickly.
The plan outlined here will:
Reduce your appetite significantly.
Make you lose weight quickly, without hunger.
Improve your metabolic health at the same time.
Here is a simple 3-step plan to lose weight fast.
1. Cut Back on Sugars and Starches
The most important part is to cut back on sugars and starches (carbs).
When you do that, your hunger levels go down and you end up eating much fewer calories (1Trusted Source).
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Avocado oil
Butter
Eat 2–3 meals per day. If you find yourself hungry in the afternoon, add a 4th meal.
Don’t be afraid of eating fat, as trying to do both low-carb AND low-fat at the same time is a recipe for failure. It will make you feel miserable and abandon the plan.
To see how you can assemble your meals, check out this low-carb meal plan and this list of 101 healthy low-carb recipes.
SUMMARY
Assemble each meal out of a protein source, a fat source and low-carb vegetables. This will put you in the 20–50 gram carb range and significantly lower your hunger levels.
3. Lift Weights 3 Times Per Week
You don’t need to exercise to lose weight on this plan, but it is recommended.
The best option is to go to the gym 3–4 times a week. Do a warm-up and lift some weights.
If you’re new to the gym, ask a trainer for some advice.
By lifting weights, you will burn lots of calories and prevent your metabolism from slowing down, which is a common side effect of losing weight (11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source).
Studies on low-carb diets show that you can even gain a bit of muscle while losing significant amounts of body fat (13).
If lifting weights is not an option for you, then doing some cardio workouts like walking, jogging, running, cycling or swimming will suffice.
SUMMARY
It is best to do some sort of resistance training like weight lifting. If that is not an option, cardio workouts are also effective.
HEALTHLINE RESOURCES
Take our free 3-question diet quiz
Our free assessment ranks the best diets for you based on your answers to 3 quick questions.
Optional — Do a “Carb Refeed” Once Per Week
You can take one day off per week where you eat more carbs. Many people prefer Saturday.
It is important to stick to healthy carb sources like oats, rice, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit, etc.
But only this one higher carb day — if you start doing it more often than once per week you’re not going to see much success on this plan.
If you must have a cheat meal and eat something unhealthy, then do it on this day.
Be aware that cheat meals or carb refeeds are NOT necessary, but they can boost some fat-burning hormones like leptin and thyroid hormones (14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).
You will gain some weight during your refeed day, but most of it will be water weight and you will lose it again in the next 1–2 days.
SUMMARY
Having one day each week where you eat more carbs is perfectly acceptable, although not necessary.
What About Calories and Portion Control?
It is NOT necessary to count calories as long as you keep the carbs very low and stick to protein, fat and low-carb vegetables.
However, if you really want to count them, use this calculator.
Enter your details, and then pick the number from either the “Lose Weight” or the “Lose Weight Fast” section — depending on how fast you want to lose weight.
There are many great tools you can use to track the number of calories you are eating. Here is a list of 5 calorie counters that are free and easy to use.
The main goal of this plan is to keep carbs under 20–50 grams per day and get the rest of your calories from protein and fat.
SUMMARY
It is not necessary to count calories to lose weight on this plan. It is most important to strictly keep your carbs in the 20–50 gram range.
10 Weight Loss Tips to Make Things Easier (and Faster)
Here are 10 more tips to lose weight even faster:
Eat a high-protein breakfast. Eating a high-protein breakfast has been shown to reduce cravings and calorie intake throughout the day (16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source).
Avoid sugary drinks and fruit juice. These are the most fattening things you can put into your body, and avoiding them can help you lose weight (18Trusted Source, 19).
Drink water a half hour before meals. One study showed that drinking water a half hour before meals increased weight loss by 44% over 3 months (20Trusted Source).
Choose weight loss-friendly foods (see list). Certain foods are very useful for losing fat. Here is a list of the 20 most weight loss-friendly foods on earth.
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