Can I Lose Weight Quickly? 3 Easy Steps

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How Can I Lose Weight Quickly?

To lose weight quickly you need some effective guides to help you shed off that excess pounds. Here are some 3 Easy Steps On How to Prevent Obesity?

#1 Avoid or Limit Your Carbohydrates Intake

There are numerous ways to lose weight fast. And one of the effective tools you can have, is to avoid if not limit altogether your daily carbs intake. Yes, you got it right! A Low Carb Diet.

A low carb diet goes with a restricted carbohydrates consumption in comparison to an average diet. Carb rich foods such as sugar, pasta, bread, and pastries are limited and instead replaced with food from healthy fat and protein sources such as fish, poultry, meat, eggs, nuts, seeds or cheese. Low carb vegetables and fruits can be added along with low carb foods rich in fiber.

Studies have shown that a low carb diet is actually more effective in losing weight fast than a low fat diet. It is also easier to sustain which means you will not regain back the weight you have lost.

Limiting your carb intake means cutting back on sugary foods and starches. Too much added sugar and starches in your food gives you empty calories. It makes you hungry all the time which triggers you to overeat and makes you gain weight.

When the body is not taking in too many carbs, it begins to burn stored fat for fuel and energy. When your body is feeding on fats, you feel fuller longer so you eat less and therefore end up significantly eating fewer calories that you’re used to.

Instead of using carbs for its energy expenditures, the body begins to burn stored fat to fuel its significant processes. With a low carb diet, not only will you lose weight but it also helps to lower insulin levels. It allows the kidneys to excrete excess water and sodium unnecessarily retained in the body to reduce bloating and unessential weight from water.

Dieticians say that on the first week of a low carb diet, you can lose up to 10 pounds or 4.5 kilos of weight. This weight loss is from burned fat and lost water weight. Many obese women reported that they lost more weight doing the low-carb diet than a low-fat diet.

#2. Eat From Healthy Sources of Fat, Protein and Vegetables

If you want to lose weight fast, prepare your meals to include a healthy source of fat and protein and a good serving of low carb vegetables.

Generally when on a low carb diet, you can eat 3 square meals a day, and if you feel hungry you can add another meal or a snack. Just make sure you eat foods within the food groups allowed.

Planning your food intake this way can lower your carb intake to 20-50 grams a day. This should make your body turn towards your stored fat for fuel since carbs intake has been restricted.

If you want some more help on choosing the foods to include in your low-carb meal plan, check this 101 list of low carb recipes and low-carb meal plans.

Healthy Sources Of Protein

Eating a good amount of protein from healthy sources is an important factor in a low-carb diet. Studies have shown that eating plenty of protein can burn at least 80–100 calories each day.

A high protein diet helps reduce food cravings by 60%. It can reduce late night snacking by 50% and creates a fuller feeling that downplays the false sense of hunger that triggers overeating.

In a study, those who were given a high protein diet ate fewer by 441 calories per day.

Some Healthy Sources of Protein Are:

Meat: pork, chicken, beef, and lamb
Fish and seafood: trout, salmon, and shrimp
Eggs: whole eggs with the yolk
Plant-based proteins: legumes, nuts, seeds, beans, and soy

Healthy Sources of Fats

Yes, fats! When on a low-carb diet, eating from healthy sources of fats is important.

Healthy Sources of Fats Are:

butter
olive oil
avocado oil
coconut oil

Low Carbohydrates Vegetables

Yes, low carb vegetables must become part of your meal plan if you want to lose weight the healthy way. Packed with essential nutrients you can indulge in these healthy treats in large amounts without beyond 20–50 carbs a day. Low-carbohydrate diets include vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, letture and most green-leafy vegetables.

For a healthy diet it must include healthy sources of protein and low-carb vegetables to get the needed fiber, vitamins, and minerals your body needs.

Sources Of Low-Carb Veggies Are:

tomatoes
broccoli
cauliflower
cucumber
spinach
kale
cabbage
lettuce
Brussels sprouts
Swiss chard

#3 Do Weight Training At Least Thrice A Week

Although it’s not necessary to exercise in order to lose weight when on a low-carb diet, doing weight training and exercise can have a very good effect on your body.

Lifting weights or doing exercise will make your body burn extra calories and keep your metabolism going. When you begin to lose weight, metabolism normally logs behind, so weight training and exercise can help your metabolism from slowing.

Also, when you lose weight, you lose both fats and muscles. Weight training can help the body keep the lean muscles while you burn the fats away. This improves muscle strength and adds to your body shape and contour.

Hit the gym at least 3 times a week for weight lifting or some exercise to help your muscles from melting away. Ask a weight trainer for advice. If you are advised against weight lifting then do some cardio exercises instead. Brisk walking, cycling, jogging, running or swimming can be good alternatives to have some physical fitness activity.

What is the “Carb Refeed”?

“Carb Refeed” is like a cheat day where you get to eat more carbs at least 1 day in a week. Like a break for your low-carb diet or a cheat meal where you let down your low-carb restrictions.

On this cheat day, you may indulge on some food you really want to eat, but stick to only one food indulgence per week. It is also important to load up on healthy carbs such as rice, oats, quinoa, sweet potatoes or potatoes and fruits.

Pick a Cheat Day that you can use to be with family, friends or relatives so you can enjoy the meal with them. Most people on a low-carb diet would choose either a Saturday or Sunday as their Carb Refeed Day.

Remember the rules on Carb Refeed Day and stick to it if you want to lose weight. During this cheat day you may gain some weight but generally you will quickly lose it in the next 1-2 days.

Do I Need To Count Calories or Portion Meals When On A Low-Carb Diet

The good news is that these aren’t necessary. Counting calories and portioning meals are helpful practices when you want to stay fit and healthy but to lose weight on a low-carb diet, these can be done away with.

Just keep an eye on your carb intake and stick to your high-protein, high-fat and low-carb vegetable diet and you will do just fine. However, if you still want to keep counting calories, so you can be sure you’ll really lose weight fast, try some free online calorie counters or calculators. Enter in your weight, height, sex and acitivity and the calculators can count for you how many calories you need each day to lose or maintain your weight.

Check these 5 calorie counters to help you.

Some More Tips to Lose Weight Even Faster

Avoid drinks and juices with added sugar. Added sugar not only makes you gain weight but can also risk you contracting various ailments later on in life.
Eat breakfast that is high in protein. This will reduce your food cravings, make you feel full and eat less.
Drink a glass of water at least 30 minutes before a meal. Drinking water at least half an hour before eating your meals can increase weight loss by 44% in a period over 3 months.
Include soluble fiber in your diet. Soluble fibers help in weight loss. Or take fiber supplements like glucomannan.
Drink tea or coffee in the morning. Caffeine can boost your metabolism by 3–11%.
Choose foods that help in weight loss. There are foods that are better for weight loss than others.
Choose whole foods in your diet. Whole foods are healthier and more satisfying. It can prevent overeating unlike processed foods.
Savour your food and eat slowly. Eating slowly gives you a fuller feeling and can boost your weight-reducing hormones.
Weigh yourself. Everyday keep a record of your weight to see your progress and know how much more you need to lose. Studies have shown that those who weigh themselves often are likely to lose weight and maintain it.

10 Get a good night’s sleep. Sleep relaxes your body and gives it time to replenish itself. It clears the fog in your mind and makes you clear headed to keep yourself tied up to your weight goals and achieving it.

How Quickly Will I Lose Weight?

You can lose a modest 5-10 pounds or 2.3-4.5 kilos of weight in the first week of a low-carb diet. The heavier you are the more you will lose weight and faster. Just stick to the guides stated here.

If this is your first time dieting, then you can find that you will lose more quickly. But whether old or new the low-carb diet will surely make you lose weight.

After a few days into the low-carb diet, you might experience what is called a “keto flu”. Some strange feelings that go while your body is adjusting to burning fat instead of carbs. But this will disappear in no time at all and you will begin to feel okay and more energized than before.

Not long after you will begin to notice changes in your body as your start to lose weight and become more healthy. See these added benefits that a low-carb diet can give you:

decreased blood sugar levels
increased HDL (good) cholesterol levels
decreased LDL (bad) cholesterol levels
triglycerides levels go down
blood pressure improves significantly

Conclusions:

A low-carb diet is basically anchored on helping the dieter restrict calorie intake to aid in weight loss. As with other diets, it’s effectiveness is based on how much calorie intake is reduced each day from food intakes as well as how hunger is curbed and overeating is avoided.

A dieter on a low-carb diet can have a “Carb Refeed” or cheat day or cheat meal, 1 day every week to indulge in high carb foods. This may cause a little weight gain but the weight can be lost in 1-2 day after if the dieter shifts back to a low-carb diet.

Low-carb diet as well with other diets have to be balanced with exercise or weight training in order to prevent muscle loss and keep up the body’s metabolism.

When carbohydrate intake is lessened, like in a low-carb diet, insulin levels also drop which likewise lessens hunger and reduce appetite. For as long as the dieter sticks to the recommended diet groups, weight loss most normally occurs.

In the first week of the diet, weight loss is quick as a result of the loss of water weight in the body. The dieter may also have “keto flu” as the body adjusts to burning fat for energy instead of carbs. Fat loss will follow later, which is why it is important to stick to the diet until the weight goal is achieved.

As with other diet plans, never start or continue any without first taking to a health practitioner. Your health and safety is of utmost importance most especially if you are suffering from any form of physical ailment. A low-carb diet is restrictive in nature, and may not be advisable for you if you have certain food requirements from specific food groups which are limited in this diet.

But if you see yourself fit enough to start or continue a low-carb diet, well and good. Numerous dieters have reported gaining much benefit from this diet and you too can. Just stick to the plan and keep it up until you reach your desired weight.

Just remember that health and fitness is our own personal choice. We are accountable to no one else but ourselves to live a happy and healthy lifestyle. Choose a good fitness regimen that suits you to make you fit and healthy.

Sources:

Seckold R, Fisher E, de Bock M, King BR, Smart CE (October 2018). “The ups and downs of low-carbohydrate diets in the management of Type 1 diabetes: a review of clinical outcomes”. Diabet. Med. (Review). 36 (3): 326–334. doi:10.1111/dme.13845. PMID 30362180. Low‐carbohydrate diets are of interest for improving glycaemic outcomes in the management of Type 1 diabetes. There is limited evidence to support their routine use in the management of Type 1 diabetes.
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