Working on weight loss?
Then you probably want results -- fast.
Let me save you
some time: skip the fad diets. Their results don't last. And you have healthier
options you can start on -- today!
You can safely lose
3 or more pounds a week at home with a healthy diet and lots of exercise, says
weight loss counselor Katherine Tallmadge, RD.
How
to Lose Weight Fast
If you burn 500
more calories than you eat every day for a week, you should lose about 1-2
pounds.
If you want to lose
weight faster, you'll need to eat less and exercise more.
For instance, if
you take in 1,050 to 1,200 calories a day, and exercise for one hour per day,
you could lose 3-5 pounds in the first week, or more if you weigh more than 250
pounds. It's very important not to cut calories any further -- that's
dangerous.
Limiting salt and
starches may also mean losing more weight at first -- but that's mostly fluids,
not fat.
"When you
reduce sodium and cut starches, you reduce fluids and fluid retention, which
can result in up to 5 pounds of fluid loss when you get started," says
Michael Dansinger, MD, of NBC's The Biggest Loser show.
Diets
for Fast Weight Loss
Dansinger
recommends eating a diet that minimizes starches, added sugars, and animal fat
from meat and dairy foods. For rapid weight loss, he recommends focusing
on fruits, veggies, egg whites, soy products, skinless poultry breasts,
fish, shellfish, nonfat dairy foods, and 95% lean meat.
Here are more tips
from Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet:
- Eat vegetables to help you feel full.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Get tempting foods out of your home.
- Stay busy -- you don't want to eat just because you're bored.
- Eat only from a plate, while seated at a table. No grazing in front of the 'fridge.
- Don't skip meals.
Keeping a food
journal -- writing down everything you eat -- can also help you stay on track.
"Even if you
write it down on a napkin and end up throwing it away, the act of writing it
down is about being accountable to yourself and is a very effective tool for
weight loss," says Bonnie Taub Dix, MA, RD, author of Read It Before
You Eat It.
Besides jotting
down what you ate, and when, you might also want to note how you were feeling
right before you ate it. Were you angry, sad, or bored? We often focus so much
on foods and calories, but our emotions are a huge part of our eating habits.
If you see a
persistent pattern in your emotional eating, please consider talking to a
counselor about it. They can be a big help in finding other ways to handle your
feelings.
