Thus, these diets aren’t a healthy, sustainable, or long-term solution.
With rapid weight loss, most of the weight you lose is water weight, not body fat. That’s because you can’t safely burn through 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of body fat in just 1 week (1Trusted Source).
Rather, fast weight loss lowers your insulin levels and flushes out stored carbs known as glycogen, which hold around three times their weight in water. Reduced insulin levels also make your kidneys shed excess sodium, which leads to a drop in water retention
Instead of quick weight loss programs, we recommend checking out these tips or trying one of these diet plans.
However, if you still decide to pursue short-term weight loss, the following steps can help you achieve it. Keep in mind that this is not a long-term program or solution.
1. Eat fewer carbs and more lean proteins
You can lose several pounds by following a low-carb diet for just a few days.
In fact, lots of research has shown that a low carb diet is a very effective way to lose weight and improve health (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source).
A short-term decrease in carb intake can also reduce water weight and bloating.
That’s why people who go low carb often see a difference on the scale as early as the next morning after starting the diet.
Additionally, making sure you eat plenty of protein can help reduce your appetite even further while boosting your metabolism (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).
It’s essential to eliminate or drastically reduce all starchy carbs and sugars for the week. Replace these with low carb vegetables, while also increasing your intake of eggs, lean meats, and fish.
Check out this article to learn more about how to set up a low-carb diet and which foods to include.
SUMMARY
Reducing your carb intake can lead to a significant amount of weight loss, from both body fat and excess water weight. Eating more protein also helps.
2. Eat whole foods and avoid most processed junk foods
When you’re trying to lose weight quickly, it can be helpful to eat a simple diet based on whole foods.
These foods tend to be very filling and make it easier to eat fewer calories without getting too hungry.
During the week, you should aim to eat mostly whole, single-ingredient foods. Avoid most foods that are highly processed.
Eating mostly lean proteins and low carb veggies can be incredibly satisfying even if you’re not getting that many calories.
SUMMARY
To achieve the 10 pound (4.5 kg) goal, you should try to eat only whole foods during this week. Base most of your diet on lean protein and low carb veggies.
3. Reduce your calorie intake (by following these tips)
Reducing your calorie intake may be the most important factor when it comes to weight loss.
If you aren’t eating fewer calories than you expend, you will not lose fat (10Trusted Source).
Here is a calculator that shows you how many calories you should eat to lose weight.
Here are a few simple tips to reduce calorie intake:
- Count calories: Weigh and log the foods you eat. Use a calorie counting tool to keep track of the amount of calories and nutrients you are taking in.
- Eat only at meals: Reduce all snacks and don’t eat anything after dinner.
- Cut your condiments: Eliminate calorie-dense condiments and sauces.
- Fill up on veggies: Fill your plate with vegetables and limit starchy carbs and added fats for the week.
- Choose lean proteins: Choose lower-fat proteins, such as chicken and fish.
- Don’t drink your calories: Instead, opt for water, zero-calorie drinks, tea or coffee. Protein shakes are fine if you count them as a meal.
SUMMARY
Reducing your calorie intake is a vital factor for weight loss. You may need to do this aggressively in order to lose so much weight in just one week.
4. Lift weights and try high-intensity interval training
Exercise is one of the best ways to burn fat and improve your appearance.
Resistance training, such as weight lifting, can lead to a similar amount of weight loss as regular aerobic training. It also helps you add or maintain muscle mass and strength (11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source).
Full-body resistance training workouts are also a great method to lower your body’s carb stores and water weight, which can lead to a sharp decline in weight (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).
Lifting weights can also protect your metabolism and hormone levels, which often decline during dieting (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is another very effective training method.
Research suggests that 5–10 minutes of HIIT can lead to similar or greater benefits for health and weight loss as five times that amount of regular exercise (17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source).
Like weight lifting, it can quickly reduce muscle carb stores and also boost other important aspects of weight loss, such as your metabolism and fat-burning hormones (20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source).
You can perform HIIT three to four times a week after a workout or as part of your normal training regimen. It is very important to do this with 100% effort or intensity. Most sprints should not last more than 30 seconds.
Here are a few protocols you can try. These can be done running in place or outside, or applied to a cardio machine like a bike, rower or treadmill:
- Session 1: 10 x 20-second sprint with 40 seconds rest
- Session 2: 15 x 15-second sprint with 30 seconds rest
- Session 3: 7 x 30-second sprint with 60 seconds rest
- Session 4: 20 x 10-second sprint with 20 seconds rest
SUMMARY
Lifting weights and doing high-intensity intervals are among the best ways to lose weight and deplete muscle glycogen stores. They can also boost your metabolism and provide other benefits.
5. Be active outside the gym
To burn extra calories and lose more weight, you can also increase your daily activity.
In fact, how active you are throughout the day when you aren’t exercising also plays a very important role in weight loss and obesity (22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source).
For example, the difference between a desk job and a manual job can account for up to 1,000 calories per day. This is the same as 90 to 120 minutes of high-intensity exercise (24Trusted Source).
Simple lifestyle changes such as walking or biking to work, taking the stairs, going for walks outside, standing more or even cleaning the house can help you burn a lot of calories.
SUMMARY
Increasing your daily activity is a great way to burn extra calories and lose more weight.
6. Transition to intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is another effective and proven tool for dropping fat (25Trusted Source, 26Trusted Source).
It forces you to reduce your calorie intake, since you are limiting your eating to a short window of time.
There are many different protocols, such as a 16-hour fast with an 8-hour feeding window, or a 20-hour fast with a 4-hour feeding window.
If you’re combining fasting with exercise, it may be wise to do the fasting at a different time than your workout.
SUMMARY
Intermittent fasting is an excellent method to reduce calorie intake and lose weight.
7. Use these tips to reduce water retention
Several other methods can help you drop water weight and appear leaner and lighter. These include:
- Take dandelion extract: A supplement called dandelion extract can help reduce water retention (27Trusted Source).
- Drink coffee: Coffee is a healthy source of caffeine. Studies suggest that caffeine can help you burn more fat and lose excess water (28Trusted Source).
- Mind your intolerances: Eating things that you are intolerant to, such as gluten or lactose, can lead to excessive water retention and bloating. Avoid foods that you think you may be intolerant to.
SUMMARY
Other ways to lose water weight include supplementing with dandelion extract, drinking coffee and avoiding foods you are intolerant to.
8. Get Enough Sleep
Your appetite is largely affected by hormones that fluctuate throughout the day.
Sleep deprivation disrupts the fluctuations, and may lead to poor appetite regulation and strong cravings (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).
Studies support this, showing that sleep-deprived people are up to 55% more likely to become obese, compared to people who get enough sleep (21Trusted Source).
For this reason, getting good sleep may be one of the most powerful ways to prevent cravings from showing up.
SUMMARY
Sleep deprivation may disrupt normal fluctuations in appetite hormones, leading to cravings and poor appetite control.
9. Eat Proper Meals
Hunger and a lack of key nutrients can both cause certain cravings.
Therefore, it’s important to eat proper meals at mealtimes. This way, your body gets the nutrients it needs and you won’t get extremely hungry right after eating.
If you find yourself in need of a snack between meals, make sure it’s something healthy. Reach for whole foods, such as fruits, nuts, vegetables or seeds.
SUMMARY
Eating proper meals helps prevent hunger and cravings, while also ensuring that your body gets the nutrients it needs.
10. Don’t Go to the Supermarket Hungry
Grocery stores are probably the worst places to be when you are hungry or have cravings.
First, they give you easy access to pretty much any food you could think of. Second, supermarkets usually place the unhealthiest foods at eye level.
The best way to prevent cravings from happening at the store is to shop only when you’ve recently eaten. Never — ever — go to the supermarket hungry.
SUMMARY
Eating before you go to the supermarket helps reduce the risk of unwanted cravings and impulsive buying.