How to Lose Weight Fast

Rapid weight loss in a safe and healthy manner is not for the faint of heart. It took months, maybe even years for you to gain that weight, the first step in losing it, and losing it quickly is to make a commitment to losing weight and adopting a healthier lifestyle. Although it takes hard work and dedication, losing weight quickly and getting in the best shape of your life is definitely possible.

Assess Your Lifestyle and Set Goals

First: Assess the lifestyle you currently lead, check your daily habits, and establish realistic weight loss goals. Health goals should push you but should also be realistic. Set weekly goals and only weight yourself once a week to make sure you're on track. Weighing yourself daily can be frustrating and can discourage you from sticking to your health plan. Keep in mind, losing 2-3 pounds per week is healthy, but losing more than 1 pound per day can be dangerous and detrimental to your health.

Ask Yourself These Questions:

When assessing your current diet and exercise habits, ask yourself these questions:

Do you simply need to lose those last 10 pounds so you look smoking hot in a swimsuit this summer, or are you trying to lose a more substantial amount of weight so that grocery shopping and gardening don't leave you out of breath? What are your eating habits like? Do you constantly skip breakfast? Do you eat out everyday? Do you hate veggies and love bread? Are you exercising regularly, or do you count walking to the mailbox a cardio workout?

Determining exactly which of your habits need to change is the first step in losing weight, and no matter how much weight you need to lose or where you're at as far as beginning or reaching your weight loss goals, following these simple steps will help you develop the habits that are going to help you shed pounds quickly and sustain your weight loss forever if you stay committed.

5 Simple Steps for Quick and Healthy Weight Loss

1. Cut gluten from your diet: Gluten is a protein that appears in foods processed from wheat. Often times Gluten is difficult to digest and can leave you looking and feeling bloated. Cutting out gluten is not so much about gluten being bad for you, but it's about the foods that contain gluten. Gluten is found in bread, pasta, tortillas, cereals, cookies, and can even be found in processed foods like ice cream and ketchup. Using "gluten" as a blanket statement will help you cut out foods that are generally high in calories, carbohydrates, and sugar, and foods that will generally be processed straight into fat stores.

2. Up your protein consumption: Protein is an important part of any person's diet but especially for those trying to lose weight and get into shape. High-protein foods keep you feeling full for longer and keep you from getting munchy right after meals. Begin your day with a protein-packed breakfast and you'll feel full until it's time for lunch. Protein also helps you build lean muscle mass which burns more fat than fat stores do. The more lean muscle mass you have in your body, the more calories you burn throughout the day and even while you sleep!

Good sources of protein include: grass-fed beef, eggs, nuts, lean meats (organic: chicken, turkey, salmon), low-fat milk, almond butter, greek yogurt, quinoa, and protein powders.

Stocking your fridge and freezer with these high-protein foods will make cooking and snacking so much more fulfilling. You don't have to starve when you're trying to lose weight.

3. Never Skip Breakfast:Maybe dieters are under the impression that fewer meals throughout the day, or only eating lunch and dinner, is the best way to consume fewer calories. This diet mentality is wrong however because you need to eat your first meal within 30 minutes of waking up to properly jump-start your metabolism and get your body into calorie-burning mode rather than fat-storage mode because after a long night of sleep, your body things you're trying to starve it.

4. Limit your intake of processed foods and sugar: Processed foods no matter how "healthy" they claim to be are stock-full of preservatives, added colors, and chemically-based ingredients you can't even pronounce. These ingredients are difficult for your body to digest and can slow down your metabolism and cause more food to be stored as fat than needs to be. The more whole, natural foods you consume, the better your digestion, the fast your metabolism, and the quicker your excess weight will come off.

5. Drink more water: We've all heard it before, 8-10 glass of water per day, but the average American gets nowhere close to the amount of water they need to keep their bodies hydrated and to fuel essential body processes, like losing weight. Water flushes toxins from your system that hinder digestion, slow your metabolism, cause skin issues, and cause you to hold onto excess weight. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water. This may be difficult at first, but as you keep your body hydrated and functioning properly, weight loss will be more achievable. Keep a water bottle on your desk at work or take one with you in the car and make a goal to fill it twice before the end of the work day or before you pick your kids up from school.

6. Get enough sleep: Inadequate sleep effects your body's insulin use, energy burn, and appetite. Getting enough sleep is important for rapid weight loss because it helps to regulate your body, and plus, the longer you sleep, the less hours your up and tempted to eat junk. Getting less than 4 hours of sleep every night can cause insulin resistance, stresses your body and increases cortisol, triggers cravings for high-carb foods because of your lack of energy, and lowers leptin levels, thus increasing appetite.

7. Up your cardio and weight lifting: In order to be healthy and have a happy heart, you should be getting 30-60 minutes of cardio in 3-5 times per week. If you're trying to lose weight quickly, the more cardio the better. Be careful though, exercising will make you hungry so make sure to re-fuel with healthy snacks like nuts, veggies, and fruit rather than granola bars, cereal, and crackers.

Another aspect of rapid weight loss that is often left unexplored is weight lifting. Lifting weights 2-4 times per week along with your cardio workout is not going to turn you into the incredible hulk, rather, it will help you build more lean muscle mass which will in turn speed up your metabolism and allow you to burn more calories. After you lose weight, you don't want to look thin and soft, you want to appear toned and healthy, and regular weight lifting is going to be your key to success. Weight lifting should be done 2-4 times per week for 15-30 minutes for optimum results. Of course, the more often you lift, the more toned you will become. But it is important to give you muscles time to rest and recovery. You tear muscle fibers in the gym, but they recover and build themselves up during recover periods.

The easiest way to establish an exercise routine is to exercise at the same time everyday. Maybe getting up in the mornings is easiest for you and you make your way to the gym every day before work, or maybe you prefer to workout in the evenings after the kids are in bed or when you're sure to have eaten enough to fuel your workout. No matter the time you decide, exercising at the same time everyday will soon turn into a priority and help you establish a healthy habit that you can maintain after you've reached your weight loss goals.

Take control of your health

Losing weight and getting in shape is just as much about being healthy and increasing your quality of life as it is about looking good on the beach. As you take these steps seriously and incorporate them into your daily routine, you'll watch the pounds fall off and you'll feel healthier, cleaner, and more energetic than ever as you fuel your body properly and become stronger through regular workouts. Take control of your weight and your habits, and make the commitment today to living healthy.