Fast Weight Loss Tips
Are you interested in shedding fat and losing weight fast? While fast weight loss is not advisable, it can be useful in an “emergency”. The type of situation where rapid weight loss can be a solution would be where you want to lose a few pounds within a set time. For instance, you might want to slim your waistline or get a flatter belly for a forthcoming interview or party.
Under normal circumstances fast weight loss is not advisable. Fast weight loss plans have definite drawbacks. Some of these are:
1. They are impossible to maintain for a prolonged period
2. They are not good for your general health
3. They do not work in the long term.
A fast weight loss diet should be viewed as a temporary quick-fix. A crash diet is no substitute for a subtle change of lifestyle. A crash diet will enable you to shed fat quickly. The downside is that you will almost certainly regain all the weight you lost as soon as you start eating normally again.
Any fast weight loss plan should only be maintained for a period of not more than 2-4 weeks. If you severely restrict your calorie intake for any longer than that, your body will adjust to the deprivation. The result will be that even if you continue with the diet that caused the weight loss, you will no longer lose weight.
Most diets that promise rapid weight loss are boring. This makes it hard to stick to the regime. If you try to keep on the same diet for longer than a couple of weeks, you will most likely give up. Many people give up these fast weight loss diets through sheer boredom.
The only way to lose weight and get rid of unwanted fat is to consume fewer calories than your body needs. The body needs a certain number of calories just to keep vital functions working. Additional calories are needed to burn as energy.
If you eat and drink more calories than your body needs, your body will store the extra calories. The body saves calories in the form of fat. The way to get rid of the stored fat is to convince the body that it needs to use the fat for energy.
If you drastically cut down on your calorie intake, your body will think “famine” and start releasing energy from your fat cells to make sure you stay alive and moving. This is when you will notice sudden rapid weight loss. If you keep your calorie intake at the same low level, the body will think “prolonged famine” and will slow down the rate at which it uses energy from the store of fat. This is when you notice you are still following your diet but are no longer losing weight.
If you need to lose a large amount of fat, the only way to achieve your weight loss goal is to reduce your calorie intake to slightly less than your body needs for day to day functioning. This way, your body will not be panicked into declaring a famine situation. Your excess fat will be burnt up as energy for day to day maintenance and you will continue to lose weight.
If you are desperate to lose a bit of weight fast, the first thing to do is to look at your current eating habits. Firstly, do you eat a lot of junk food, fatty food, chocolate, and sweet things? If your answer is “yes”, you will probably find you can lose weight quickly by just cutting out all the junk, fat and sugary foods.
What about fizzy drinks? Fizzy soft drinks seem harmless enough. They are not harmless if you are trying to lose weight. Colas and other sweetened soft drinks contain huge amounts of sugar. If you normally consume this sort of drink, cut them out and you will save large numbers of calories.
Exercise combined with a reduction in calorie intake will speed up weight loss. Gentle to moderate exercise is all you need. There is no need to start a punishing exercise regime. If you are not used to exercise, this could be dangerous. Start gradually and build up. You don’t need to join a gym. You don’t need to spend hours on a treadmill. You don’t need to run. You don’t need to lift weights. The best exercise is simple walking.
Exercise needs to be performed in accordance with your age, health and general physical condition. If you are in any doubt, you should consult your doctor and ask for advice. Every doctor should be able to give appropriate advice. Many general practitioners have links with special weight loss clinics.
