How to lose weight fast

Do you want to slim down fast? While there are many things you can do to shed off some kg, losing weight too quickly can be dangerous. While fad diets, diet pills, and fasting may include rapid weight loss, these methods can cause you to get gallstones, start losing muscle and hair, and may injure your heart and other organs fairly quickly. Follow these steps to lose weight rapidly, and healthily.

1. Set an achievable goal.

For your weight reduction. If the aim is not practical, then you will easily get disheartened and stop following your regimen. You must set a target that has a time limit. The amount of weight you want to lose and the time within which you would like to lose it should be decided beforehand. If the time and amount of weight is clearly decided primarily, your enthusiasm will keep you on track until you reach your destination. Determine your daily caloric intake.

Write down all the things you eat on a typical day. There are also great websites you can use to keep track of calories, get recipes, and help achieve your goal. Everyone has different metabolic rate. By reducing 500 calories per day you will start losing some fat within a week. Reduce your intake of high-fat, high-calorie foods, and you will lose weight faster.

2. Plan your meals.

Look for healthy, delicious meals online or in your cookbooks, and creat a menu for the week. Make sure your meal plan reduces your total calorie intake. Planning your meals help ensure your get a balanced diet and reduces the temptation to stop off for fast food. Watch you portion sizes. Reducing portion size will inevitably reduce caloric intake. Eat slowly to avoid overeating; you will get satisfied with less calories.

3. Eat healthy snacks.

Eating small meals and snacks throughout the day, or grazing, has been shown to aid weight loss, compared to eating three large portions a day. Pick snacks that are low in calories and fat, and high in fiber like dried apricots, nuts, fruits, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and so on.Vegetables are generally low in calories, and very high in fiber. Fruit also makes a good snack as it contains more soluble fiber than vegetables.

4. Drink plenty of water.

Drinking adequate amount of water is essential for health, and many people simply don't get enough. Drink one glass of water before your meal; as it will help digestion and give you the sensation of fullness to keep you from overeating; that, with the combination of eating slowly, will allow you to stop eating when you are satisfied, not when you already ate too much.

5. Rest properly.

This means not only taking 1-2 days off from exercising each week; it also means knowing how much sleep you need, since sleep deficiency impairs your ability to lose fat. The time when you sleep also has an effect. Late sleepers are likely to have a higher BMI than others. Healthy weight loss can be achieved fairly quickly, but you need to be patient.

A successful weight loss strategy based on reducing calorie intake and increasing activity can be adjusted to maintain your desired weight once you reach it. Unlike typical diets, this method is sustainable. It is a lifestyle change, not a binge-and-purge exercise. Slowly adjust your diet and exercise to include more weight training and calories, that is comfortable for you.

Taken from: News Straits Times - 15 June 2012 (article), Google (images).