The best methods for fat loss include a combination of lifestyle changes, dietary shifts, and exercise habits. It is important to approach the target of your fat loss from more than one direction, as this will help you shed the pounds.
Fundamentals of Fat Burning
When it comes to rapid fat loss, some of the best approaches have nothing to do with your diet, or even your physical activity, but rather the lifestyle choices you adopt, such as getting enough sleep, quitting smoking, cutting back on technology time, reducing alcohol and substance abuse, establishing a routine, and getting a massage. [1]
Get Good Sleep
Getting enough sleep is critical to your success at losing weight. Your body requires enough rest every night to function properly, and that also includes your metabolism. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night is the recommended amount of sleep, but be sure that it is uninterrupted, and do your best to maintain a regular schedule so your circadian rhythms can be stabilized. [2]
Quit Smoking
It may be hard to quit smoking, but if you want to increase fat loss, you should stamp out your nicotine addiction. While smoking may temporarily curb your appetite, it causes long-term inflammation and increases the amount of fat deposition in the body, while also adding carcinogens to the body and increasing the chances of oxidative stress and chronic diseases. [3]
Reduce Alcohol Intake
Excessive alcohol intake can lead to weight gain, as there are a significant amount of calories in most alcoholic beverages, including beer and hard liquor. Alcohol consumption like this also occupies the space in your liver and prevents your digestive system from allocating energy properly, leading to more weight gain. [4]
Set a Routine
If you live a highly dynamic life, where your meals come at different times of the day and your sleep schedule fluctuates drastically, it will be difficult for your metabolism to keep up with the constant changes. Try to establish an eating and sleep schedule, so as to improve your chances of weight loss.
Avoid Use of Technology
In the modern age, the use of technology has kept us stagnant and sedentary more than any other time in history. It is important to take a step back from these devices and give yourself more physical movement time, as well as the mental clarity that a few hours away from technology can provide. Sedentary lifestyles are closely tied to obesity. [5]
Reduce Stress
High levels of stress hormones lead to inflammation throughout the body, thereby contributing to weight gain. [6]
Easy Ways to Burn Fat
Some of the best ways to burn fat include getting active in a variety of ways, such as setting regular workout goals, going swimming, joining a gym, adding strength training to your routine, having more sex, taking the stairs, trying yoga, and riding a bike.
Strength Training
Many people feel that cardio is the best option for fat loss, but in fact, strength training will significantly boost your muscle mass, and while this weighs more than fat, it is leaner and can speed up your metabolic rate, which can further burn fat and calories. [7]
Sexual Activity
Sexual intercourse burns a significant amount of calories and also releases healthy “feel-good” hormones in the body that can lower stress levels, while the increase in heart rate can help in your weekly exercise goals. [8]
Yoga
Yoga is not only an intensely subtle exercise for your core and underused muscle groups, but it is also a psychological strategy to lower stress levels and improve metabolism. In recent years, research has shown that yoga is an effective fat loss strategy. [9]
Swimming is one of the best exercises for losing weight. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Swimming
If you are obese, high-impact exercises such as running or jogging can be painful or uncomfortable, but an excellent way to burn calories without straining yourself is swimming. The extra force of the water helps keep your heart rate up, without the forceful nature of other exercises. Thirty minutes of swimming a few times a week can work wonders towards your fat loss goals. [10]
Biking
If you are trying to shed a few pounds quickly, try biking to work instead of driving or taking public transportation. If this is a realistic possibility, try biking once a week and then gradually increase the frequency, as this will mean two workouts every day! [11]
Use the Stairs
Elevators and escalators are convenient, but walking is a simple and passive way to burn more calories without even thinking about it. Even walking an extra 10-15 flights of stairs per day can have an impact on your fat loss. [12]
Workout Goals
You need to keep yourself accountable to the goals you set if you want to successfully burn fat. If you set yourself a weekly and monthly goal for weight loss, you are far more likely to stick with it, rather than a vague commitment to “working out more this year”.
Gym Commitment
Signing up for a gym membership is a great way to keep you honest. People don’t like to spend money without a good reason, so a six-month membership may drive you to be more dedicated to your goals.
How to Lose Fat Fast?
When it comes to losing fat fast, you need to alter your diet in critical ways, and while this may seem difficult, it is important to balance your nutrient intake in specific ways, switch your snacks, drink more water, try a juice cleanser, only eat in one place, focus on a healthy breakfast, and avoid processed or fast food.
Water: You should drink more water, not only to cleanse the system and promote detoxification of the body but also because water fills you up. Before meals, drink a glass of water to prevent overeating, and when you are feeling a snack craving, drink a glass of water instead.
Juice Cleanse: One of the more extreme approaches to weight loss is to go on a juice cleanse. This should only be done for short periods (typically no more than 3 days), but it can reset your metabolism and appetite, helping to shift your eating habits and cleanse your digestive tracts before a new diet. [13]
Eating Space: If you designate a single space for eating, you are less likely to snack throughout the day. This will make you more aware of your eating habits and reduce your peripheral calorie intake, which is often what compromises dietary goals.
Breakfast: If you focus on a healthy breakfast, try to limit it to 300-400 calories so that you have a much better chance of meeting your calorie goals for the day. Be sure to load up on energy-dense foods with fiber to help you feel full and get through to your afternoon meals without snacking. Egg, peanut butter, avocado or salmon is an excellent choice for breakfast. [14]
No More Fast Food: Processed foods and fast foods have an incredibly high concentration of saturated fats and calories, neither of which help your fat loss goals. Cut back on these guilty pleasures and watch the pounds melt off. [15]
Nutrient Intake Balance: Your dietary intake should be an even balance of protein, fat, and carbs. This will provide your body with the nutrients it needs, without compromising your weight-loss goals.
Snacking: Some of the least healthy foods are the snacks we have between meals since they are packed with sodium, high-fructose corn syrup, fat, and calories. If you can replace chips and candy with vegetables or nuts, you will see a noticeable improvement in fat loss. [16]
Rules for Fast Fat Loss
The most important rule for fast fat loss is being patient, ensuring proper nutrient intake, paying attention to your body, seeking out support and setting realistic goals.
Realistic Goals: If you want to lose 50 pounds in a month, you could achieve it with a crash diet, but it would be unhealthy, unsustainable, and downright dangerous. If you set yourself realistic goals, you are far more likely to avoid discouragement and work hard to achieve those targets. Do your research before laying out your plans for rapid fat loss.
Support: You don’t need to do this alone. Seek out support and help from friends and nutritional gurus, particularly those who have gone through a period of rapid fat loss and understand what you may be going through.
Patience: If you expect immediate results, you are likely to be disappointed. Rapid fat loss is possible, but it still takes time to re-program your appetite, boost your metabolism, and shift your lifestyle patterns. Be patient with your results and don’t give up simply because you don’t see results in the first week.
How to lose weight? Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Do it Right: Crash diets are dangerous, as is making up your own rules for dieting. The established programs have been researched and certified as being safe, but cutting back on a very low-calorie intake or working out to an extreme degree, can do more harm than good, and may actually slow down your metabolism. [17]
Pay Attention: If you are putting too much strain on your body in your fat-loss journey, your body will let you know. Constipation, muscle aches, headaches, cognitive confusion, exhaustion, and gastrointestinal distress are all common symptoms of someone who is burning too much fat or is nutrient deficient.
Top Fat-burning Foods
Losing fat is highly dependent on the food choices you make, so be sure that your fat loss diet includes important staples like salmon, beans, green tea, eggs, almonds, cruciferous vegetables, tropical fruits, and whole grains.
Green Tea: This popular tea contains an antioxidant known as epigallocatechin, which has been directly linked to higher rates of fat burning in the body, so this tea should certainly be included in any diet for weight loss. [18]
Eggs: These protein-rich foods are low in calories, simple to prepare and quite filling, which can help prevent overeating, while also providing an energy boost every morning. Eggs can do wonders for lowering your overall calorie intake each day and boosting smooth muscle development. [19]
Almonds: The excellent fat profile in almonds means that they can help lower your bad cholesterol levels and improve the body’s ability to burn calories and fat, rather than storing that fat in the belly.
High-fiber Food: This food is ideal for stimulating digestion and improving nutrient uptake, which can speed up the passage of food and reduce fat deposition. Furthermore, fiber helps curb hunger by making you feel full, which can help you cut back on snacking and overeating, due to the release of leptin, the satiety hormone in the body.
Whole Grains: Foods like whole-grain barley, rice, bread, and oatmeal can help to increase the sensation of being full, which reduces appetite, while also helping to reduce cholesterol levels and speed up the body’s metabolism, which further helps in fat loss. [20]
Salmon: Fatty fish like salmon and tuna can deliver high levels of omega-3 fatty acids to the body, helping to balance cholesterol levels and reduce adipose fat formation. By improving the lipid profile in the body, fatty fish can lower your risk of atherosclerosis. [21]
Beans: The high fiber levels in beans improve the cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation in the gut, and promote a healthier digestive process, including more efficient nutrient uptake and less fat deposition. [22]
