There are various reasons why people want to lose weight, and many of them fall victim to fad diets that promise quick and effective results. While it’s possible to speed up your weight reduction efforts, it’s crucial to realise that doing so too rapidly might really backfire.
Safe, effective, and sustainable weight reduction is more about the process than it is about a finish line based on a scale with an impending deadline, much like so many other aspects of life. For tips from professionals on how to lose weight and keep it off, continue reading.
Why Quick Weight Loss Isn’t the Best Objective
Although the “drop 5 pounds in a week” diet myth has a lot of appeal, there are several reasons why rapid weight loss may actually be counterproductive to your best weight reduction attempts.
First off, individuals who lose weight quickly, particularly on fad or crash diets, are often unable to keep it off since their weight loss is generally made up of more water and muscle mass than fat mass.
According to Connie Bennett, certified health coach and author of Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock, “maintaining lean muscle is vital in weight reduction since it plays a significant role in metabolism.” “Muscle increases calorie expenditure. However, when you lose weight too rapidly, your body starts to burn calories more slowly and you start to lose muscle. Even permanent slowdown of the metabolism might result with rapid weight reduction.
The dreaded yo-yo weight cycling that many chronic dieters suffer is often brought on by rapid weight reduction. In fact, a study of previous participants on NBC’s weight reduction television programme “The Biggest Loser” revealed that the participant’s metabolism decreased the faster they lost weight. The candidates significantly gained back the weight they had lost in the six years after the competition, according to the research.
While dieters in the trial lost the same amount of weight, another Australian study of 200 individuals in The Lancet revealed that the group that dropped weight gradually lost 10% more body fat and 50% less lean muscle than the group that lost weight quickly.
Rapid weight loss makes it much harder to maintain weight loss since it often results in increased hunger and slowed metabolism. According to a research in the journal Obesity, for every pound we lose, our body tell us to consume 100 more calories each day.
Popular fad diets sometimes lead to vitamin deficits as well. According to registered dietitian Ellen Albertson, Ph.D., author of Rock You’re Midlife, “And quick weight loss—especially when you limit carbs—is typically entirely water.” Furthermore, since muscle mass is metabolically active, the body may utilize it as fuel if daily caloric intake is minimal, which would lower metabolism even further.
15 Expert-Backed Tips for Safe and Sustainable Weight Loss
1. Make long-term changes to your lifestyle and behaviour
Albertson advises against using the term “diet” while attempting to reduce weight. When you’re attempting to lose weight, you don’t want to be continuously thinking about food since dieting may be unpleasant and make you hungry. Instead, she advises prioritising taking care of your body and seeing weight reduction as a component of being healthy.
According to Albertson, “Weight reduction is difficult, and you don’t completely control the number on the scale, but you do have control over what you eat, how much you walk, and other things that affect weight, including stress and sleep.” She advises creating SMART objectives for oneself, which are defined as being precise, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-sensitive.
2. Pay attention to the First 5 to 10%
Consider the health advantages that may result from even moderate weight reduction rather than telling yourself that you need to drop 25 pounds and overwhelming yourself with what seems like an unachievable goal.
Set more manageable goals, Bennett advises. Only losing 5% to 10% of your body weight (TBW) may have a significant positive impact on your health and reduce your chance of developing conditions including type 2 diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and several forms of cancer.
3. Consume less highly processed carbs and sweets.
What you consume is crucial for weight reduction, according to a research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. If you increase your food quality intake, the pounds will fall off more rapidly.
Getting less sugar and quickly digested carbs into your diet is one of the best methods to lose weight, according to Bennett. You should avoid or significantly reduce your consumption of items with a high glycemic index, such as sugary snacks, processed carbohydrates, and soft drinks. You’ll lose weight more quickly if you avoid or consume less of foods like French fries, chips, and crackers.
4. Consume more plants
A plant-based diet is simpler to maintain than a low-calorie diet, according to research, which also suggests it improves weight loss. Additionally, it is nutrient-rich and offers a host of health advantages.
According to Albertson, produce aids with weight reduction because it is high in fibre and water, both of which have no calories but fill up your stomach and make you feel full. In fact, a Brazilian research identified a link between better weight reduction and greater fruit and vegetable consumption.
Albertson advises beginning with five daily portions of vegetables and working your way up to seven to nine daily servings. Start your day with a green smoothie, eat fruit for snacks and sweets, and have a salad with shaved veggies for lunch, she advises. Have extra stir-fries for dinner, add vegetables to your pasta recipes, and mix them into soups.
5. Increase Your Protein.
Increasing your protein intake may decrease hunger and aid stop muscle mass loss.
According to Dr. Albertson, eating 25 to 30 grammes of protein every meal—two scoops of protein powder or 4 ounces of chicken breast—can help you better regulate your hunger and maintain a healthy weight. The ideal strategy is to make sure each meal includes one serving of high-quality protein.
Additionally, Albertson claims that compared to males and younger women, women over the age of 50 need much more protein (1 to 1.5 grammes per kilogramme of body weight daily) (who require .8 grammes of protein per kilogramme of body weight daily). Women require extra protein beyond the age of 50, particularly as menopause approaches since lower oestrogen levels cause skeletal muscle growth, strength, and regeneration ability to decline.
6. Sip a lot more water
More water consumption has been linked to weight reduction, regardless of diet or activity, according to research. Drinking enough of water will help reduce sugar cravings and boost satiety. Water is also required for the body’s process of burning fat for energy, known as lipolysis.
Jordan Morello, a Florida-based celebrity trainer who works for the fitness website Sweat Factor, recommends drinking 8 ounces of water eight times a day as a minimum water consumption. Once they include this guideline into their daily routines, my clients are often amazed by how much it may reduce cravings and help you feel fuller for the rest of the day.
Added water trick again? Consider consuming two glasses of water before to every meal. This simple action may also accelerate weight reduction, according to studies.
7. Consume a Balanced Breakfast
Listen up, skippers of breakfast. Avoid cutting down on your morning fuel if you’re attempting to lose weight. In fact, several studies have shown an association between missing breakfast and being overweight or obese.
Additionally, a research published in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society discovered that persons who skip breakfast often have diets of worse quality and consume less minerals including vitamin D, calcium, and iron.
However, any breakfast won’t do. “You want a well-rounded, blood-sugar-balanced first meal of the day with adequate protein, healthy fats, and what I call quality carbohydrates like fresh berries,” advises Bennett. “This will help you think more clearly, perform more effectively, and be in better moods.”
8. Get Up and Move Around More
Increasing your non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)—the energy used for everything you do that is not eating, sleeping, or exercising—is one of the simplest methods to lose weight. Small adjustments like pushing a cart instead of carrying your goods, parking farther from the mall entrance, using the stairs instead of the elevator, or simply tapping your toe may result in hundreds of more calories being burnt.
Or try to stand more often than you sit. Simply switching from sitting to standing increases daily energy expenditure, which immediately translates into more calories expended and eventually, weight loss, according to studies.
For instance, if you weigh 160 pounds and alternate between sitting and standing, you may burn an extra 35 calories every hour, or an additional 280 calories per day, 1,400 calories per week, and almost 70,000 calories annually.
Albertson advises setting a timer on your computer, Fitbit, or phone to remind you to get up and walk about every hour. You’ll burn more calories and maybe reduce your chances of heart disease and blood sugar problems.
9. Perform the Lifts
Compared to fat, muscle burns more calories. So, how can you increase your muscular mass? Exercising your muscles.
In addition to the calories you’ll burn while exercising, resistance training is a wise addition to any weight reduction programme because of the “afterburn effect.”
Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC, is a measure of how long oxygen intake is raised after exercise to aid in muscle recovery. The metabolism is boosted both during and after strength training sessions by this rise.
And your resting metabolic rate increases as you add muscle to your physique (RMR). The number of calories your body requires to operate at rest is determined by your RMR. The more you can consume without gaining weight, the higher your RMR must be.
Although it’s often stressed, strength training is essential for losing weight and keeping it off, particularly beyond age 50 when muscle mass, which burns calories, falls at a rate of 1% to 2% year. Strength training helps halt the loss of muscle mass.
10. Exercise Moderation
Working out nonstop or significantly reducing calories might actually have the opposite effect on weight reduction. The majority of individuals believe that drastic steps must be used to lose weight, but giving oneself enough time to recuperate is more beneficial.
According to certified personal trainer Rob Darnbrough, CEO and co-founder of The Smart Fit Method in California, “Many individuals will double down on the stressor (i.e. catabolic phase) that they are performing when they feel angry that they haven’t lost weight.” For instance, they could increase the number of miles they run, the amount of time they spend working out, or the quantity of food they consume. However, the preceding actions only produce the desired outcomes while the anabolic recovery period is in full swing.
According to Darnbrough, the body gains muscle growth and sheds fat mass during the anabolic phase as it recovers from the stressor. Put as much effort into relaxation and nutrition as you do into exercises to avoid overtraining and mediocre outcomes, which result from pushing yourself too far. Try to balance your stress to recuperation ratio in order to produce outcomes that are long-lasting, advises Darnbrough.
11. Check in with a Partner for Accountability
Although losing weight might sometimes seem lonely, you don’t have to do it alone.
Accountability has been shown to be effective. According to a research, two-thirds of individuals who signed up for a weight-loss programme with friends kept the weight off for six months after the sessions finished, compared to just a quarter of those who went alone[12]. Naturally, many organisations advise having a sponsor or champion during your weight-loss journey.
Checking in daily with an accountability partner is one of the greatest ways to regularly eat healthier and lose weight gradually, Bennett advises. Your best friend, favourite coworker, or romantic partner do not have to be your accountability partner. Find someone who shares your objectives for losing weight. You are not need to converse daily. Just let each other know through text that you’re maintaining your diet of nutritious foods. You may rely on your spouse if you find yourself enticed by unhealthy meals. You may wish to give them a call at that time.
12. Reduce your TV viewing
The more television someone watches, the more weight they acquire, therefore couch surfers who want to reduce weight should turn it off.
In a research that gathered information from more than 50,000 middle-aged women over a six-year period, it was shown that participants had a 23% greater chance of obesity and a 14% higher risk of acquiring diabetes for every two hours they watched television daily[13].
The main reason why excessive television viewing is linked to additional weight is because it’s a sedentary pastime that often also results in mindless eating. So, shut it off or maybe switch to an exercise programme on the television.
13. Regain Awareness of Your Satiety Cues
Speaking of mindless eating, by reconnecting with your bodies natural “I’m hungry” and “I’m full” signals, you can rewire your brain to lose weight.
“Dieting coupled with eating while multitasking—driving, watching TV, using your phone—can actually separate you from your natural cues of hunger and fullness,” claims Albertson. Additionally, we were taught to finish our meals rather to stop eating when we were full as kids. Consistent overeating is the consequence of the size of portions having increased significantly—by as much as 60% for items like snack foods.
Instead, Albertson advises that you attempt to eat when you’re hungry and quit when you’re full rather than stuffed. To reconnect with these cues, consider measuring your hunger before, during, and after meals rather than your food intake.
14. Sleep more.
One of the finest things you can do to keep your weight in check and your general health is to get a good night’s sleep. According to studies, getting too little sleep may lead to weight growth and other health problems. Researchers discovered that individuals who slept little more than five hours per night had a 15% higher risk of obesity than those who slept seven hours per night when they examined 16 years’ worth of data on 68,183 middle-aged American women.
The hormones ghrelin and leptin, which control hunger, may be affected by insufficient sleep, making individuals feel more ravenous throughout the day. Additionally, lack of sleep makes cortisol rise, which makes it more difficult to eliminate body and belly fat.
“Counting back seven to nine hours from the time you have to get up is a terrific advice,” says Darnbrough. “Most of us can’t control what time we have to get up, but we can manage when we go to bed.” In order to optimise your deep sleep and REM, “I also advise the 3-2-1 rule, which means stop working three hours before night, stop eating two hours before bed, and stop using digital stimulation one hour before bed.”
15. Discover Non-Edible Alternatives for Self-Motivation
It is referred to as “comfort food” for a reason. However, emotional eating has the potential to completely wreck any weight reduction plans.
“Raise levels of oxytocin, the love hormone, either by soothing touch, playing with a pet or receiving a hug,” advises Albertson. “When you feel stressed, which raises cortisol levels, instead of reaching for food to feel better—since eating triggers the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine—oxytocin, the love hormone.”
Oxytocin has been shown in animal experiments to lower calorie intake and improve metabolism. In addition, a tiny human trial revealed that administering male’s oxytocin for eight weeks aided in weight loss.
A self-compassion break will enable you to give yourself the care you need so you will be less likely to eat, advises Albertson. “While more research is necessary to understand precisely how increasing oxytocin can impact weight and appetite, it will allow you to give yourself the care you need so you will be less likely to eat,” she adds. ‘HALT,’ which stands for ‘hungry, angry/anxious, lonely, and exhausted,’ should be kept in mind. Eat if you are physically hungry. Ask yourself, “What do I need?” when you are going through a tough emotional period, and then offer yourself that. It’s not food if you aren’t hungry.
