Quick Weight Loss - Top 10 Tips

If you see all the advertisements in the media, one would think that you could achieve a quick weight loss of 50 pounds in a month - no problem. Leaving the hype aside, big problems are always solved with small, consistent steps.

The same applies to achieving quick weight loss. Weight loss does not need to be a slow, agonizing process. But it does need to be achieved in a healthy manner, with a focus on proper nutrition and dietary balance.

Here are the top 10 tips for achieving quick weight loss that will stand the test of time, and make it permanent:

1. Eat 5-6 times per day -- By dividing your consumption of food throughout the day, you avoid hunger cravings that cause you to eat more than your body requires. Learn to "trick your body" by creating half-sandwiches or half-entrees that you will eat 1-2 hours apart. Remember that you think you need more to satisfy your hunger than you actually do. Breakfast is extremely important as it sets the tone for your eating habits for the remainder of the day.
   
   
2. Drink plenty of water -- There are a number of important reasons to drink plenty of water to achieve quick weight loss. First, it creates a sense of fullness which helps avoid hunger pangs. Secondly, proper hydration quickens the body's ability to burn fat. Lastly, drinking cold water causes your body to heat it up for consumption, and you burn 50-100 calories per day in doing so (which translates to about 12 pounds of easy, quick weight loss per year).
   
   
3. Eat plenty of fiber -- The benefits are endless, but for weight loss, a recent USDA study showed that fewer calories were absorbed with diets that included a higher fiber content. It also appears that fiber binds to certain fats and proteins, helping them flush out of your system more efficiently.
   
   
4. Set up a snack kiosk -- When you are on the prowl for food, prevent yourself from searching the cabinets for the wrong foods. Set up a portion of your kitchen counter as a "snack kiosk" where you keep fruits handy that you really like. Trick your body into eating healthier by setting up your snack kiosk in plain view. When you waltz over to the kitchen, grab some healthy, vitamin-laden fruit. Also grab some water, and then walk away! You will slowly begin to transform your habits - you will eliminate the urge to eat the wrong foods and lose weight.
   
   
5. Exercise with elliptical trainers -- If you want to achieve quick weight loss, diet alone will not cut it - you also need exercise. But most people dread exercise, especially a new routine. Running and treadmills can damage your joints and ligaments, and short-circuit your enthusiasm for exercise. So make your exercise less painful and more fun, yet highly effective at burning calories. Elliptical trainers are a joy to use, and they don't burn you out, or make you sore and dead-tired. Even more importantly, they burn about 500-600 calories per hour! Start slowly, starting at 20 minutes for a few days, then up to 30 minutes for a few more days, and then take it up from there. You will find that an hour is a breeze, and you can easily read while you do it.
   
   
6. Exercise in the fat burning zone -- If you really want to lose weight quickly, then you must understand that proper cardio will get you there faster than anything else. Elliptical trainers are the best choice for people that struggle with getting exercise, but you must understand where your fat burning zone lies to make it worthwhile. Here is the quick formula of where you want your heart rate to be during exercise for quick weight loss: (220 minus your age) x .85%. For example, a 50 year old person would want to maintain a work out at (220 - 50) x 85% = 144 beats per minute. The ideal range would be between 70% - 85% of that range, so 119-144 beats per minute. Do this for one hour (600 calories burned), and you just subtracted one meal worth of calories from your intake. Most gym-quality elliptical trainers measure your heart rate while you exercise.
   
   
7. Measure twice, eat once -- An old carpenter saying with a twist. You will tire quickly of counting calories if you count at every meal, and then you will throw in the towel. We are human, and we can't just eat fruit snacks forever, or we will fail in the long term. You must know where you can cut yourself some slack, cheat a little, and not destroy your chances of quick weight loss. Do your research and homework up front. Know, for example, that snacking on a whole grain rice cake has only 35 calories and 7 grams of carbs per rice cake. So if you eat three of those as a snack, you know that it isn't as healthy as fruit, but it sure beats a sleeve of cookies or crackers. In other words, measure and plan your "cheats" up front, and make sure they are smarter cheats. You will increase your odds of winning.
   
   
8. Eat healthy protein -- Healthy protein means less fat - period. Poultry, like chicken and turkey, are the best. Fish is great, especially because of omega-3 fatty acids. Other great choices are lean beef, beans, dairy such as cheese, milk and yogurt, and eggs (fyi - the American Heart Association says one egg per day is safe).
   
   
9. Eat healthy fats -- If you want to quickly lose weight (and keep your cholesterol at healthy levels), you need to know which fats are healthy (poly- and mono- unsaturated) and unhealthy (saturated and transfats). Healthy fats include oils such as olive, corn, sunflower, canola, soy and safflower, fat from nuts like peanuts, walnuts, almonds and pistachios, and fat from seafood, like salmon, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Healthy fats lower total cholesterol, lower LDL (bad cholesterol), and elevate HDL (good cholesterol). Unhealthy fats are primarily the fats in meats, dairy, eggs and seafood. The key is to consume these in healthy moderation.     
   
   
10. Eat healthy carbohydrates -- Healthy carbs are unprocessed foods, such as vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grain cereals, and nuts. Bad carbs include anything processed such as pastas, white bread, snack foods (like cookies and crackers) and non-diet soft drinks. What makes the "bad carbs" bad for you? In a nutshell, processed carbs translate into a spike of sugar in your system, which triggers your insulin to spike to regulate the sugar. Spikes in insulin trigger your body to store fat because the insulin is telling your body that it is well fed. So your body stores the extra sugar, and turns it into fat for a rainy, less bountiful day. Cutting down on bad carbs, and replacing them with good carbs, is the easiest dietary change to achieve quick weight loss.

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