Can you really drop a dress size in two weeks? Yes, you can! With the right eating plan, paired with a bit of exercise, the weight will come off, just in time for your big event. Yes, quick weight loss is a hot topic, but no one seems to know how to achieve it.
Fasting
Have you ever thought of fasting for weight loss? Fasting is the process of abstaining from food, willingly, for a certain period of time. It is almost a starvation diet. Most people only deny themselves food, but others may fast without food or drink.
Fasts have become quite popular as a way to speed weight loss, but most started as a form of religious expression. Sometimes they are used as a form of protest, as well. But, are fasting diets safe?
Fasting can be done for any period of time–but most dieters fast anywhere from 24 hours to 72 hours. When you fast, your body will use stored energy, or calories, to survive. This means you will most likely see weight loss at the end of your fasting period. However, this is not weight loss that will be maintained. It is mostly water weight, and as soon as you begin to drink and eat normally again, those water stores will be replaced, hence the weight will return.
As you fast, your body’s appetite will adjust, so you should not feel ravenous the entire time, but once you go back to normal eating, your appetite will come right back.
If you are planning to fast for a medical reason, or a spiritual one, they are safe in moderation. But know that if you are doing a fast for weight loss reasons, whatever pounds you may lose during the fast will return.
If you do want to drop that dress size quickly, a fast can do it for you, but note that you will gain it back rather quickly when you begin eating regularly again. (See also: Calorie cycling for weight loss)
Lose Weight Fast
If you need to lose weight fast, in less than two weeks, for say, an event or to fit into a smaller dress size, know that it can be done, and safely, too! Yes, you can lose the weight safely and effectively! But how?
The first step is to remember that you need to eat right and exercise. In fact, there are certain ways of eating can actually help you shed the pounds quickly!
Low Carb Diets
While a low carbohydrate diet is nothing new, it is still around because it works. A low carb diet will actually help you shed the pounds in as little as two weeks. (Should I count carbs to lose weight?)
Why? It is simple, really. When you cut back on carbohydrates, you eliminate starchy, high sugar, calorie laden foods like white flours and processed foods. These are called ‘complex carbs’ and cause the body’s glucose levels to spike. This triggers the body to release insulin and the extra insulin is stored as fat.
Complex carbs are not good for you anyway. A low carb diet will help you to lose water weight, right away, you will notice this weight loss in the first few days, and even better? Low carb dieters actually maintain the weight loss. (See also: Can drinking lots of water help you lose weight?)
Exercise
If you couple a low carbohydrate plan with exercise, you will really see a difference.
Fat Burning Exercises
The best fat burning exercises are those that target your muscles. Resistance training actually works to firm up your problem areas, and these types of moves will tone your areas quickly. Strength training actually increases your resting metabolism, too, so you burn more calories all day long, even at rest, resulting in more pounds lost every week!
Additionally to burn more fat, do cardiovascular exercise, too. Workouts like HiiT workouts (high intensity interval training) will help you burn the most calories in a short amount of time.
Studies have shown that both interval training and high intensity interval training are the best ways to burn body fat and lose weight quickly. In a HiiT workout, you will work as hard as you possibly can for thirty seconds, and then rest for just eight seconds. You will repeat this pattern for just four minutes. That is it! Four minutes.
Once you get really good at those four minutes, you will add another four minutes. This type of workout burns nine times more than a steady state workout (which is a long workout, say, on a treadmill or elliptical trainer). Exercises that can be done in a HiiT workout are varied–from pushups to jump squats to jumping jacks to even abdominal exercises.
Overall
Remember to eat healthy and exercise to get the results you want. Adding in lean meats, vegetables and low fat dairy are good choices as you cut out complex carbohydrates. If you do fast, do it for no more than two days.
