How to Lose Weight Fast: 7 Scientific Steps to Drop Weight Effectively

1. Cut back on refined carbohydrates

While there are endless diets, meal replacement, and plans supplements claiming to ensure rapid weight loss, most of them lack any scientific evidence. However, there are some strategies backed by science that do have an impact on weight management. You’ll be shocked to know exercise is not the most effective way to lose weight. We’ll discuss in-depth and will try to give you a whole picture on how to lose weight fast. So, buckle up and sit tight! Here you’re going to learn about 7 scientific steps when it comes to answering the question “How to lose weight fast?”

Short-term and intense eating plans are considered crash diets — meaning that your weight is likely to rebound right after you finish the program. Furthermore, these diets aren’t right for you if you have a history of eating disorders because of their restrictive nature. That’s why they are not recommended. Thus, these kinds of diets aren’t a healthy, sustainable, or long-term solution. Never look for shortcuts when it comes to health issues. Instead, fast weight loss usually lowers your insulin levels and flushes out stored carbs known as glycogen, which hold around three times their weight in water. When insulin levels decrease, your kidneys shed excess sodium that leads to a drop in water retention. You can follow these 7 scientific steps to drop weight effectively.

Carbohydrates

If you really want to lose weight, you have to cut back on sugars, starches or carbohydrates (like bread, potatoes, and pasta). Reducing refined carbs helps to lose weight quickly. There have been tons of weight-loss diets based on eating fewer carbohydrates consumption. What’s new is that a decent amount of modern scientific studies have proven that, on average, low carb can be the most effective and the quickest way to lose weight. You can replace them with whole grains and doing so, your hunger levels go down, and you generally end up eating fewer calories.

While it’s possible to lose weight on any well-planned diet, some appear to make it easier and some to make it much harder to maintain. Among many advantages, one that may rule out from others is a low-carb diet may cause you to want to eat less. You don’t have to count calories; overweight people tend to eat fewer calories on low carbs. With a low-carb eating plan, you’ll be able to utilize burning stored fat for energy instead of carbs. When you choose to eat more complex carbs like whole grains along with a calorie deficit, you’ll benefit from higher fibre and digest them more slowly. This makes them more filling to keep you satisfied.

What studies say

A 2020 research confirmed that a very low carbohydrate diet was beneficial for losing weight in older populations. Other studies also suggest that a low carb diet can reduce appetite, which may lead to eating fewer calories without thinking about it or feeling hungry. There are some potential downsides to a low carb diet that may lead you to different methods. This kind of diet plans can also lead to the quickest weight loss and be easier to maintain for longer periods of time. If you opt for a diet focusing on whole grain over refined carbs, a 2019 study correlated lower body mass index (BMI) with high whole grain.

Long story short, a low-carb diet can reduce your hunger and makes it easier to eat less. It might even increase your fat burning at rest as well. A bunch of studies show that low carb works for weight loss and that on average, it improves overall health. So, the first and effective answer of the question “how to lose weight fast?” would be cutting back refined carbs from your diet.

2. Eat real and avoid processed foods

When you’re trying to lose weight, don’t get fooled by the creative marketing of special low-carb products. Keep in mind that an effective diet for weight loss should be based primarily on whole food. You should aim to eat mostly whole grain, single-ingredient foods. Prioritizing the foods that humans have been eating for thousands of years, like fish, vegetables, eggs, meats, olives, nuts etc. will come very to you. Try to avoid most foods that are highly processed.

It should be obvious that creative marketers are doing all they can to fool you and get your money out of your pocket. They will tell you you can eat pasta, cookies, ice cream, chocolate on a low carb diet, as long as you buy their products. They are often full of carbohydrates, don’t get fooled so easily. Sometimes you may get confused and think how about some low-carb bread?

Be aware; if it’s baked with grains, it’s most certainly not a low carb food. You should avoid low-carb chocolate which is full of a kind of sugar alcohol. You don’t know, but it may be partially absorbed by the body, and the manufacturer does not count them as carbs. Focus on eating minimally processed, good quality food. The food you buy shouldn’t even have a list of ingredients or if it does the list should be very short.

Eating mostly lean proteins and low-carb veggies like bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, cauliflower, avocados, green beans, lettuce etc. can be incredibly satisfying even if you’re not getting that many calories.

3. Get More Active

Increasing your daily activity is a great way to burn some extra calories and the quickest way to lose weight. In fact, how active you are throughout the day plays a vital role in weight loss and obesity. Some simple changes in lifestyle such as walking to work or school, taking the stairs instead of elevators or even cleaning the house can help you to burn calories. You can try joining a gym and going there three, four times per week. Lifting weights has excellent benefits, and taking advice from your trainer can be very useful in losing weight.

Maybe lifting weights is not an option for you; doing some cardio, aka aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, or kickboxing is very beneficial for weight loss and general health. Research suggests 15 to 45 minutes of moderate to hardcore cardio per day is ideal for burning visceral fat and reaping other fat loss and has metabolism-boosting benefits.

Another type of high-energy workout that combines bursts of intensity with short periods of rest to keep your heart rate up is known as High-intensity interval training (HIIT). Study shows you can burn more calories in a shorter amount of time than other forms of cardio, and has been shown to increase fat loss.

On your next walk or run, try alternating between sprinting and walking for 30 seconds at a time. Recovering your breath without stopping your activity will also improve your overall fitness. High-Intensity Interval Training exercises can help amp up your crunch calories and fat burning in a shorter amount of time than other exercises can. So, please don’t be shy to give it a try.

4. Try Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is another effective and proven weapon for dropping weight. It means exactly what it sounds like. Not eating during a specified time interval.

The 16/8 method is probably the most popular option which is fasting for 16 hours, including sleep and 8 hours of eating window. Also, you have to trade breakfast for a cup of non-caloric fluid like coffee and have lunch as the first meal of the day. Suppose you are fasting from 9 pm to 1 noon– equals 16 hours of fasting. You can also try another option which is to skip dinner: eat breakfast and lunch within 8 hours — for instance, 8 am to 2 pm — and then don’t eat again until 8 am the next morning. Makes a “16 hours without eating and 8 hours eating window” option.

There are many versions of Intermittent fasting can be adapted smoothly to your lifestyle by using apps like DoFasting that helps to track fasting times, but this 16/8 method is the most recommended one as a first option. It’s often more effective and generally easy to do that does not require counting calories. You can do 16/8 fast as often as you like as long as you are comfortable with it—for instance twice/thrice a week, or on weekdays only.

You should drink enough fluids during these kinds of fasts. Water should be the first choice here, but coffee and tea are also great options (without sugar of course). During longer fasts, it can be wise to add some salt, or drink bouillon. These kinds of fasting are about eating all that your body needs, while still allowing it to sometimes briefly rest from constant feeding.

5. Be persistent, be realistic

Usually, it takes years to gain a lot of weight. Trying to lose it all as quickly as possible by starving yourself does not necessarily work well in the long term. Instead of being rushed, you need to set realistic goals and expectations for weight loss and overall health.

On a strict diet, it is common to lose 2-6 pounds (1-3kg) within the first week and on average about 1 pound (0.5 kg) per week as long as you have a lot of weight remaining to lose. However, everyone doesn’t lose weight at the same rate. Young male sometimes loses weight quickly, and a post-menopausal woman may lose weight at a slower pace.

And if you have an astronomical amount of excess weight to lose, you could start out much faster. Although, in the beginning, some of the weight you lose will be due to water loss.

If you lose weight and then think you can return to the past lifestyle, don’t be surprised when the excess weight returns. Losing weight astronomically and keeping it off will likely not happen unless you change your lifestyle forever.

Forget about quick fixes. Usually maintaining weight loss requires long-term changes and patience. Another thing to keep in mind, as tempting as it may be, don’t fall for those magical diet scams. Sometimes it gets harder to keep your patience and get motivated to maintain your daily lifestyle. Everybody needs help; sometimes life coach specialist can help you throughout your journey.

We can say with assurance if you lose some weight every month; eventually, you will get rid of all your excess weight. That’s inevitable progress which you should go after.

6. Get proper sleep

Improper sleeping patterns and excessive stress will cost you in every aspect of your life. Lack of sleep and stress can be bad news for your weight. Inadequate sleep and chronic stress may increase your level of stress hormones in your body that can be the reason for your increased hunger. Sometimes it’s called stress eating too that may result in unhealthy weight gain. If you’re really aiming to lose weight, you should review possible ways to better handle excessive stress in your life. Though this often demands some substantial changes, it may immediately affect your level of stress hormones and perhaps your weight too.

You should also make a heartful effort to get enough good sleep, preferably almost every night. Strive to wake up refreshed of your own accord, without the help of the alarm clock. Don’t wake up brutally by the alarm clock; give your body enough rest. Try to go to bed early as possible and wake up autonomously before the alarm clock goes off. No eating at least 3 hours before you go to bed. Getting a good night’s sleep is a great way of reducing stress hormone levels. On the other hand, sleep deprivation goes hand in hand with sugar cravings and makes an adverse effect on self-discipline and is ridiculously easy to give in to temptation. It also weakens your resolve to work out.

7. Avoid beer and sugary drinks

Sugary beverages and drinks are the worst nightmares for someone who wants to lose weight. Empty calories from sugar aren’t beneficial to your body and hinder weight loss. Many people believe replacing sugar with non-caloric sweeteners will reduce their calorie intake and cause weight loss. It sounds plausible. But several studies, however, have failed to show an apparent positive effect on weight loss by consuming non-caloric sweeteners instead of plain sugar. My suggestion is to avoid sweeteners as much as possible. As a bonus, you will likely find it easier to enjoy the natural sweetness of real food. As you’re no longer adapted to the overpowering sweetness of processed low-carb food products and so-called diet sodas.

Did you know, beer contains rapidly digested carbs that shut down fat burning? That’s maybe why beer is sometimes referred to as “liquid bread.” If you want to gain a lean body, you should avoid beer as much as possible. Also, there’s a good reason for the term “beer belly.”

Instead, you can try some low-carb alcoholic options for losing weight:Wine (dry white or red)，Hard liquor like cognac, whisky, vodka，Dry champagne

These drinks hardly contain any digestible carbohydrates such as sugar, so they’re at least better than beer. However, large amounts of alcohol might slow your weight loss process somewhat, so moderation is still a good idea.

Some additional tips

Here are some additional ways of how to lose weight fast:

• Try to eat a high protein breakfast: Eating a high protein breakfast could help you to reduce cravings and calorie intake throughout the day.
• Try to drink water before meals: One study showed that drinking water before meals reduced calorie intake and may be effective in weight management.
• Always choose weight-loss-friendly foods: Some foods are better for weight loss than others. Here is a list of healthy weight-loss-friendly foods.
• Eat soluble fibre: Soluble fibres may promote weight loss. Fibre supplements like glucomannan can also help.
• Try to drink coffee or tea: Caffeine consumption can boost your metabolism and help you to drop weight effectively.
• Eat slowly: While eating slowly rather than quickly can make you feel full and boosts weight-reducing hormones.

Bottom line

The lifestyle changes and diet mentioned here can help you lose weight quickly.

Just remember that most of this weight loss is due to losing water weight, so you’re likely to regain the weight as soon as your carb and calorie intake rise again.

That said, some tips included here — cardio, HIIT, and a generally active daily routine — may make good long-term habits for building muscle and burning calories.

Overall, long-term weight loss can be achieved through healthy lifestyle habits that suit your personal needs. It’s important to follow a sustainable eating pattern and proper sleep to get the nutrients your body requires which, ultimately results in weight loss. When all is said and done, a balanced diet control for weight loss is much more important than the number on the scale.