For most people, losing a pound or a pound of weight in a week is a safe and reasonable goal. Going beyond this threshold is not easy and can cause health problems if you are not careful. If you have a desire to lose weight or lose a couple of inches around your waist within a few days, this article can show you the right methods. One of the easiest ways to get the needle off the scales is to expel excess fluids, so try making small changes to help minimize water retention. In order to lose even the superfluous fat, you will need to reduce your calorie consumption and do more physical activity.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Eliminate Excess Fluids
Step 1. Drink more water to expel excess fluids
While it may seem illogical, if you drink more water your body retains less. The best way to combat water retention is to drink plenty of water and other moisturizing fluids. The list of useful drinks includes natural fruit juices as well as broth, as long as it is lightly salty. Foods rich in water also help hydrate your body and make you lose excess fluids, so make sure you eat several servings of fruit and vegetables every day.
- Avoid sports drinks as they contain substances, such as sweeteners and sodium, which cause fluid retention.
- Also avoid drinks that dehydrate the body, such as alcohol, tea, and coffee. If you have trouble stopping alcohol, even for a short time, you should talk to your doctor. He will be able to give you useful tips to give up the habit or reduce quantities.
- The habit of drinking coffee can also be hard to break. Consider tapering off your doses gradually rather than quitting overnight.
Step 2. Limit your salt intake to combat water retention
When you eat very salty foods, you force your body to hold onto fluids in an attempt to dilute it. Avoid foods with a high salt content, such as sausages, chips, crackers, and sports drinks. When cooking or eating, try to use it in moderation.
- Foods rich in potassium, such as bananas, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes, help the body excrete excess salt.
- Experiment with alternatives to salt when cooking. For example, try flavoring your dishes with black pepper, garlic powder and a healthy and tasty oil such as sesame.
- You can reduce your salt intake by replacing ready-made foods with fresh and wholesome ingredients you cook yourself.
Step 3. Avoid carbohydrates to lose weight quickly
Another cause of water retention are foods rich in carbohydrates. That's why most people lose a lot of weight during the first few days of a low-carb diet. If you want to get leaner in a week, try giving up on bread, pasta, potatoes, and baked desserts.
- Replace these high-carb foods with fruits and vegetables, which are high in fiber. The list of options available to you includes berries, green leafy vegetables and legumes such as beans and peas.
- Cutting out carbs is helpful in losing weight quickly, but it's not a good long-term solution. A healthy diet must include complex carbohydrate sources such as legumes and whole-grain pasta, bread or rice.
Step 4. Exercise to expel excess fluids by sweating
When you exercise, you lose salt and excess water through sweating. Run, bike or walk briskly to improve blood circulation and sweat out excess fluids.
- Modern training techniques, such as circuit training or interval training, can help you lose excess fluids very quickly.
- Don't forget to drink plenty of water when exercising. Dehydration prompts the body to retain fluids.
Step 5. Ask your doctor to prescribe a diuretic medication
Some conditions cause the body to retain too much fluid. If you are having difficulty expelling excess fluids, consult your doctor to find out what is causing the problem. Once they understand the source of the disorder, they may prescribe a cure to eliminate it.
- Your doctor may recommend that you take a diuretic or a magnesium supplement to minimize the amount of fluids your body retains.
- The most common causes of water retention include: PMS, pregnancy, and various kidney, heart, liver or lung conditions. Water retention is also a side effect caused by some medications.
Warning:
call your doctor right away if you notice your weight is increasing disproportionately. If you gain more than 1kg per day or 2kg per week, you may be suffering from a condition that causes your body to retain too much fluid.
Part 2 of 2: Reduce Dietary Fat and Improve Your Lifestyle
Step 1. Use lean protein to get full fast
If you eat a lot of protein, your metabolism speeds up so your body is able to burn calories more efficiently. Plus, protein has the ability to make you feel full longer than other foods, and as a result, the risk of craving for snacks and fatty foods between meals is reduced. If you want to lose weight, your goal should be to consume 0.7g of protein per half a kilo of body weight every day.
Healthy sources of protein include poultry meat, fish, legumes (such as lentils, beans, and peas), and yogurt
Step 2. Avoid liquid calories
The risk of consuming several extra calories without realizing it through sodas is very high. If you want to lose weight quickly, avoid drinks that are high in calories and sugars, such as alcohol, soda, industrial juices, and pre-sweetened tea and coffee.
Water is your best ally for keeping your body hydrated. Drinking plenty of water helps you expel excess fluids and keep hunger under control
Step 3. Have three light meals every day to encourage your body to burn calories
Rather than snacking on numerous snacks within hours of each other, in order to lose weight, you should have three meals a day that will keep you full until the next one. Breakfast, lunch and dinner should be made up of foods that are light but satiate and satisfy the stomach, such as lean proteins, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Try to resist the urge to snack between meals.
- By not eating between meals, you cause your body to burn fat stores for energy.
- If you resist the urge to snack after dinner, you have a better chance of burning excess fat while you sleep.
Step 4. Get your metabolism going with interval training
It is a training method that pushes the body to its limits to speed up the metabolism and causes it to burn stored fat. Check with your doctor, physical therapist, or personal trainer to find out if this type of training is right for your health condition.
- To increase your heart rate and burn calories faster, try 8 4-minute sessions of high-intensity exercise. Each exercise should last for 20 seconds and be followed by 10 seconds of rest.
- Among the high intensity exercises that you can include in your workout are: burpee, jump squat and mountain climber.
Suggestion:
you should also train muscle strength to burn fat faster and have a leaner and more defined body. Don't be discouraged if the scale doesn't go down, the reason is that muscles weigh more than fat.
Step 5. Ask your doctor for a low calorie diet
If you need to lose weight quickly, you can follow a diet that provides a daily caloric intake lower than your daily requirement. Generally the limit threshold is between 800 and 1,500 calories per day. You have to keep in mind that this is not a suitable option for a long-term diet. You can try to follow a calorie restricted diet only under the close supervision of your doctor or a qualified dietician and only for the recommended time.
