Need to Lose Weight Fast? 3 Steps To Get Started TODAY

Do you need to lose weight fast? Whether it’s a new year’s resolution you’d like to make happen, or a health issue, you can make get started making changes that can have a big impact on your overall health. In this article, you’ll find powerful evidence-based guidelines on how you can start shedding the extra pounds -- not tips on crash diets or fasting that actually create more problems than they solve.

Heart problems are just one of the potential issues that can accompany the weight loss from a crash diet. They can also lead to dehyrdation, malnutrition, and a slower metabolism (the opposite of what you want to achieve).  

So -- how can you still lose weight quickly while keeping your health in check? Change your focus. Forget severe calorie restriction and focus on both exercise and nutrition that gives your metabolism the boost it needs to work harder for you. The data shows that a combination of exercise and nutrition is the key to effective, and sustainable, weight loss.

Need to Lose Weight Fast? Watch Those Starches & Sugars
Reduce the amount of refined sugars and starches in your diet. Why, exactly? You’ve probably heard the term ‘insulin’ more times than you can remember. Insulin isn’t just a consideration for diabetics: it’s something we should all care a lot more about (especially if we want to lose weight): insulin is a hormone that triggers fat storage in your body (yuck).

When you can lower the insulin in your body, you lower the amount of fat that’s being stored. Change what you eat. Reduce foods that trigger your body to produce more insulin. Which foods? You guessed it: refined sugars and starches (french fries and ice cream, anyone?). Added bonus: you may find yourself less hungry over time -- which leads to more weight loss.  

Need to Lose Weight Fast? Clean Up Your Plate
Achieving healthy weight loss isn’t as simple as just reducing your food intake as many people have falsely believed. You want your body, and your metabolism, to be firing on all cylinders: you can achieve that through an intake of nutrient-rich calories, not just less calories.

Reduce low-quality calories: anything that’s been highly processed, sugary soft drinks and beverages, refined sugars, refined white grains, foods that are high in saturated and trans-fats, and high-glycemic foods such as white potatoes. Focus on filling your plate with high-quality calories: veggies and fruits, whole grains, healthy fats (such as avocados and coconut oil), and healthy proteins such as beans and lean meats/fish.

If figuring out all the nutrition aspects of what to eat or what to buy at the grocery store seems overwhelming, you are not alone. Most people get so frustrated with all the conflicting advice they receive from doctors, fitness trainers and friends, that they give up before they even begin. But don't fret, this is where we can help, and quite frankly it's the reason we opened Pure Plates.

We take the nutrition knowledge and calculating off of your plate (literally) and give you what you need to succeed; fully prepared meals that have already been nutritionist approved. So if you need some help on the Food side of Losing Weight Fast, we recommend you try our 5 Day Revive Meal Plan. You can see an example above of what a 5 Day Plan includes. It's a super simple way to try out good healthy food for 5 days so you can see how much of a difference clean, healthy food can make in your quest to drop those pounds quickly!

Need to Lose Weight Fast? Strategic Exercise
High-intensity interval training (HIIT), and building muscle, can do wonders to help you lose weight fast. High-intensity interval training is fast bursts of intense physical activity alongside moderate physical activity or rest; sprinting is an excellent example of HIIT. Research shows that this kind of exercise is particularly helpful for helping overweight and obese people reduce body fat. In fact, a recent study found that just two weeks of working out on a HITT regimen significantly increases the capacity for fat oxidation in women.

In addition to HITT exercise, add in some strength-training exercises that help increase the muscle tone in your body. Studies show that muscles burn more fat: 10 pounds of muscle burns 50 calories while 10 pounds of fat burn just 20 calories.If you’re hesitant to hit the weight room at the gym, there are plenty of ways -- from pushups to squats-- that will get you building muscle and burning more calories.

Bottom line? There’s no hard and fast formula for losing weight fast. We all have different tastes, abilities, preferences, and goals. Beyond nutrition and exercise, consistency is the most important key to sustained weight loss over time. Find ways to make leading a healthy lifestyle easy for you: if you don’t have the time for meal prep, a service like ours that can help out. If you don’t have time to map out workouts, work with a trainer who can help you maximize your time and effort. If you struggle with motivation, find an accountability partner who can help cheer you on and keep you on the track to better health.