There is no magic pill for rapid weight loss. It’s tempting to buy into promises that a miracle cleanse or supplement will blast off your love handles, but they don’t exist. There are, however, lifestyle changes you can make to help achieve results faster.
Discipline in your fitness routine and diet can be difficult at first - But there are tips and tricks you can follow to help you get there.
Personal trainers make a living off of helping others get fit, and pride themselves on their own fitness. They weren’t born with their physique - they had to work for it. At some point in their lives they faced a lot of the same challenges you are now, but made the changes outlined below into a routine to help them realize a healthier body.
Before You Begin...
It’s important to recognize that trying to change too many aspects of your current routine at once is doomed to failure. Implement one or two practices at a time, give them your full effort for a few weeks, then try adding more.
Also, it’s important to be realistic - starting to see meaningful weight loss will take a few weeks at the very least. But if you can stick to at least some of the recommendations below, implementing them one-by-one, you’ll soon see the results you’re looking for.
Here are small changes you can focus on to help lose weight fast
1. Drink more water
Its a cliché at this point, but if you’re not drinking enough water then you’re not preparing your body for success. Dehydration results in fatigue, which might be why you lack the energy to get moving first thing in the morning. On top of that, people who don’t drink enough water tend to feel more hungry and are more likely to snack.
Your goal should be 8-12 glasses of water per day - and yes, that means a lot of bathroom trips. But if you’ve been neglecting hydration, following this routine should result in a higher baseline of energy overall and help with your weight loss. Try setting alarms on your phone when getting started so you don’t forget, and be sure to always have a water bottle with you when you’re at work, the gym, or out and about.
2. Smart goal setting and tracking
Big changes like major weight loss don’t occur without a level of discipline, and goal setting and tracking helps keep you accountable.
But being realistic means not setting extreme weight loss goals. What works for others may not work for you, and if you set a goal like “I want to lose 5 lbs in two weeks” and don’t lose those pounds, it’s easy to get discouraged.
Instead try setting lifestyle goals, like:
“I will drink 8 glasses of water a day”
“I will exercise 4 mornings a week with 10 min of cardio and 20 min of strength exercises”
“I will stick to my diet plan and only have ice cream once per week”
Behavioural goals like this are not dependent on your weight loss, and over time will help you see the results you’re looking for. Tracking your progress in a fitness journal helps you stay accountable to those goals and makes sure you don’t “conveniently forget” to keep up with your training.
3. Create a weekly workout schedule - and start slow
Having a rigid workout schedule makes it less likely you’ll find excuses to skip out. It also allows you to build out a schedule around specific muscle groups to allow those muscles to have a proper rest.
A conservative goal for someone who hasn’t exercised regularly in a while is 2-3 days per week for 30 minutes. Once you’ve managed to follow that for a couple of weeks and your tolerance for exercises increases, try increasing both the amount and length of your workouts.
Looking for some workout inspiration? Try one of these routines designed by our personal trainers to be performed at home:
4. Focus on strength training
Cardio workouts are a great way to get your heart pumping, increase your endurance for physical activity and burn calories, but strength training burns more calories every day. Strength training breaks down and rebuilds muscle even when resting, a process known as your resting metabolism: the number of calories you burn while at rest. Doing some cardio before a set of strength exercises gets your heart rate up and boosts the efficiency of your workout.
A bodyweight circuit is the best of both worlds for cardio and strength. Working through a bodyweight circuit with no pauses between exercises makes your workout more intense, burns calories faster than running on a treadmill, and provides both strength and cardio boosting benefits.
5. Focus on nutrition, macros and serving sizes
Lastly and most importantly, any serious effort to start losing weight needs to begin in the kitchen. Initially, any major changes to your diet can be a huge drag. But over time these healthy habits will become easier when your body adjusts - and particularly when you start shedding pounds.
The simplest (but hardest) change you can make is to drastically minimize the number of processed foods and unhealthy carbs you put into your body. Checking the added sugar content of everything you buy must become a routine, and you should say no to pop altogether.
You need to focus on macros, aka macronutrients and macro nutrition. Following a macro diet is a great way to learn about proteins, carbs, and fats, and how they impact your body. Instead of looking at food in terms of calories, learning macro nutrition forces us to look at food as fuel. Counting macros means keeping track of what proteins, carbs, and fats you’re eating, and in what ratio. This helps you make food choices that support your fitness goals.
It’s important to track what you eat as well so you’re staying accountable to your diet. This sheer act alone should help you avoid eating a half bag of potato chips, and allows you to track your intake of protein, carbs, and fiber.