This seems to be a really common search item in Google “How To Lose Weight Fast” and I must admit that I have made this search once or twice before as well. Let me save you some time and effort and Say you Can’t – Or at the very least you need to redefine the definition of fast!
It must be possible right, there are millions of responses in Google, the new AI feature saves you even looking for a decent article as the answer is there immediately. There is no quick way to lose weight that I am aware of or that would come close to be healthy based on my experience. We middle aged men are thinking it is time to lose the gut and I am so committed that I am sure I can do it in a solid month or 2. Sorry chaps – No, and I think there are a few areas we need to cover on this one.
Calorie Deficit
This is the most important area of this conversation and just the reality of it all. The best and only real way to lose any weight is to be in a calorie deficit which basically means that you need to be having a body that uses more calories than it gets given in a sensible proportion. Yes the basic principle that if you are not eating enough to power the body then the body has to use the fat reserves.
I am keeping this simple as we want a nice simple answer to the reality don’t we. What this means is that you need to try and confirm what is a safe and sensible level of calories to target FOR YOUR BODY and so there the plan really would be to be find a calculator that can help to determine the estimate. I have used the Calculator on healthline before and so this helps to identify the calories required and suggestions of target numbers.
To be able to make use of the number of calories this means the next important part of the challenge is to make sure you track the calories. The attempt to lose weight fast only comes from being able to see what is working and what you are eating.
Tracking Calories Helps To Lose Weight Fast
A key part of losing weight is knowing what you are eating and if it is good bad or indifferent. It is a real eye opener in itself when you start tracking calories and you become REALLY aware of portion size and the number of calories there are in some items you may not have been aware of.
If you are like me then you have heard of people talking of protein and carbs etc etc and never really associated it with the relevance to fat and energy burning but this is all part of this journey. As you get more into understanding and wanting to change, the more you find you REALLY start to look at what you eat and why! My relationship with food and drink has changed a LOT over the last year as I think about what I am eating and drinking and WHY! Will cover this in another post but for now – Lets Track Calories
In short you need an app to track the food in this modern world and it makes life easier. There are many various ones, I think the 2 main ones are Lose It and My Fitness Pal. You need to look at them both and see what works for you and how you want to use them which again I will cover in posts to come. For now though I would comment that I use the Lose It app and I have paid for the premium version and think this was worth the money. As with most paid for things, hang on for a discount of 70% or something and use that.
A key part of this though is you MUST BE HONEST. I have put in the app that I had 0.5 of a pizza knowing I had .75 of the pizza and I am just lying and cheating myself. No else gives a crap how much you ate. The goal here is to lose weight and BE IN A CALORIE deficit so put the real numbers. You NEED TO ACCEPT some days will be bad day and others will be good. There is not a way to lose weight fast and so it is a marathon not a sprint.
Exercise
Along with eating less and managing the types of food you eat, yes you need to increase the level of exercise. There are numerous benefits and as you join facebook groups and instagram people you will see all types of different conversations and statements.
This blog is about my experience and my view and the answer for me on this one is this. More exercise, cardio or muscle training will build muscle in different ways. More muscle means that the body will, over the duration of a day, just naturally need more calories and so will help lost more weight IF in a calorie deficit. Either type of exercise is good as it requires effort from the body which will use food stores of one type of other AND help the body be healthier as well.
There are the 2 main types of exercise which are muscle building and cardio and some others that are both. Muscle building does not just mean pumping iron with the tough nuts and grunting a lot, as you build muscle through cardio as well but in different ways. You just need to find the exercise that works for you and that you feel is giving you most benefit.
I think – You need both initially. We know we can’t lose weight fast but we can set the body up for success and this needs a mix of exercise. I think the exercise you do whilst trying to burn fat will change – from what you want to do as you lose weight – and then, what you want when you have lost the fat and want to get a shape or target you are aiming for. For the initial weight lose I spend more time on the aerobic cardio based exercise than muscle BUT I do them both as often as I can.
I for example at the moment am starting to transition a bit as I am getting closer to having got rid of a lot of the fat I want/need to lose. There is still plenty to go BUT I am starting to see body shape changes as getting closer to my frame and so it is making me think about the muscles under the fat that I might be able to see soon and what I want them to look for. So?? – My new challenge is Abs – I have decided I want abs so I am doing lots of abs work, nearly every training session. I cant see the benefits but I can start to feel them.
I will soon do a post on my workout and what I think has worked for me in fat loss, it wont say I could lose weight fast but share MY EXPERIENCE of losing weight at a rate I think has been pretty god and I have definitely noticed. The MOST IMPORTANT comments and things to remember are these. One Day or Day One?? Make the Decision! Eat Less (assuming you are eating normal daily amounts) and DO MORE. The most important thing you can do is count your calories and make sure you are in a Calorie Deficit. Tacking your calories (this means checking weights of food) is a MASSIVE eye opener.
It is now Saturday morning – Raining and horrible outside. It is a Motivation moment – I AM going to the gym as I cant lose weight fast so I need to keep working on it! – You can to…
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