From The Straits Times    |

While you might be motivated to lose weight fast, by day four of whatever crazy crash diet you decided to embark on, looking slightly rounder than usual sounds a lot more appealing than 24 more hours of cabbage soup.

Because we care, we’re here to offer you a much easier, healthier, and saner plan of attack that will actually help you learn how to lose weight fast — the healthy way – with these 10 easy strategies:

 

1. Don’t eat any one food more than once a day

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

If you have toast at breakfast, choose another whole-grain carb like brown rice or quinoa for lunch and dinner. By limiting yourself to one portion of any single food, you automatically add a sort of fail-safe to your eating plan.

 

2. Eat legumes at least four times a week

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

In one European Journal of Nutrition study, people who followed a low-cal diet that included four weekly servings of legumes, lost significantly more weight after four weeks compared to those who ate the same number of calories but no legumes.

 

3. Get 8.5 hours of sleep

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

One Annals of Internal Medicine study had a group of both men and women follow a calorie-controlled diet. After 14 days of sleeping either 5.5 or 8.5 hours each night, both groups lost about three kilograms – but those who got the most sleep lost twice as much fat as the short sleepers did.

 

4. Drink a litre of water every 20 kilograms you weigh

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

While increasing your water intake is vital to prevent overeating, promoting healthy digestion, and keeping your metabolism in tip-top shape; when it comes to dropping weight quickly, water is also your greatest de-bloating ally.

 

5. Cut back on processed foods and salt

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

Another way to ditch excess water weight is to get your sodium and potassium levels in check. To do that, cut back on processed foods, which tend to be high in sodium, and mixing salt from whatever food is on your plate.

 

6. Do 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

To lose weight in record time, high-intensity interval training is your exercise strategy of choice. Minute-per-minute, it burns more calories than other workouts like steady-state cardio while also increasing the calories you burn 48 hours after your workout.

 

7. Avoid pasta, cookies and candy

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

One of the easiest ways to de-bloat is to reduce your intake of simple, refined carbs. Some sources to watch out for include white pasta, cookies, crackers and candy – which have a high percentage of refined sugars. You’ll be shocked by how much weight you lose (even if it is water) within a week or two of cutting back on your regular sugar fix.

 

8. Eat whole carbs, proteins and fats every few hours

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

Eating balanced meals and snacks, containing all the macronutrients your body needs every few hours is key to energising your body for workouts. This prevents overeating and keeps your metabolism at peak speed.

 

9. Eat a handful of nuts everyday

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

In one Penn State study, people who ate roughly a handful of almonds each day lost significantly more abdominal fat over the course of six weeks compared to those who followed a nut-less diet with the same number of calories.

 

10. Drink your veggies

Diet smart! 10 ways to lose weight without crash dieting

If you still won’t eat your veggies no matter the preparation, then try sneaking them into your diet by drinking them. Sipping on a veggie-based shake during snack time is a good option when you’re trying to lose weight because it’s packed with fiber and can boost your metabolism. 

 

See also: Avoid these 10 foods while on your wedding dietInclude these 5 ingredients in your diet for bright, beautiful skin


photos: 123rf and pixabay

This story was first published on The Singapore Woman’s Weekly.