Maybe you’ve decided to get in better shape to improve your overall health, gain more energy, or in preparation for a competition or special event. Whatever the goal, you are certainly not alone. Most people in this world know what it’s like to live with extra body weight, and that it can be a struggle to sustain weight loss.
As a registered dietitian, I don’t believe that losing weight fast is the healthiest approach. It often backfires, which leads to regaining all (or more) of the pounds shed, and it usually results in shedding only water weight, rather than body fat.
But if you’re initially motivated to drop a few pounds fast, here’s a primer on what you should know, including the safest approaches, and who should definitely not go down the quick fix path.
In order to address these obstacles and overcome them, consider avoiding certain foods that can contribute to over-eating and trigger inflammation by causing gut-related issues.
Fast Food and Processed Foods: Unfortunately, foods for which studies show we have a high biological preference (those high in sugar and calories), and which contribute to overeating, are currently the cheapest and most accessible. It takes effort, but cut out any fast food, which relies on additives and excessive sodium to taste appealing, and foods with long ingredient lists that are hard to pronounce. Higher consumption of fruits and veggies and lower consumption of fats/oils and sweets/beverages has been shown to help prevent obesity. What to do instead: Eat minimally processed, whole foods that have ideally been cooked from scratch.
Added Sugar: Contrary to popular belief, fat isn’t the first thing that will make you fat … it’s consuming too much sugar. Sugar can be hidden under names like corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, juice concentrate, maltodextrin, raw sugar and brown sugar. These sugars can often be hidden in things that sound like health foods, including fruit juice, granola bars, dressings and protein bars. What to do instead: Eliminate and replace all of these types of sugar with natural sweeteners like green stevia and raw honey, but have even both of these in moderation.
You are eating homemade food, you have uninstalled food delivery applications, you have completely shunned processed food items and have gone the sugar-free way, but the dreaded weighing scale refuses to budge. If it sounds pretty much like your story, be rest assured that you are not alone. Infact, a lot of people practice good eating habits and work out regularly but are not able to knock off those stubborn kilos. More often than not, the reason behind the same is deceivingly simple–not drinking enough water. Weight loss: If you are not drinking enough water, be prepared to gain weight.
Most of us have grown up hearing how we should drink at least 8 glasses of water daily to boost our immune system and flush out the toxins from the body. However, if you are on a quest to lose weight, there is yet another understated benefit of drinking enough water throughout the day–weight loss. A lot of studies have shown the correlation between increased consumption of water and the fat-burning capacity of the body.
When you do not drink enough water, your body is not able to correctly decipher the difference between hunger pangs and dehydration. Yes, thirst can sometimes mask itself as hunger and lead to unwanted munching, when you could have simply done with a glass of water. To put it simply, try drinking water, the next time hunger pangs come knocking. It fills your stomach, leading to a sense of satiety and suppressing your hunger.
Dehydration is a main health concern when losing weight quickly. Dehydration is the worst method of losing weight.
Symptoms of dehydration can become noticeable after as little as 2% loss of normal water volume. Drinking too little water in combination with heavy exercise may cause cramps or, in extreme cases, heatstroke and swelling of the brain which causes seizures and hypovolemic shock.
A simple, efficient way of determining proper hydration is to check urine color. Dark urine (similar to apple juice) indicates dehydration and clear urine indicates adequate hydration.