Weight loss takes time, but sometimes we don’t have all the time in the world and need quick results now. If you’re eating well, and getting your workouts in, then you’re probably wondering how to kick start the final push towards hitting your weight loss goal.
To help you reach your potential, we’ve put together this rundown of the top 5 effective tips to help speed up weight loss. In this article we’ll cover setting calorie goals, tracking your intake, limiting empty calories, and using a fat burner to shave off those final pounds.
1. Weight Loss Calculator
You need to know how many calories you are burning to be able to eat for the best results. If you eat too many calories then you won’t see the weight loss you were hoping for, and if you eat too few calories then you will struggle to stick to your routine and run the risk of bingeing.
To speed up weight loss you need to make sure you are eating in a calorie deficit that matches your activity levels, body type, and sex. There are literally thousands of online weight loss calculators to help you set an easy weight loss calorie goal.
These calculators help you estimate TDEE, total daily energy expenditure, which you can use to create a daily calorie goal. Aim to eat 25-35% fewer calories than your TDEE and stick with it!
2. Weight Loss Diet and Calorie Tracking
Fast weight loss doesn’t come from the gym, it comes from the kitchen. Once you’ve worked out your calorie intake goal you need to eat in a way that provides your body with all the nutrients you need to lose fat and not muscle while fueling your workouts.
A fast weight loss diet should feature high protein, low fat, and enough carbohydrates to keep you energized during the day. Benefits of a high protein diet include a reduced waist circumference, lower overall calorie intake, and even a metabolism boost. Remember – most adults need between 0.8g and 1.5g of protein per kilo of body weight.
When you do eat carbs, make sure they are unrefined, complex carbohydrates with plenty of fiber. Refined carbs encourage your body to hang onto water weight and will slow down your weight loss progress.
Use a recipe calorie calculator to make sure you’re not accidentally going over your daily calorie limit. If your diet is going well, your workouts are on point, but you aren’t seeing the weight loss you had expected – then be honest with yourself and make sure you include any extra snacks, drinks, and sauces in your calorie count.
3. Stop drinking calories
One of the key things that holds people back from reaching their weight loss goals is liquid calories. Coffee with lots of creamer, syrup, and sprinkles can easily contain as many calories as a whole meal and will slow you down in reaching your target weight. Swap sugar for sweetener, swap cream for skim milk, and opt for sugar-free syrups. Even better – go for black coffee.
Alcohol seriously slow your weight loss. Just 16 ounces of beer can contain up to 200 calories and wine contains around 125 calories per glass. Calories aside – once you’ve had a drink you are less likely to stick to your diet, less likely to work out the next day, and will have worse quality sleep – all of which will impact your weight loss goals.
Dehydration caused by alcohol causes your body to hold onto water as much as possible so it will take you several days to drop water weight after a drinking session.
4. Sleep to lose weight
Sleeping more helps you lose weight! Yes, you read that right – just one extra hour of sleep every night can help you reduce food cravings the next day and has been associated with lower calorie intake. On the flip side, poor quality sleep is associated with increased food cravings, total calorie intake, and a preference for sugary carbohydrates over other food groups.
Less sleep is associated with higher cortisol levels. Cortisol is the body’s stress hormone and chronic high cortisol levels are associated with higher body fat. Cortisol causes our body to collect fat around the torso and can be very hard to shift. We can’t control our stressful lives all the time, but a good place to start is with a better sleep routine.
5. Use a Fat Burner
Fat burners could be the difference between toned and shredded, they can provide that little extra push you need to finally drop those last few pounds. So, should you try a fat burner?
Fat burner pills are a supplement that helps to boost your fat loss progress. They do this in a variety of ways including by firing up your metabolism (faster metabolism = more fat burning), supressing your appetite, and reducing how much fat your body can absorb from your food.
There’s a lot of different fat burners out there, so make sure you buy yours from a reputable supplements store that uses quality ingredients.
Here’s a guide to the most common ingredients found in fat burning supplements:
- Caffeine.
Caffeine stimulates your nervous system which may help you increase your resting calorie burn. Increasing your caffeine intake can also improve your performance at the gym, allowing you to push harder, run faster, and add more weight to your bar. All these effects translate into increased energy expenditure and therefore increased fat burning.
- Green tea extract.
This ingredient originated in Eastern traditional medicine where green tea is used to treat slow metabolisms. Green tea extract is the purest dose of green tea compounds you can take, so may help boost your metabolism without needing to drink endless cups of tea.
- Carnitine.
This class of amino acids is found in cells all over the body and plays an essential role in energy production by boosting the energy output from mitochondria.
Fat burners sometimes contain carnitine to help promote energy production from smaller amounts of food. To see the pounds fall off you need to be burning more than you’re eating – and carnitine can help.
As with any supplement, do your research beforehand, read reviews and check in with yourself to see if you’re making the gains you were hoping for.
Conclusion
Speeding up weight loss depends on your commitment, precision, and attention to detail. Make sure you have your nutrition and lifestyle in check before considering adding supplements to your routine. The benefits of a fat burner can help you drop those last few pounds and be the final piece of the puzzle to your weight loss goals.
