Our entire society and culture is built on
speed. We want instant foods, express check-out lanes and the ability to grab a
gallon of milk without even getting out of our car. We instant message each
another, we surf the web, demanding faster and faster connection speeds. All of
this adds up to more weight gain and the desire to lose weight fast. Despite
how it usually seems, we do not gain all of this excess weight overnight. We do
not go from normal weight to morbidly obese in the course of a week or even in
the course of a month. It is gradual and yet we think there should be a way to
lose weight fast. We think we should be able to take some magic pill that
blocks or absorbs all of the calories from the foods that we eat so that we do
not gain weight. We think that there is some magical potion that can allow us
to eat fast foods, unhealthy foods, and enormous portions while sitting on the
couch or behind our computer desk. We think we can detox two days before an
event, lose enough weight to fit into our dress and then go right back to the
same old way of eating after it is over and done with.
You did not gain weight fast, so it is not be
easy to lose weight fast. It is more important to lose weight effectively and
safely than to drop a lot of weight in a short period of time.
Choosing
a Safe Diet Plan
Diet
plan that sounds too good to be true, promises outrageous amounts of weight
loss, or suggests that you ignore whole groups of foods and nutrients is not
the right one for you. You do not need to put your health at risk for weight
loss. You do not need to ignore foods that you like or eat foods that you do
not enjoy to lose weight fast. A safe diet plan is one that gives you a fair
amount of sustainable weight loss without making you sick or weak and without
putting your body at risk for vitamin or mineral deficiencies. A safe diet plan
is also one that does not sound ridiculous when you closely examine it.
In the beginning, you will find that you lose
weight much quicker. You will lose the most weight in weeks one and two but
start tapering off by weeks three and four meaning that you will also have to
continually reevaluate and readjust your efforts to take into account the fact
that you weigh less and therefore need smaller amounts of food to maintain yourself.
Portion
Control Is the Key
One of the most common myths that will not
die in the world of dieting is that if you are eating certain kinds of foods,
you can have all that you want. You can have unlimited salad. There are some
watery vegetables that you can eat in unlimited amounts, but then there are
other healthy foods that are not allowed to be eaten in unlimited amounts. If
you are eating too much of even the healthiest foods, you are going to gain
weight. It is that simple. Protein is a good example. It is a very important
macronutrient and one that the body digests more slowly than any other. If you
eat too much protein at one time, the body will automatically store it for
later, leading to weight gain. In fact, the body can only metabolize roughly 30
grams of protein at one time. Thirty grams is equal to four ounces of beef,
chicken, or fish and this amount should be eaten every three hours or so. In
addition to protein from beef, chicken, or fish, anyone who wants to lose
weight fast should consider eating at least a percentage of their protein
intake from vegetable protein as well. Good examples of vegetarian protein
include tofu, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, and legumes.
Why
Timing Matters
There are many rigidly written diet plans
that have you jumping through hoops and changing your entire lifestyle to
comply with their rules. You may have to wake up to eat a meal hours before you
normally would. You may find yourself struggling to find some of the
ingredients that are needed for the recipes. You may find yourself not allowed
to eat after a certain time, starving for the rest of the night. Those diet
plans that tell you that you can lose weight fast by eating only three meals a
day discount the fact that metabolism can be destroyed by eating too little or
not eating often enough. The body becomes convinced that it is starving and
will shut down what it considers to be less than necessary or important. It is
better to eat small meals more frequently throughout the day, which not only
prevents hunger but also keeps the metabolism working more efficiently.
