Are you someone who finds themselves frequently checking the scale, meticulously tracking every fluctuation in weight, all the while aiming to achieve natural and safe weight loss? If so, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we will guide you on how to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way without compromising your health.
1. Eating Mindfully
Before embarking on a journey towards a healthy life and leaving behind unhealthy habits and late-night snacking, you need to make up your mind and think in the right direction, it means that you have to recognize the significance of healthy eating and understand the consequences of unhealthy eating habits. Mindful eating is a vast term that encompasses why, how, when, where, and what to eat to fully understand how your body will respond to food and how to avoid overeating which will help you to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way. There are certain ways to eat in a mindful way which include:
Avoid using cell Phones, TV, and other Electronic Devices:
When you eat distracted, you are more likely to overeat or get hungry again in a few hours. Our brain needs time and focus to process the importance of the food you eat.
Start with a Smaller Portion:
Try to start with a smaller portion of food as you can always have more if you are still hungry.
Try to Chew Thoroughly and Eat Slowly:
Another way to eat mindfully is to chew and eat slowly and thoroughly, so the food gets easier to be digested by the GI tract which will avoid weight gain.
2. Trying Intermittent Fasting
Fasting intermittently is an old and trusted method of losing weight. Scientifically, this method allows the human body to restart its metabolism and rest between meals, which allows each organ to function better in the best possible way. It is simply an eating pattern that cycles between the period of fasting and eating, leading towards hunger tolerance and avoiding binge eating. There are several methods to try intermittent fasting to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way :
16/8 Method:
This method allows you to fast for 16 hours a day and eat all your meals within an 8-hour window.
5:2 Diet:
This method allows you to eat in a normal way for five days of the week and restrict calorie intake to 500 to 600 calories for the other two days. This approach is ideal for individuals with busy schedules, such as working professionals, who find themselves constrained by packed routines and have limited time for preparing special diet meals. They can effectively adopt this diet during weekends or other off days from work.
Eat Stop and Eat Diet:
This diet means that you have to fast for 24 hours once or twice a week for example from lunch one day to lunch other day.
This diet is particularly well-suited for preparing for an upcoming important event where you want to look good and fit into a specific dress for the evening. It can be beneficial for individuals dealing with stomach bloating, offering relief on the big day. While it can promote fast, natural weight loss in the short term, it’s advisable to seek advice from a healthcare professional before starting this diet, especially if considering it for long-term use.
Warrior Diet:
Warrior diet is characterized by filling yourself up with small amounts of fruits and vegetables during the day followed by a large meal at night. This design is a typical schedule of a 20-hour fasting window followed by a 4-hour eating period.
Above mentioned methods of intermittent fasting are some of the commonly practiced ones, you can design a diet according to your needs and routine and still follow intermittent fasting to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way.
3. Minimizing the Consumption of Sugar and Refined Carbohydrates
Sugar and refined carbohydrates are two major culprits of weight gain especially in children and young adults. Refined carbohydrates are usually very low in nutritional value and high in calories. These carbs and sugar are packed in white bread, sugary foods and grains, soft drinks, fast foods, baked goods, candies, desserts, and other processed snacks. You can easily identify these foods and replace them with whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and homemade snacks like granola bars and yogurt. It will be a struggle to cut back on these foods but in the long run, it will help you to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way and live a healthy life. Below, I will give you some tips and tricks to cut back on these unhealthy culprits.
Try to Cook at Home
Cooking your own food helps you to control the amount of sugar, oil, and carbs in your meals. Replace artificial sweeteners with natural ones such as fruits and vegetables.
Limit the Intake of Sugary Drinks
Limiting the intake of soft drinks, fruit juices with added sugars and chocolate-loaded shakes can contribute majorly in cutting back sugar.
Use of Alternate Flours
White flour is often regarded as unhealthy, instead, you can use whole wheat flour, rice flour or almond flour to cut back refined carbohydrates.
4. Adequate Intake of Water
Often, our bodies send signals that we interpret as hunger, when in fact they may be indicating a need for hydration. This confusion can lead to unnecessary eating. By drinking water in such situations, we can better discern whether our body actually requires food or simply needs hydration. Adequate water intake not only keeps us hydrated but also helps us feel fuller, potentially preventing overeating and supporting our overall health.
5. Eating a fiber-rich diet
In order to fully understand how to use fiber for weight loss, first you should know about types of fiber. Fibers are of different kinds like soluble, insoluble, etc. Our interest resides in soluble fiber. Our gut flora is home to trillions of bacteria often called as gut bacteria, they play an important role in regulating brain functions, blood glucose metabolism, immune responses, and many other physiological mechanisms.
One of these bacteria’s major tasks is to regulate the weight management of the human body. This is where soluble fiber does its work, this kind of fiber passes through the digestive tract unchanged, finally reaching your large intestine, and serving as a source of food for your gut flora, they tend to convert it into a usable form of energy, keeping your weight in control and since it moves slowly through your GI tract, it keeps you fuller for longer period of time allowing you to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way.
Below is a table containing foods that are rich in fiber with calorie content:
Food | Serving size | Fiber(g) | Calories |
Broccoli | 1 cup | 5.2 | 55 |
Almonds | 1 oz | 3.4 | 164 |
chickpeas | 1 cup | 12.5 | 269 |
lentils | 1 cup | 15.6 | 227 |
Black Beans | 1 cup | 15 | Food |
Brown Rice | 1 cup | 3.5 | 218 |
Oatmeal | 1 cup | 4 | 154 |
Flax Seeds | 1 oz | 7.6 | 150 |
6. Embrace a Diet Rich in Protein
A diet rich in protein is an anchor to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way. Protein-rich diet is a diet in which more than twenty percent of the total calorie count comes from proteins. Our main goal is to limit carbs and fill our plates with protein-rich foods. Protein-rich foods help you to stay fuller for longer period of time leading to fewer cravings. On the other hand, the consumption of proteins can also lead to a lower level of hunger hormones like ghrelin and an increase in satiety-promoting hormones such as peptide YY. Another target of a protein-rich diet is the Higher Thermic Effect (TEF) which eventually increases the requirement of burning more calories to digest and metabolize proteins, finally helping to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way. Here are some of the protein-rich foods:
Food | Serving Size | Protein (g) | Calories |
Salmon | 3 oz | 22 | 175 |
Chicken Breast | 3 oz | 26 | 140 |
Eggs | 1 | 6 | 70 |
Lentils | 1 cup | 18 | 230 |
Cottage Cheese | ½ cup | 14 | 90 |
Quinoa | 1 cup | 8 | 222 |
Beef (lean sirloin) | 3 oz | 23 | 180 |
7. Adequate Sleep – a key to losing Weight Fast
You can use adequate sleeping as an aid to lose weight fast naturally by understanding a simple hormonal balance. When you sleep less, a hormone named “ghrelin”, which is mainly responsible for stimulating appetite, eventually increases. This causes you to eat more and gain weight. On the other hand, lack of sleep decreases “leptin”, this hormone signals satiety, eventually making you feel hungrier again. Another advantage of good sleep is an improved metabolism, causing a reduction in weight gain and obesity. An adequate amount of sleep helps your energy levels to increase, helping you to engage in more physical activities leading towards a healthy weight loss. Good sleep helps to reduce cortisol, a hormone responsible for craving high-calorie foods, eventually helping towards healthy weight loss. Here are some tips to get adequate sleep:
- Follow a consistent sleep schedule.
- Create a calming sleep environment.
- Avoid eating 2 hours before sleep.
- Practice meditation or other relaxing techniques before going to bed.
- Relax yourself.
- Avoid using phones half an hour before sleep.
Recommended Duration of Sleep:
Aim to get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night to regulate healthy weight management.
8. Use of Natural Supplements
A key to losing weight fast naturally is healthy regulation of metabolism. To speed up the process of losing weight, you can use natural supplements such as green tea, garcinia cambogia, apple cider vinegar, etc. They keep your metabolism fast, supporting weight loss. Here are some of the key benefits of these supplements that support weight loss.
a) Green Tea:
Green tea is full of antioxidants such as catechins, a type of polyphenols. It boosts your metabolism and supports fast oxidation of fat.
Recommended Amount:
2 to 3 cups of green tea can help you to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way.
b) Garcinia Cambogia:
Is a fruit extract rich in hydroxy citric acid (HCA), which aids in reducing appetite and blocks citrate lyase, eventually inhibiting the production of fats.
Recommended Amount:
500 to 1000 mg before meal.
c) Apple Cider Vinegar:
ACV promotes satiety, by increasing the feelings of fullness, promoting fat metabolism, and maintaining sugar metabolism.
Recommended Amount:
1 to 2 tablespoons of ACV diluted in water usually taken before meal.
9. Track your Progress
Losing weight is one of the most motivation-demanding goals. This motivation comes from progress, so it is necessary to track your progress for weight loss. Keeping track of your journey will allow you to make healthy changes in your routine, enhancing your experience towards your weight loss journey. Keeping a record of your progress helps you to identify your eating habits, and calorie intake, control portion sizes, and make healthier choices. Here are some of the methods to track your progress.
Tracking Method | How to Implement | Frequency | Benefits |
Keeping a Food Diary | Keep a record of everything you eat and drink | Daily | It enables you to become aware of your eating habits |
Set Realistic Goals | Make your goals according to your body type, you can take advice from a healthcare professional | Review monthly | Keeps you motivated |
Track your Weight | Weigh yourself each week at the same time | Weekly | Monitors progress |
Measure your Body | Measure by the help of tape measure | Monthly | Sometimes it reveals changes not visible on the scale |
Adjust your Plan | Review your Diet and workouts | Monthly | Help you to make an effective plan that suits your needs |
Evaluate Emotional Changes | Evaluate your energy levels and mood changes | Weekly | Promotes emotional and physical well-being |
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about how to lose weight fast naturally in a safe way.
Q. Is it a safe way to lose weight by skipping meals or drastically reducing calories?
No, drastically reducing calorie intake or skipping meals can cause the body’s metabolism to slow down, eventually causing severe headaches and weakness, and can also cause low blood pressure. Furthermore, in the long run, it can affect eating habits.
Q. What are some natural and effective ways to control cravings?
Staying hydrated, eating fiber-rich foods, reducing cortisol levels.
Q. How can I avoid regaining my weight after loss?
Stick to a sustainable diet plan, maintain a balanced diet, avoid sugary foods and refined carbs, and keep eating mindfully.
Q. Can someone lose 10 pounds in 5 days?
Losing 10 pounds in 5 days is an unrealistic goal, and can lead to harmful and unsafe diets. Furthermore. It can cause rapid weight gain rather than losing weight permanently.
Key Takeaways
There are no shortcuts to lose weight, a realistic plan and motivation are key ingredients to achieve it. Adopting healthy lifestyle choices and a balanced diet can help you to lose weight fast and naturally in a safe way.
A healthy and balanced diet along with exercise is beneficial for weight loss.