Welcome to my article on the quickest way to lose weight. The problem always starts in the definition. Sometimes I address the extremes, and other times I address something more moderate. In this article, I am going to talk about a moderate, but extremely effective way to quickly lose weight and to keep it off.
If you have read my other articles, you probably know that I think habit is extremely important. This goes back to Aristotle who said that habits are ten times more powerful than nature. If you form good habits, the results of good habits will follow.
Instead of asking, “What’s the quickest way to lose weight,” I am going to change the question a bit to, “What is the most effective way to lose weight?”
Now, my apologize if you are only thinking about losing weight for a week. However, I think most people are really looking to lose weight for a long time, but want to get off to a good, fast start. There is nothing wrong with this because results are motivating. However, all results have diminishing returns when it comes to weight loss.
For example, after a vacation where I lose twenty pounds, I can lose twenty pounds in two weeks because I am quite strong and can therefore burn calories much faster than people who are much weaker. This is because I can do a lot more work, where work equals the amount of energy transferred by a force through a distance. Since I generate more force (mass times acceleration), I do a greater amount of work, and burn more calories. However, this does not go on forever. If I could keep losing ten pounds per week indefinitely, I would cease to exist after about twenty weeks!
Therefore, it is best not to get into the short-term mindset. Just be happy with your gradual weight loss. This is actually not that difficult to accomplish with the approach I am about to outline.
I will now outline what to do to lose weight.
Forget about workouts to lose weight for today. I discuss these in other articles at great length.
Today we will focus on diet, particularly, the art of substitution.
Substitution is an excellent art when done right, because I find that it makes discipline a lot easier. This is the same approach the National Institutes of Health (NIH) takes to help people lose weight and quit smoking.
The main premise behind substitution for weight loss is to replace “bad” foods with “better” ones. Notice that I did not say “good” foods, although that would be an excellent final goal. So the process is quite simple after defining bad and good foods as well as looking at a few examples.
What is a “bad” food?
The list of bad foods can get quite long depending on who you talk to, but let us make it a bit simpler because easy rules are easier to follow.
Bad foods are:
- calorie-dense: ice cream, soda, alcohol, cereal, bread, etc.
- processed: come packaged in a box, bag, can or plastic
Good foods are basically the opposite:
- calorie-sparse: vegetables, fresh meats, legumes
- natural: fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, legumes, unsalted nuts, organic cheeses and breads
So to effectively substitute foods, you need to:
- Identify “bad” foods quickly and honestly
- Think of a better food that can be eaten in place of it
- Have the constitution to choose the better of the two options
Substitution is like all habits, the more you do it, the easier it is to do.
You now know what is the quickest way to lose weight in terms of a sustainable dietary change that it is now up to you to implement.
Are you up for the challenge?
Are you going to take this very simple and extremely powerful tip and use it to lose weight that you are obviously unhappy about carrying around with you?
OR
Will you ignore this advice and keep asking yourself, “Why can’t I lose weight?”
It is now up to you. The ball is in your court. If you don’t learn to dribble, you will never get the ball to the other side of the court and score. There are many ways to lose weight. I apologize for not having the best organization, but there are many gems on this website that, if you actually give them the attention they deserve, you too will be able to achieve your weight loss goals; not just once, but for the rest of your life.
Even if you start today and it takes you nine months to hit your weight loss goal which you were hoping to achieve in two weeks, just two years from now, you will look back and realize that the quickest way to lose weight was actually the most sustainable way to lose weight because you don’t have to yo-yo back and forth, and you can always improve your habits.
