You want to drop pounds, now. And you want to do it safely. But how?

First, keep in mind that many experts say its best to lose weight gradually. Its more likely to stay off. If you shed pounds too fast, youll lose muscle, bone, and water instead of fat, says the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The academys advice: Aim to lose 1-2 pounds per week, and avoid fad diets or products that make promises that sound too good to be true. Its best to base your weight loss on changes you can stick with over time.

For faster results, youll need to work with a doctor, to make sure that you stay healthy and get the nutrients that you need.

Youve probably heard the saying, calories in, calories out; as in, you just need to burn more calories than you eat and drink.

But its not that simple, as many people can tell you from their own experience.

Your metabolism -- how well your body turns calories into fuel -- also matters. And if you cut too many calories, its bad for you. You slow down your metabolism, and that can make you fall short on some nutrients.

There are many ways you can do this, without cutting calories too much. You could:

Whatever method you use, youll need to favor good-for-you foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein so you keep up good nutrition. Working with a dietitian is a good idea, so you make a plan that covers those needs.

Many apps can help you track your eating. Since you probably have your smartphone with you all the time, you can use it to keep up with your plan. Or keep a pen-and-paper food journal of what you ate and when.

Youll also want to have people on your side to help you stay motivated and to cheer you on. So ask your family and friends to support your efforts to lose weight.

You might also want to join a weight loss group where you can talk about how its going with people who can relate. Or talk with someone you know whos lost weight in a healthy way. Their encouragement is contagious, in a good way!

At the most basic level, food is fuel. It gives you energy to do things. But very few people eat just for that reason. Its at every social gathering. And its where a lot of us turn when we have a rough day.

Youll need to know what makes you want to eat when youre not hungry, and have a plan for those moments.

The first step is finding out what your triggers are. Is it stress, anger, anxiety, or depression in a certain part of your life? Or is food your main reward when something good happens?

Next, try to notice when those feelings come up, and have a plan ready to do something else instead of eating. Could you take a walk? Text a friend?

Lastly, reward yourself for making a different choice. Just dont use food as the reward.

You dont have to go vegan, gluten-free, or quit any particular food group to lose weight. In fact, youre more likely to keep the pounds off for good if its something you can live with for the long term.

But it does make sense to cut way down on, or totally cut out, empty calories.

Limit added sugars. These are the sugars in cookies, cakes, sugar-sweetened drinks, and other items -- not the sugars that are naturally in fruits, for instance. Sugary foods often have a lot of calories but few nutrients. Aim to spend less than 10% of your daily calories on added sugars.

Be choosy about carbs. You can decide which ones you eat, and how much. Look for those that are low on the glycemic index (for instance, asparagus is lower on the glycemic index than a potato) or lower in carbs per serving than others. Whole grains are better choices than processed items, because processing removes key nutrients such as fiber, iron, and B vitamins. They may be added back, such as in enriched bread.

Include protein. Its satisfying and will help keep up your muscles. There are vegetarian and vegan sources (nuts, beans, and soy are a few), as well as lean meat, poultry, fish, and dairy.

Most Americans get enough protein but could choose to get it from leaner sources, so you may already have plenty in your diet. Your exact protein needs depend on your age, gender, and how active you are.

Make friends with good fats. Small amounts of fat can help you feel full and less like youre on a diet. The better choices are those in fish, nuts, and seeds, and olive oil or coconut oils. Those have unsaturated fats -- polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats, specifically.

Fill up on fiber. You can get that from vegetables, whole grains, fruits -- any plant food will have fiber. Some have more than others. Top sources include artichokes, green peas, broccoli, lentils, and lima beans. Among fruits, raspberries lead the list.

Eat more often. If you eat 5-6 times a day, it could keep hunger at bay. You could split your calories equally across all of those mini-meals, or make some bigger than others. You will need to plan portions so that you dont end up eating more than you bargained for.

What About Meal Replacements? These products will control your calories. Theyre convenient and take the guesswork out of dieting.

Again, though, youll need to change your eating habits to keep the weight off if you go off the meal replacements.

Watch your drinks. One easy way to lose weight quickly is to cut out liquid calories, such as soda, juice, and alcohol. Replace them with zero-calorie drinks like lemon water, unsweetened tea, or black coffee.

Diet drinks will save you calories, compared with sugary beverages. But if you then reach for a cookie or other treat because youre still hungry or you think you saved enough calories for it, that plan backfires.

You might think that fasting is a quick way to drop pounds. But experts dont recommend it, because its not a long-term solution. Its better to have an eating plan that you can stick to over time and fits into your lifestyle.

All fasts arent the same. Some involve skipping all food. There are also fasts where you eat every other day. There hasnt been a lot of research on how well off-and-on fasting works in the long run.

During the first days of your fast, you may feel hungry and grumpy. You may also get constipated. And you wont have the energy to do much, physically. Drink lots of water and take a daily multivitamin. You should also tell your doctor, especially if you take medications that will probably need to be adjusted.

Remember that if you do fast, youll still need to change your eating habits once your fast ends.

No matter how you kick-start your weight loss, the best way to keep it off is with long-lasting lifestyle changes, like a healthy eating plan and physical activity. If youre not sure where to start, how many calories to cut, or how to do it safely, you might want to consult a registered dietitian.

WebMD Medical Reference Reviewed by Christine Mikstas, RD, LD on February 28, 2017

SOURCES:

Caroline Apovian, MD, Nutrition and Weight Management Center, Boston Medical Center.

Monica Auslander, registered dietitian, Essence Nutrition, Miami.

Alison Borkowska, PhD, WeightNot.

Jewels Lett, registered dietitian.

Jessica Levings, Balanced Pantry.

Dana Simpler, MD, Mercy Medical Center.

Adrienne Youdim, MD.

Robert Ziltzer, MD, Scottsdale Weight Loss Center.

International Journal of Behavioral Medicine: The association between rate of initial weight loss and long-term success in obesity treatment: does slow and steady win the race?

Obesity Reviews: Lessons from obesity management programmes: greater initial weight loss improves long-term maintenance.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Staying Away from Fad Diets.

CDC: Losing Weight.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Healthy Eating Plan.

Mayo Clinic: Chart of High-Fiber Foods.

USDA: All About the Protein Foods Group.

Excerpt from:
How To Lose Weight Fast and Safely - webmd.com

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If your previous attempts to lose weight have failed, its not because you failed. Its because whatever diets or regimens you tried have failed you. Theres no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution to obesity. And, contrary to popular opinion, obesity is not caused by simply eating too much or being lazy. Obesity has many causes.

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Home - Idaho Weight Loss

Hormonal and metabolic imbalances or even prescription medicine can interfere with your body's ability to lose weight. Our personalized approach to weight loss begins with a complete evaluation, where we review your health, diet history, body composition, blood panel and EKG to better understand your total health profile. We also consult with your primary care provider as needed to assure optimal overall health.

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Medical Weight Loss | How to Lose Weight | Aurora Health Care

There are many ways to lose a lot of weight fast.

However, most of them will make you hungry and unsatisfied.

If you don't have iron willpower, then hunger will cause you to give up on these plans quickly.

The plan outlined here will:

The most important part is to cut back on sugars and starches (carbs).

These are the foods that stimulate secretion of insulin the most. If you didn't know already, insulin is the main fat storage hormone in the body.

When insulin goes down, fat has an easier time getting out of the fat stores and the body starts burning fats instead of carbs.

Another benefit of lowering insulin is that your kidneys shed excess sodium and water out of your body, which reduces bloat and unnecessary water weight (1, 2).

It is not uncommon to lose up to 10 pounds (sometimes more) in the first week of eating this way, both body fat and water weight.

This is a graph from a study comparing low-carb and low-fat diets in overweight/obese women (3).

The low-carb group is eating until fullness, while the low-fat group is calorie restricted and hungry.

Cut the carbs, lower your insulin and you will start to eat less calories automatically and without hunger (4).

Put simply, lowering your insulin puts fat loss on "autopilot."

Each one of your meals should include a protein source, a fat source and low-carb vegetables. Constructing your meals in this way will automatically bring your carb intake into the recommended range of 20-50 grams per day.

Protein Sources:

The importance of eating plenty of protein can not be overstated.

This has been shown to boost metabolism by 80 to 100 calories per day (5, 6, 7).

High protein diets can also reduce obsessive thoughts about food by 60%, reduce desire for late-night snacking by half, and make you so full that you automatically eat 441 fewer calories per day... just by adding protein to your diet (8, 9).

When it comes to losing weight, protein is the king of nutrients. Period.

Low-Carb Vegetables:

Dont be afraid to load your plate with these low-carb vegetables. You can eat massive amounts of them without going over 20-50 net carbs per day.

A diet based on meat and vegetables contains all the fiber, vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. There is no physiological need for grains in the diet.

Fat Sources:

Eat 2-3 meals per day. If you find yourself hungry in the afternoon, add a 4th meal.

Dont be afraid of eating fat, trying to do both low-carb AND low-fat at the same time is a recipe for failure. It will make you feel miserable and abandon the plan.

The best cooking fat to use is coconut oil. It is rich in fats called medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). These fats are more fulfilling than others and can boost metabolism slightly (10, 11).

There is no reason to fear these natural fats, new studies show that saturated fat doesnt raise your heart disease risk at all (12, 13).

To see how you can assemble your meals, check out this low carb meal plan and this list of 101 low carb recipes.

You don't need to exercise to lose weight on this plan, but it is recommended.

The best option is to go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Do a warm up, lift weights, then stretch.

If you're new to the gym, ask a trainer for some advice.

By lifting weights, you will burn a few calories and prevent your metabolism from slowing down, which is a common side effect of losing weight (14, 15).

Studies on low-carb diets show that you can even gain a bit of muscle while losing significant amounts of body fat (16).

If lifting weights is not an option for you, then doing some easier cardio workouts like running, jogging, swimming or walking will suffice.

You can take one day "off" per week where you eat more carbs. Many people prefer Saturday.

It is important to try to stick to healthier carb sources like oats, rice, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits, etc.

But only this one higher carb day, if you start doing it more often than once per week then you're not going to see much success on this plan.

If you must have a cheat meal and eat something unhealthy, then do it on this day.

Be aware that cheat meals or carb refeeds are NOT necessary, but they can up-regulate some fat burning hormones like leptin and thyroid hormones (17, 18).

You will gain some weight during your re-feed day, but most of it will be water weight and you will lose it again in the next 1-2 days.

It is NOT necessary to count calories as long as you keep the carbs very low and stick to protein, fat and low-carb vegetables.

However, if you really want to, then use this calculator.

Enter your details, then pick the number from either the "Lose Weight" or the "Lose Weight Fast" section - depending on how fast you want to lose.

There are many great tools you can use to track the amount of calories you are eating. Here is a list of 5 calorie counters that are free and easy to use.

The main goal is to keep carbs under 20-50 grams per day and get the rest of your calories from protein and fat.

Here are 10 more tips to lose weight even faster:

Even more tips here: 30 Easy Ways to Lose Weight Naturally (Backed by Science).

You can expect to lose 5-10 pounds of weight (sometimes more) in the first week, then consistent weight loss after that.

I can personally lose 3-4 lbs per week for a few weeks when I do this strictly.

If you're new to dieting, then things will probably happen quickly. The more weight you have to lose, the faster you will lose it.

For the first few days, you might feel a bit strange. Your body has been burning carbs for all these years, it can take time for it to get used to burning fat instead.

It is called the "low carb flu" and is usually over within a few days. For me it takes 3. Adding some sodium to your diet can help with this, such as dissolving a bouillon cube in a cup of hot water and drinking it.

After that, most people report feeling very good, positive and energetic. At this point you will officially have become a "fat burning beast."

Despite the decades of anti-fat hysteria, the low-carb diet also improves your health in many other ways:

If you have a medical condition then talk to your doctor before making changes because this plan can reduce your need for medication.

By reducing carbs and lowering insulin levels, you change the hormonal environment and make your body and brain "want" to lose weight.

This leads to drastically reduced appetite and hunger, eliminating the main reason that most people fail with conventional weight loss methods.

This is proven to make you lose about 2-3 times as much weight as a typical low-fat, calorie restricted diet (46, 47, 48).

Another great benefit for the impatient folks is that the initial drop in water weight can lead to a big difference on the scale as early as the next morning.

Here are a few examples of low-carb meals that are simple, delicious and can be prepared in under 10 minutes: 7 Healthy Low-Carb Meals in 10 Minutes or Less.

On this plan, you can eat good food until fullness and still lose a ton of fat. Welcome to paradise.

More about how to lose weight:

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