5 Tips for Faster Weight Loss

There is no magic pill when it comes to weight loss. Those are words you have probably heard before. While there may be no magic pills that magically make weight degenerate before your eyes, there are steps you can take to speed up your fat loss without taking extreme or dangerous measures.

Accept that the Fastest Way to Weight Loss is through Diet and Exercise. All too often, people only focus on lowering caloric intake without incorporating an exercise program or exercise six days a week and change very little in their eating habits. While these practices may yield some results, for faster and more significant results, a strategic plan of diet and exercise combined is necessary.

It's important to understand that the more muscle you have on your frame, the higher your metabolism is going to be. Muscle burns calories while you simply sit.  Maintaining muscle as you lose fat is important in order to lose fat at an optimal rate. While it's tempting to focus on aerobic exercise and diet only, don't leave out strength training in your weight loss strategy. Read more about this strategy here.

This is probably not something new you have heard when it comes to weight loss. That's because the reasoning behind it is multi-faceted. Alternative drinks contain sodium which causes your body to hold on to water weight. Not to mention the excess calories that are in sodas, juices, teas, smoothies, and sports drinks.  Drinking water only flushes toxins from your body and aids in speeding metabolism – two weight loss positives.

Skipping meals is a recipe for disaster. Skipping breakfast is ensuring disaster. If you start your day without any fuel after a long period of fasting while sleeping, you will inevitably develop a ravenous hunger no later than mid-day. Aim for a 300 calorie or less breakfast daily that includes protein and whole grains for sustained energy and hunger management moving through your day.

Understand the "Afterburn Effect". Much like the benefits of sustained calorie burning through muscle mass, the afterburn effect can help you burn calories while doing nothing more than taking a shower. The catch – you have to work for it. Afterburn is technically noted as exercise post oxygen consumption (EPOC) and theorizes that after your body has performed intense exercise, the body consumes more oxygen. The excess oxygen intake continues post-workout which means calorie burning also continues. For details on EPOC, click here.

For more weight loss tips and information, check out 11 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight and top weight loss myths.