cold turkey

Results, results, results! That’s all we want. It’s what we work for. If people don’t start to see results when they want to see them, many people will quit their efforts prematurely. If we aren’t seeing progress, it must not be working, Right? Not at all. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t care how fast the world is moving or what expectations the internet has given us, they move on their own time. When you’re working to drop a few pounds, the scale’s juggling act is enough to drive you mad. At least it can if you let it. You don’t need to burden yourself with unrealistic expectations about quick weight loss. Let’s go over 6 safe tips for slimming down when time is of the essence.

Eat More Raw, Uncooked Fruit and Veggies

With all the deliciously colorful fruits and vegetables available, the easiest way to say good riddance to those extra inches is to significantly increase your intake of fresh produce. When you go to make your plate, a rainbow of fresh vegetables should be the foundation of the meal. Wash and store your produce as soon as you get home from the store. Doing this will help you to prepare for random cravings and urges that would usually convince you to run out for fast food or trick you into indulging with a sugary substitute. Fresh fruit contains natural sugars and fiber that satisfy the occasional sweet tooth while saving the remorse for someone else. Eat frequent servings to stay full throughout the day. As your body breaks down the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies, you’ll see the scales start to tip in your favor.  Tip: Eat as many uncooked fruits and veggies as possible  and use them to replace starches and wheat based carbs.

Cut the Junk Completely

It doesn’t matter how many hours you rack up at the gym, if you’re fueling your system with fats, fast food and processed sugars, you are wasting your time. A diet full of processed carbs and other unhealthy options is as counterproductive as you can get. If you’re serious about losing the weight quickly and safely, it’s time to end your relationship with processed food. You can give the old, “It’s not you, it’s me” speech to those foods if it makes you happy. The only thing that matters is that you cut all ties (you can go cold turkey or do it over time…but do it). I’m a personal fan of the “cold-turkey approach”. I think it shows that you’re serious about committing to your decision. That doesn’t work for everyone and you have to find your own way. Look at your goals, then compare them to your actions. Throughout the day, you should always ask yourself, “Is this meal/snack helping me reach my goal?” Tip: Create a process where you really start analyzing what you’re eating and make new choices daily.

If you’re honest, you’d be surprised by how many things you start to lose interest in. So…don’t keep putting it off until tomorrow. Give up the cakes, boxed foods, and sodas right now. Make the transition easy on yourself. If you don’t buy them, you can’t eat them. I know it may be difficult for those who have to shop for the whole family. In those situations, you have two decisions. You can explain your position to your family and ask for their support. Or, option #2- suck it up. You have to dig down deep and find the reserve of strength and discipline that gets you through your toughest challenges. You have to make the commitment and resist any temptation or potential distractions. It’s your life, take control of it.

Burn More Calories

Tip: A minimum of 500 calories per day should be your workout goal. As a go-getter who’s serious about achieving their target in the time frame that you’ve allotted, you should really be blowing past 500 calories with ease.  If you’re advanced on your weight loss journey, try for 700-900 calorie per day, but remember that if you aren’t eating to fuel that much calorie burn…you could slow down your metabolism. If you aren’t, don’t worry- it’s better to be active and working your way toward your goal than to be stuck in planning mode. A quick run on the treadmill or a trip on the stair climber can help you hit your numbers in no time. If you really want to put your routine on blast, tackle those calories with a few HIIT training sessions. Your increased metabolism will help make powerful fuel out of all those vegetables you’ve been munching on.

Keep Track Of Your Actions

A large part of becoming disciplined is getting organized. Map out what you should be doing and how you plan to get it done- execution will be the easiest step of all. The only way to know if you’re burning enough calories each day is to count your calorie intake and have some idea of how many calories you are burning with exercise. We all know the basic equation. Burn more than you eat. This is true, but it’s not as black and white as it seems. The goal of this article is to teach you how to lose weight safely. Extremes of any sort, be it extreme dieting or extreme exercising won’t give you the results you want. In fact, they’re potentially damaging- both mentally and physically. Don’t shock your body and expect it to respond nicely. The easiest way to lose weight is to work smarter, not harder. For example. if a 140lb person runs one mile every 10 minutes for 45 minutes, they’ve burned 500 calories. If that same person decides to reward themselves with two large slices of pepperoni pizza, they’ll pack on about 596 calories. Without a second thought, they ruined 45 minutes of exercise with a 10-minute meal. Keep a running log of everything you chew or swallow. Write it all down so you can make a plan. You’ll be able to track how well you hydrate your body throughout the day and take a look at any areas of improvement.  There are lots of mobile apps and websites that can help you keep track with ease.

Eat Frequent Small Meals

How often have you heard someone give weight loss advice that tells readers to eat more frequently? Hopefully more often than those miracle-commercials offering you a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Tip: Rather than the traditional 3 meals per day, you may need to be eating between 4-6 small meals. This feeds your metabolism over time, keeping it alive and active. Frequent meals also help to detour those diet-destroying cravings that taunt us throughout the day. Full of nutritional ingredients, you’ll train your body to work with you in your weight loss commitment. The idea of mini-meals can be frightening to some. Contrary to popular belief, minimizing your portion size and increasing your meal times won’t leave you starving. In fact, it’ll teach you the difference between eating until you’re full and eating until you’re satisfied.

Be Realistic

You didn’t gain the weigh over the course of 1 month and you won’t be able to lose it in a month.  Weight loss takes time, especially if you want to leave and not return 6 months later.  Weight loss is all about trial and error.  It will take some time to find out what works for you and you have to be willing to do your research, take action and wait to see results.  Yes, some results may show up quickly, but you can’t focus on that in the greater scope of things.  It’s all about lasting lifestyle change. Also, don’t compare your journey to someone else’s and expect to see the same results.  We all have different body types, circumstances and we take different paths to wellness.  Your success may not look like someone else’s, but you should own it and celebrate it.

We all want to lose the pounds and we want it to happen as quickly as it can. We are human. As difficult as it may be, anything worth having it worth putting in some effort. You have to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run- just trust the process, you’ll get where you’re going.