Are you worried that fast weight loss will cause a rebound effect? Think again.

When it comes to losing weight, research shows that it’s better to be quick like a rabbit, rather than slow like a turtle.

Losing weight fast is not only easier but also leads to better long-term results compared to losing slowly.

Fast weight loss does not mean you should be reckless and eat nothing but iceberg lettuce for a month. Losing fast can be unhealthy if you’re doing unhealthy things (i.e. starving yourself, purging, excessively exercising).

Take smart steps and you can lose weight fast AND boost your health at the same time.

Here’s why fast weight loss yields better results and how to speed up weight loss.

Why Fast Weight Loss Is Easier Than Slow

Fast Weight Loss is Motivational

Dr. Dean Ornish researched what motivated people to stick with a weight loss plan. He found that rapid improvement was a powerful motivator.

As Dr. Ornish puts it…

“radical, sweeping, comprehensive changes are often easier for people than small, incremental ones.”

Let’s consider you on a diet.

You can create a plan to lose weight slowly by making small changes to your eating pattern. However, this leads to feeling deprived because you’re not allowing yourself to eat the foods you want to eat. At the same time, you don’t see improvements on the scale. In a sense, you’re getting the worst of both worlds by cutting back and not seeing results.

On the other side of the spectrum, you can create a plan to lose weight quickly by making big changes to your eating routine. You will still have to deal with the discomfort of change, but your choices become choices worth making.

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that fast weight loss results are long-lasting results.

The researchers went as far as to say…

“…a recommendation to lose weight more slowly might interfere with the ultimate success of weight-loss efforts.”

Fast Weight Loss is More Tolerable

Did you ever pull off a Band-Aid quickly to get the pain over with? As it turns out, the same philosophy works for dieting.

A report published in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology followed 200 obese dieters.

About half of the group was placed on a fast weight loss plan and a half on a more moderate plan. The goal for each was to lose 15% of their body weight.

It took the rapid weight loss group 12 weeks to complete the study. The slow losers had to stick with their diet for 36 weeks.

Not only did the fast losers have more weight loss success, but they also stuck with the plan. Only 3% of the rapid weight loss group dropped out of the study, compared to 18% of the slow losers.

The take-away message: change is hard no matter what, so pull off the Band-Aid take big steps that get results and lose weight fast.

How to Speed Up Weight Loss

So, what is a no-fail strategy to speed up your fat loss and jumpstart your weight loss?

The steps below have been proven to work over and over again by my weight loss clients – they will work for you too.

1) Completely Cut Out Refined Carbohydrates

Refined carbs have been stripped of their nutrients and fiber. They include hard candies, sweets, pastries, sugary coffees, potato chips, pretzels, cookies, and all other low-fiber carbohydrates.

Here are two tips for eating carbohydrates:

If one of the top 3 ingredients is sugar, don’t eat it.

If it has less than 3 grams of fiber, don’t eat it.

Refined carbs break down so quickly inside your digestive system that your body can’t use all of the energy. Instead, your body pushes the unused calories into storage containers, otherwise known as fat cells.

2) Finish Eating 3 Hours Before Bed

To maximize your weight loss results finish eating 3 hours before bedtime.

Your body’s metabolism naturally slows in the evening and calories are not burned as efficiently. This means bedtime calories easily converted to fat.

Note: as I said above, the objective is not to starve yourself.

If you missed dinner and you’re truly hungry before bedtime than “snack smart”. A small portion of protein and veggies are good choices.

3) Don’t Drink Calories (unless it’s tip #4)

Regular soda, sugary ice tea, and alcohol contain empty calories that can slow weight loss, instead pick up a glass of water.

Other non-calorie drinks may be consumed, but don’t let them exclusively replace water.

4) Drink These Calories

Forget about silly Hollywood cleanses that tell you to do crazy things, like drink a shot of hot sauce and twirl in a circle five times.

If you’re interested in the idea of doing a cleanse to jump-start your weight loss, then turn to juicing.

Joe Cross put juicing on the map a few years ago when he documented his 60-day juice fast. His awesome movie is called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead; if you’re looking for some inspiration, watch the movie.

5) Keep Your Focus

Losing weight fast requires your attention.

• Set a short-term goal (40 days works great. My free video series is a 40-day plan to lose weight fast. )
• Keep your mind locked on how good you will look and feel when you have shed the weight, and…
• Mark the days off on a calendar

Focus and a positive mental outlook make the diet changes much more palatable.

6) No More Fooling Around With Your Workouts

Let’s talk about exercise.

The best type of exercise for fast and sustained weight loss burns fat and builds muscle.

How much muscle you have determines how easily your metabolism burns fat.

If you have been inactive for many years or you have been a yo-yo dieter, then you might have lost some muscle mass. This lost muscle slowed your metabolism and your ability to lose weight.

Is this reversible?  Absolutely! But like diet, it requires effort.

The truth is you want to exercise. I promise you this is true. Exercise is what changes your body shape. If you simply diet to lose weight, you will be a smaller version of your current shape. If you diet AND exercise, you will develop your best body.

There is a right way to exercise to speed up fat loss. In a nutshell, you want to include strength training. By pushing your muscles to perform, you will boost your metabolism, which means you will burn more calories.

Every pound of muscle you carry allows you to eat an additional 50 calories a day. Think about that…If you gain 5 pounds of muscle this year, you will be able to eat an additional 250 calories every day and never gain an ounce!

Bill Phillip’s Body For Life program is a well-respected routine. Whenever I feel a need to accelerate my results, I turn to his exercise routine. I’ve done this for the past 15 years. It’s intense. It works. (I recommend his first Body for Life book if you want to learn the full routine.)

So…Hurry Up and Be Happy

The bottom line is that you want results. That is why you are here, and why you read this article till the end.

So prepare yourself…results don’t come without your participation. You will have to make some changes whether you intend to lose weight slow or fast. Change of any sort is uncomfortable, so why not…

Take steps that create big changes fast. Go for it!

My free video series gives you 4 daily habits that are so effective they give your body no choice but to lose weight. Watch the videos now for fast weight loss.

About the Author

Dr. Becky Gillaspy, DC graduated Summa Cum Laude with research honors from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1991.