How to Lose 5 Pounds Fast

1. Work out in the morning. If you currently exercise in the afternoon or evening, consider that morning workouts boost your metabolism for up to 14 hours – in other words, most of your day. Schedule workouts for 20 to 30 minutes after you wake up.
2. Try drinking coffee before you work out. Coffee has been shown to boost exercise intensity levels, so drinking a small amount of coffee prior to your workout could help you to drive yourself harder.
   • Avoid this step if caffeine on an empty stomach makes you feel nauseated as is the case for many people.
3. Choose your music. Use music to keep your intensity up during your work out. For example, music over 140 beats per minute can really raise the intensity. Oppositely, reading or watching TV while exercising might actually distract you, making you burn fewer calories.
4. Do high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Go hard for 30 seconds to 1 minute and return to moderate intensity from 2 to 4 minutes. Alternate between going hard and moderate for roughly 10-12 minutes.
   • HIIT boosts the production of the human growth hormone by 450 percent for 24 hours. It helps you lose fat rather than muscle, so it is ideal for weight loss training.
   • High-intensity means go about 90 percent of your maximum heart rate. This would be at a level where you cannot keep up a conversation and you get “winded.”
5. Start weight training. On days where you don’t do HIIT, grab some free weights and do strength training. Try to do upper and lower body at the same time for the maximum impact.
   • Try new weight machines, kettle bells, or TRX straps for variety, so you don’t get bored and remain challenged.
   • The ideal amount of weight is the amount that lets you complete 2 to 3 sets of 8 reps resulting in muscle fatigue. You should not be able to complete another repetition at the end of your sets.

II. Eating for Weight Loss

1. Eat breakfast within 30 minutes of ending your morning workout. It should be rich in protein and with no added sugar.
2. Eat three 400-calorie meals and two 200-calorie snacks. If you are working out, you should never eat a diet below 1,500 calories.
   • Losing 5 pounds with diet and exercise means creating a calorie deficit of approximately 1,250 per day. If you cut 400 to 600 calories, (from 2,000) burn 600 calories and rev your metabolism to burn more calories during the day, then you can quickly create this deficit.
   • If you don’t like to count calories, consider that most people eat around 600 calories at a meal and cut out 1/3 to 1/4 of the serving size.
   • Keep in mind that calorie deficit only works so long and the body gets “smart” to it creating reserves and making it less easy to lose weight over time.  So, creating any major calorie deficit should never be done for an extended period of time.
3. Remove grains from your diet. Replace grains with other starches such as sweet potatoes, beans, and fruits and vegetables.
4. Replace processed sweets with fruit and dark chocolate. Berries are excellent metabolism boosters and fruits rich in Vitamin C which helps you handle stress hormones that cause weight gain. Chocolate can also help you satisfy your sweet tooth, but it should be greater than 70 percent cacao content with 85 percent preferred.
   • Cut out all processed sweets, alcohol ,and soda, in addition to candies or baked goods.
   • A soda usually adds between 150 and 300 calories, meaning your calorie deficit will be hard to meet.
5. Try varying your diet. Experts suggest varying your calorie intake between 1,800 and 1,600 on alternating days as this might make your body burn more calories. It may also help you handle cravings better if you let yourself have an extra snack a few days per week.

III. Shedding Additional Weight

More Tips/ Techniques:

1. Reduce water weight by lowering your sodium intake. Although it may seem counter intuitive, drinking water reduces water weight by flushing salt through your system, so be sure to drink more water and lower your sodium intake.
2. Consume plain Greek yogurt. If you don’t already, adding about 4 oz. of Greek yogurt each day can help you get rid of built up fecal waste that can weight up to 1 to 4 pounds.

When you embark on weight loss program, be sure to assess your motivation on why you want to lose the weight, in the first place, what it will be like, and what the results mean for you.

Are you already at a perfectly healthy weight? Do you really need to lose a few more pounds? Keep things in perspective and always lose weight in a healthy way.

Adapted from How to Lose 5 Pounds in 2 Weeks.