Introduction

You’ve probably heard some of the time-tested advice to lose weight, like eat less and exercise more, but those tips only work if you can get yourself to actually do them. If you’re looking for ways to speed up your weight loss efforts without drastically changing your lifestyle, here are 10 creative and potentially surprising approaches that can help you see results faster.

1) Start Exercising

Any form of exercise will help you lose weight, but when it comes to calories burned, there’s no beating exercise that involves your legs. Researchers say every pound you gain can increase your risk for obesity by 15 percent—even if you maintain a healthy diet. Start exercising and make sure it includes lots of leg movements; squatting during lunges or running are good examples. If lifting weights is your thing, focus on moves that make use of several muscle groups, such as squats and deadlifts.

2) Eat Less Junk Food

Eating less junk food and making better choices when you do indulge can really add up over time. According to research conducted at Arizona State University, the average American eats 164 pounds of added sugar each year, or an average of 23 teaspoons of sugar each day—more than three times what is recommended. The takeaway: Eat less junk food, especially processed foods that are laden with refined sugars. And when you do have a hankering for something sweet? Choose an option that’s a little lower in calories and is nutrient-rich instead, like chocolate milk or Greek yogurt with fresh fruit. Losing weight isn’t as hard as it seems if you take it one step at a time and focus on small victories along your journey toward success.

3) Drink Water Instead of Other Beverages

Drinking water instead of other beverages is an easy way to shave a few hundred calories off your diet every day. An eight-ounce glass of orange juice has 150 calories, while a cup of 100 percent apple juice has 240. A medium (3.5 oz) size serving of lemonade contains around 83 calories and up to 5 grams of sugar per serving. Soda, whether it’s regular or diet, have between 130-165 calories per 12 ounce can, and there are about 11⁄2 cans in each 7/11 Big Gulp. Switching from one large soda a day to one large water bottle will save you more than 400 calories each week—or 32 pounds over a year!

4) Add Interval Training

If you’re looking for a fast way to shed fat, look no further than intervals. These short bursts of intense anaerobic exercise increase your metabolism and burn fat in an efficient manner. Cardio is great at increasing overall health, but intervals are even better when it comes to losing weight. In fact, studies show that high-intensity interval training may be superior for burning fat over steady-state cardio or endurance training. When it comes to accelerating weight loss, sometimes less truly is more!

5) Don’t Skip Meals

Skipping meals seems like an easy way to lose weight, but it’s not. When you don’t eat for several hours, your body begins burning fat—but you have only one source of energy: sugar. By skipping meals, you deplete your body’s sugar stores, so as soon as your next meal comes around (which likely will be within just a few hours), your body begins restoring its levels by breaking down fat. And when that happens, what was supposed to be a day of fat burning turns into another day where you lose very little weight at all.

6) Avoid Sweets As a Reward

Now that you know how many calories a daily ice cream cone can add, is it really necessary as a reward? If you’re trying to lose weight quickly, avoid rewarding yourself with sweets for little achievements like doing dishes. It’s easy for small rewards to turn into binges if we think of them as okay in moderation—but they’re not. Many times, our diets fail because we reward ourselves excessively with foods and drinks that are ultimately bad for us (and cause weight gain). If you want a treat, find another way to reward yourself and stick with it!

7) Increase Your Metabolism

One of the best ways to lose weight is boosting your metabolism so that you can burn more calories throughout your day. Exercise not only makes you sweat and breathe harder, but it also boosts your metabolism for hours afterward. By contrast, a higher metabolism helps prevent age-related weight gain and promotes fat loss. You should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week (or 30 minutes five days a week) if you want to boost your metabolism over time. Some good ideas include walking, biking, swimming, or another activity that gets you moving continuously for several minutes at a time. Another trick is performing high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which helps boost post-workout calorie burn by an average of 60 percent compared with low-intensity exercise levels.

8) Take Supplements That Help Burning Fat Faster

In order to lose weight, you should know what are those supplements that burn fat quickly. There are many people who take slimming pills that help them reduce their body weight. These tablets can be found in herbal supplement shops or online stores as well. But make sure that when you go for taking these pills, you must have already known about which works best for your body and according to your body type before going for it. Supplements work differently on each person’s body type. This way, it is advised not to take such pills without consulting a doctor first. If you do so, then only it will be safe for you and will not affect any kind of side effects on your health either. Therefore choose wisely before choosing one.

9) Get Good Sleep at Night

If you’re one of those people who eat healthy foods but still can’t seem to shed pounds, sleep deprivation might be at fault. According to a 2010 study published in SLEEP, missing just a little bit of shuteye every night for about three weeks leads to weight gain. On average, participants who slept less weighed six pounds more than those who logged more quality Zs. To lose weight safely but quickly, get seven or eight hours of shut-eye each night and limit naps (for most adults, two 30-minute power naps per day are plenty). Going longer than that will actually leave you feeling groggy upon waking up and less productive throughout your day.

10) Motivate Yourself with Reminders in the Morning

Getting up and heading to work or school can be a challenge. Make it easier by getting yourself off on the right foot with a motivational message when you wake up. Whether it’s a note on your mirror, post-it notes around your home, or just something that pops into your head first thing in the morning, you can use these reminders to make sure you’re hitting your daily goals. A quick motivation boost may be all you need for some extra willpower today!