For every pill, late-night-TV-peddled piece of exercise equipment and miraculous promise of overnight weight loss, you can find "doctors," books and a hundred websites that swear it works. A licensed doctor, personal fitness instructor or true health expert will not make promises that you can lose weight without effort and significant changes in diet and lifestyle. Health experts do agree on some ground rules that will be the quickest way to lose 10 pounds or more.
Quick-Fix Traps
Many promises are made about liquid diets, body wraps, detox and other quick-fix methods. These may result in some weight loss for a short time, but once you end the liquid diet or drink water again, the weight returns. You cannot lose weight by losing water since you will always need to drink. There is no point in losing weight Tuesday if you will gain it back Wednesday. Health experts at the Mayo Clinic say that a more realistic weight loss goal is about one to two pounds per week. This means you have to burn 500 to 1,000 more calories per day than you consume.
Means, Not Ends
To lose 10 pounds, don't make it your goal. The quickest way to lose weight and keep it off is to focus on the process, not the end desire. Change your diet, increase your exercise level and think about what you eat and when. If you change your lifestyle, you will start to lose weight consistently and quickly.
Diet
While there are multitudes of diet plans---such as Atkins and South Beach---the general principle is that you want to reduce sugars, salts, empty calories (such as soft drinks) and carbohydrates. Most diets that recommend four to six small meals per day are the fastest course to proper weight loss. Meals should include milk products and calcium-rich foods; fruits and vegetables; high-protein foods, such as meats, tofu and beans; as well as small amounts of carbohydrates.
Timing
There is no way to lose weight while you sleep (unless you are in surgery), but there is a way to gain weight because you are sleeping. Meals taken within two or three hours of bedtime will not have a chance to be transformed into energy. Food eaten before bed will simply be stored until you work it off.
Exercise
The simple equation for weight loss is that you must expend more calories than you take in. While changing your meals and diet will cause you to lose weight, to double your progress, add an exercise program. One of the most important things to keep in mind is that you must be motivated to exercise. The gym business has made a science of convincing people to pay for memberships they never use. Try different sports, workouts and hobbies to find one you enjoy. Any workout you choose must be performed about two or three times a week at a minimum. The "weekend warrior" syndrome where people are less active for five days and exercise only on Saturday and Sunday just means weight gain on Monday.
