Tricks for Rapid Weight Loss

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One of the most important components of any weight-loss program is speed. If the time frame of a program is too long, no matter how effective it ultimately is, it will be much harder to stick to and useless in terms of meeting urgent goals. If you're trying to lose weight as fast as possible, make sure you're familiar with these tips.

Count Calories

If you're dieting without recording or measuring your caloric intake, you may feel like you're eating less, but you may actually be eating more. Further, even if you're eating less by volume, you may be consuming more calories. The best way to avoid these pitfalls is by researching the nutritional information for all your foods in order to form an accurate picture of your caloric intake.

Use a basal metabolic rate calculator to determine the number of calories necessary to maintain your current body weight. Then, using your knowledge of the relevant nutritional information, edit your diet to include between 500 and 1,000 fewer calories than your basal metabolic value. Since 3,500 calories is equivalent to a pound of fat, this range will allow you to lose between one and two pounds of fat per week, says MayoClinic.com.

Cheat on Occasion

Many dieting enthusiasts feel that dieting is tantamount to quitting a food addiction, meaning that any relapse represents total failure. In reality, however, an occasional "relapse" will help your cause. Once your body adapts to a newly-imposed caloric deficit, it will adjust your metabolism appropriately to compensate for the caloric difference, slowing your weight loss significantly.

This is an evolutionary mechanism designed to prevent starvation, but it can be avoided by tricking your body with a weekly cheat day. One day per week, increase your caloric intake so that its as high or even higher than before you started your diet; this will prevent your body from fully adjusting, keeping your rate of weight loss more consistent, according to "The Carb Cycling Diet" by Roman Malkov, M.D.

Beware of Fruit

Fruit has a well-earned reputation as an especially healthy food group; indeed, fruit does contain many essential vitamins and minerals. However, it is important to remember that fruit also contains a great deal of sugar in the form of fructose.

This is not to say that fruit should be avoided on a diet, but certain types are worse than others. Watermelon, for instance, has a glycemic index higher than that of pure sugar, which means that it is even worse than pure sugar in terms of