Time for some pillow talk!
In this article we are going to talk about the diet that produces the fastest results. We hope you’re ready for the big reveal.
The fastest Diet Possible…
Does not exist. Sorry to disappoint you.
If you’ve had a pulse for long enough on Earth, you have heard, or you yourself have said, “I need to lose weight as fast as possible.” Maybe it’s a summer vacation that you leave for in a month, a wedding, a reunion, etc., but you waited until the last minute to care enough to act.
Now that you are up against it and time is not on your side, you Google “the fastest diet possible” and up comes plenty of options. You’ll see plenty of options available and even people trying to sell you a diet plan or program. Let us save you the time and money, honey.
Don’t believe any of the crap out there that tells you it’s the best or fastest way to lose weight. First off, they don’t have their facts straight and just want your money or clicks. Secondly, they don’t know you or your genetics so lower your expectations.
If you are looking for long-term weight loss to improve your health and vitality, you need to reassess yourself and your lifestyle long term. If this is what you are after, work on breaking old habits, commit to making big changes over the next months and years. Tear down the old version of yourself and build a new one. This takes time, but it’s the most effective and best “diet” you will ever go on.
But if you are looking for a short-term diet for short-term weight loss then you want a crash diet. Crash diets are not meant for long-term weight loss because they are not sustainable. They don’t break old habits and you likely won’t care much after the event you are preparing for passes.
So, you still have minimal time and an event to go to. But what is the best way to have you looking your best in the shortest amount of time?
Because we don’t know you or your specifics, these suggestions will be in general.
Your diet has to change, ASAP! Don’t start tomorrow. Start now.
If you think you can lose 5lbs of fat in a week and then you’ll look great, think again. Fat comes off your entire body … not specific locations. And if you think you need to lose 5lbs, you probably need to lose 15lbs to look the way you are envisioning. Think about it. If you lose 5lbs and it comes off your whole body, how different do you actually look? No much at all. But if you lose 15lbs from your entire body then you’ll look and feel way better.
Now that you understand there is work to do and you waited too long to do it, let’s get into what this is going to take in the timeframe that you have.
Remember this is short term so the commitment and approach has to be stronger and more aggressive.
Diet
We don’t care what diet you choose. Just make sure you keep the calories low. If you are a female, think 1300-1500 calories a day. If you are a male, think 1800-2000 calories a day. These calories should mostly come from lean proteins (white fish, chicken, eggs, turkey burger). Protein is your best friend when it comes to food and cutting fat.
Keep carbs low, but still eat them. You need them to fuel your brain and physical activity (truthfully, you can never eat another carb again and you can live a long life … just not sure if it would be a happy one). Avoid anything with too much sugar. Ice cream, candy, cookies, muffins, etc. need to be cut out or kept to a minimum.
Cut out anything that is too fatty. Fat is not bad. Let’s be clear. But fat has a lot of calories and we are trying to aggressively cut calories where we can. Cut out all the fried foods (deep fried, not pan fried). Steak is great for protein, but because it’s fatty it comes at a price of a ton of calories. Be cautious about eating too much steak during the week. Once or twice is probably fine.
Snacking needs to be limited. If you are snacking, it’s probably on chocolate or some carb like chips or pretzels. If you are going to snack, eat to the serving size on the nutritional label. In other words, if the label says “serving size 4,” then multiple the calories and macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) by four and that is what the entire package contains. For clarity, see the photo below.
Do not eat nuts. If you want them, keep it minimal. They are very fatty (so high in calories) and anything you can eat with your fingers (like popcorn), you can very easily overeat.
Alcohol needs to be cut out. This is all about cutting calories and alcohol has a ton of it. And even if you limit your calories by taking shots of vodka, what happens when you’re inebriated and don’t care about your diet anymore? Cut it out in the short term. In addition to alcohol, don’t drink any beverage that has too many calories. Liquid calories can kill your weight-loss plan. Sugary drinks of any sort are gone. Soda, Gatorade, Starbucks, etc., good bye. Water, coffee (yes, with creamer and a sweetener), protein shakes, tea, Coke Zero (or similar) are all good.
If you need more info on a cut diet, check out The Fitness Show Diet. This will give you an idea on how to eat throughout your day. You don’t need to follow this religiously, but use it as a tool.
Activity
If you want to lose weight fast, you need to move more. We don’t know your timeframe, but it probably isn’t ideal. Exercise five to six days a week. Look, it’s not our fault you waited until the last minute.
You can choose your choice of exercise. Walking, running, elliptical, stair climber are all fine. Resistance training is ideal for changing your body, but you have minimal time. Cardio burns more calories than anything else, and your goal is burning calories. Resistance training will carve your body into a firm, defined physique, but that takes more time and time is the one thing you do not have. Pick your choice of cardio and do that most days of the week. Start with 30 minutes per day for the first week. Then move to 45 minutes, then one hour over the rest of the weeks that you have left. Aim for 10K steps a day. That’s a big number, but one that ensures you’re moving enough to burn those calories.
Eat
Remember to eat. So many people just think if they starve themselves, they will lose a lot of weight. You can and you will. But why starve yourself when you can do it the right way, get the same results or better and actually not be hungry the whole time. Not to mention, if you don’t eat you will be starving your body of the nutrients it needs to operate like it’s supposed to. You’ll be miserable. Living a life of malnutrition will cause more harm than good.
We will offer some advice to those who prefer not to eat. We think it’s an awful idea. But since you probably found some success from it in the past, you will likely try it again. But instead of just not eating and seeing how horrible you can feel, try this.
Try intermittent fasting. It’s not for everyone, but it does provide some much-needed structure to your diet and it will appeal to your plan to starve yourself. Fasting will give you windows to eat in (no, not actually windows). If you fast for 16 hours (including sleep), you have eight hours during the day to eat your food. This does not mean eat as much as you can in that window. This means, eat your targeted calories during this time. Fasting will prevent you from snacking and ensure you are creating a caloric deficit during the day. To read more about intermittent fast, check out this article. You do not need to fast. But if the alternative is to not eat, then at least do it with structure and a plan.
Structure
You need this ingredient if you are going to succeed. Plan your day out. Map out your meal ideas or meal prep for the week. Schedule in your workouts and get them in no matter what. If you can’t go to the gym, go for a walk when you get home. Movement is extremely important. Keep this structure and do not break it.
Recap
- Keep your calories low. Women, target 1300-1500 calories a day. Men, target 1800-2000 a day. You can and probably should eat more. But if you need to lose weight fast, you need to be aggressive with your calorie count. No BS.
- Eat a lot of protein. Chicken, eggs, white fish, turkey burger are great options.
- Keep carbs low. You still need to eat them for fuel and sanity. Especially because you are exercising. How many carbs per day is up to you and your specific goals and body. Start with 50g a day and see what happens.
- Fats are to be kept low. You need fat. No question. Just keep it minimal because fatty food comes with more calories. Almond butter, peanut butter, steak, egg yolk, nuts are all fine. Just be very aware of how much you are eating.
- Exercise. This needs to be done to create a bigger caloric deficit. You can walk, jog, etc. You do not need to sweat your ass off every time or feel like s**t afterwards. Just put in cardio sessions five to six days a week and gradually increase duration from 30 minutes a day to 1 hour a day over the time you have until your goal date. Put in the time and the fat will melt off. You do have to have some patience.
- Do not starve yourself. If you feel the need to, implement intermittent fasting instead.
- Stay structured. You have a finite number of weeks left to make a lot of progress. You need to stay structured and keep your focus. If your structure breaks, your progress will be limited or nonexistent.
