4 Quick Weight-Loss Strategies That ACTUALLY Work

So, you have a big event coming up and you want nothing more than to look better than everybody else in the room, but your diet just isn’t cutting it.

You’ve been eating nothing but steamed broccoli with salmon and working out every single day for the last two weeks.

Still, the scale won’t budge—and that perfect dress you bought one size smaller for inspiration still won’t zip up all the way.

You’re pretty sure it’s time for one of those life-sucking crash diets, but every voice in your head is telling you how unhealthy they would be.

Controversial weight-loss strategies—like juice fasts, skipping meals, and doubling your time spent at the gym—just aren’t sustainable in the long-run.

But they can be modified and tweaked to give you the best of both worlds.

If you want to lose weight quickly, here are a few must-know tips to safely shed pounds on some common “crash” diets:

1. Skipping Meals: There are two ways you can actually modify your meals to lose weight fast—skip the snacks or turn your meals into snacks. If you’re guilty of mindlessly snacking throughout the day, then your body is probably trying to run on empty calories. Instead of eating chips and crackers before lunch, space out all your meals by about three or four hours—no snacks in between! To get the real nutrition your body needs, it’s extra important to make these meals count. Load up on lean protein and fiber-packed veggies to keep you feeling full until your next healthy meal. However, if you know you won’t be able to kick your bad snacking habit to the curb, try using it to your advantage. Start eating several small meals throughout the day, instead of three big ones. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you can finally lose weight by eating a bag of Doritos for dinner. Each snack you eat should be nutrient-dense, like a handful of raw almonds or a single serving of Greek yogurt.
2. Juice Fasts: If you have a big event next weekend, the quickest way to fit into that dream dress is probably a juice fast. Just don’t expect to stay slim for longer than a day or two! Our bodies weren’t designed to live on liquids alone—so don’t treat yours like it can. Adding more fruits and veggies to your diet will already help you shed some extra pounds, but a juicer may end up cheating you out of the fiber you need to feel full. If you still want to start a juice fast, try swapping out one of your meals, instead of all of them. You’ll still lose weight quickly, but your body will still stay accustomed to solid foods. When juicing, it’s important to use a juicer or blender that actually retains the pulp, where many of those vital nutrients are held. On the other hand, if you know that you’ll quit juicing after a day or two, you might want to consider going on a fruit and veggie binge instead. Make most of your meals primarily fruits and veggies, with small amounts of protein and whole grains on the side.
3. Doubling Up on Exercise: Thinking about going to the gym for two hours every day this week? Well, don’t expect to notice too many results! Unless you also reduce your caloric intake, you probably won’t lose a noticeable amount of weight—plus you’ll feel exhausted by next week. Instead of tiring yourself out, try working out for a little longer and eat a little less food. Doing just a little work on both ends will yield far more results than slaving at the gym for hours. Also, remember that quality beats quantity every single time. Making your workouts more intense will help you lose weight a lot faster than simply adding more time to a moderate workout.  

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4. Detox Diets: Like juice fasts, unhealthy detox diets are becoming more and more popular each year. Viewed more as a “cleanse,” a detox diet promises to help you with just about any problem, from weight loss to clearer skin. But your body doesn’t need any help detoxing—that’s what your liver is for! You can, however, strengthen your body’s natural purification process by adopting a diet rich in fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean protein. The only food you really need a “detox” from is junk food. The easiest way to modify your detox diet to lose weight fast—and still remain healthy—is by cutting out all processed foods and replacing them with whole foods.

Which of these "crash diets" has worked the best for you? Tell us in the comments!

Photo Copyright © 2015 Courtney Boyd Myers/Flickr