If you’ve ever attempted to lose weight, you know it’s easier said than done. A complex combination of factors, including genetic makeup, hormonal imbalances, mental health, and chronic illness, can create an uphill battle for women on their weight loss journey. And while obesity rates are slightly higher in men, women often encounter greater challenges when slimming down to support their health. Additional factors like lower muscle mass, a slower metabolic rate, and hormonal differences can make it more difficult for women to drop pounds.
When you're trying to make a change and take off weight, slow results can be disheartening and discouraging. Fortunately, there are ways for women to lose weight fast without resorting to fad diets or jeopardizing their health.
Is It Possible to Lose Weight Quickly and Keep It Off?
It is possible to lose weight fast and keep it off, but how you lose the weight matters. Resorting to severe diet restrictions, intense exercise regimes, or questionable weight loss pills is a potentially dangerous way to shed weight and can lead to health complications.
Decades ago, fad diets and women's weight loss pills were all the rage. You couldn't turn on the television without seeing an ad for a product promising you the waistline you'd always wanted. Even today, you can come across weight loss "hacks" and absurd diets on social media that claim to help women see results quickly. Unfortunately, the approaches of the past for fast weight loss can be detrimental to your health.
Rapid weight loss is unsustainable when you substantially restrict your calorie intake or commit to an over-the-top exercise routine. Quick results from crash diets and extreme exercise are often temporary. The weight typically returns once you stop maintaining that unhealthy lifestyle, and fast weight loss from such measures can lead to malnutrition, gallstones, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalances.
You can lose weight quickly and stay in shape, but fad diets, rigorous exercise, and so-called "magic" weight loss pills are not a safe strategy. When you want to shed weight quickly and maintain your new silhouette, your best option is to seek guidance from a healthcare professional.
Medical Weight Loss: A Clinician-Backed Approach
Medical weight loss involves taking a prescribed treatment to lose weight under the guidance and supervision of a licensed healthcare provider.
With this modern approach, women can take control of their health and live a life of confidence. Medical weight loss treatments are known to:
- Trigger the release of insulin from the pancreas, a hormone which helps lower blood sugar levels by allowing cells to take up glucose from the bloodstream.
- Reduce the release of glucagon, another hormone that raises blood sugar levels, further contributing to blood sugar control.
- Signal the brain to promote feelings of fullness, leading to reduced food intake and potentially weight loss.
- Make it easier to create the calorie deficit needed to achieve rapid, sustainable weight loss.
During your medical weight loss plan, there’s no need to worry about questionable weight loss products or routines. Throughout the process, you receive personalized care that takes your unique health profile into account, a prescribed treatment that supports sustainable weight loss, and expert guidance to give you peace of mind.
Because a weight loss doctor is looking closely at your medical history to determine your eligibility and create a plan that fits your needs, you can rest assured that starting treatment is a healthy strategy.
Best Diet Strategies to Lose Weight Fast
Everyone needs calories for the energy to maintain good health and keep important biological functions working, but when you consume more calories than your body needs, they get stored as fat, resulting in weight gain.
The key to fast weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume through healthy eating and exercise. While every woman's body is different, limiting calorie intake to about 1,500 calories or less is typically recommended for successful weight loss.
Here are some tips for modifying your meal prep to better manage weight:
- Monitor your caloric intake and modify your diet to consume more nutrient-dense foods.
- Choose whole, unprocessed foods over fatty foods, snacks and sugary sweets.
- Add more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and beneficial fats to your meal plan.
But what happens when you can’t control what you eat? Disordered eating is a significant problem in Canada, with 2% of Canadians struggling with overeating and 80% of eating disorder patients being women. When food noise disrupts your health, medical weight loss treatment can help you regulate hunger cues in the brain, silence obsessive thoughts about food, and enable a healthy relationship with what you eat.
Best Exercise Strategies for Rapid Weight Loss
You can't create the calorie deficit required to lose weight without spending time exercising. Here are some strategies most experts recommend to burn calories:
- Focus on moderate-intensity aerobic exercise that raises your heart rate. Brisk walking, jogging, and swimming are great cardio-based activities you can try.
- Aim to spend at least 150 minutes exercising throughout the week.
- Incorporate strength training to build lean muscle. This may help increase your resting metabolic rate.
As your body gets accustomed to regular exercise, consider devoting more time to being active and exploring more challenging activities. Finding a strong support group of people who encourage you to start active hobbies and make healthy menus can help you stay motivated and focused on your journey.
Start Your Weight Loss Journey with the Right Approach
If you’re ready to take the next step toward your weight loss goals, seeking guidance from a licensed healthcare professional is a smart place to start. A healthcare provider can give you access to weight loss treatments, which can support healthier choices in diet and exercise to increase calorie burn.
By using these expert tips for rapid, sustainable weight loss and receiving extra medical help, women can find it easier to take control of hunger and cravings, achieve more weight loss month-to-month, and promote energy for active living. Set yourself up for success with a weight loss strategy that puts your overall health before quick results.
