You can lose a combination of body fat and retained water with a simple plan designed to help you drop 5 pounds in one week. Combine circuit training, calorie restriction, a reduction in salt and refined carbs, and an increase in water intake, and you’ll be a little more svelte in just seven days.
Drink Plenty of Water
Although the proviso to drink water to lose weight might seem old-fashioned, it is the quickest way to banish the bloat that so often is mistaken for body fat. Drink enough water–96 ounces each day–and your body will release some of what it is storing. It might seem counterintuitive, but water restriction yields water retention.
Lower Your Salt Intake
Consuming salty foods also increases water retention. Think about how thirsty you are after a meal that is rich in sodium. Cut back on salt, which often hides in processed foods, to further reduce water retention. Losing excess water weight provides a motivating jump-start to your weight-loss goals.
Circuit Training
For the biggest calorie burn in the shortest amount of time, push yourself hard in a circuit-training workout, which involves resistance exercises to build muscle, performed in rapid succession. This increases your heart rate for increased calorie burn. A 30-minute circuit-training workout done at a vigorous pace–with your heart rate at 70 percent of its maximum–can burn as much as 500 calories.
Increase Cardio Work
Burn 500 calories by engaging in high-intensity cardiovascular exercise. Think swimming, running and vigorous sports. Bump up the intensity by adding short bursts of all-out effort. This will burn calories during the workout, and it will burn more calories because of increased oxygen consumption afterward.
Cut Calories, But Keep Protein
A pound of fat equals about 3,500 calories. Lose 1 pound of body fat in a week by cutting 500 calories a day from your diet. Double that by cutting 1,000 calories a day. A word of caution: Never dip below 1,200 calories a day without medical supervision. Regardless of the calorie count, a diet with a balance of 30 percent protein, 50 percent carbohydrates and 20 percent fat yielded the biggest weight loss in clinical trials reported in the July 2005 issue of the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.”
Restrict Refined Carbohydrates
Avoid refined carbohydrates, such as enriched flours and refined sugars. These “bad carbs” cause spikes and dips in energy levels, encourage the storage of belly fat and cause increased water retention–all of which sabotage your weight-loss efforts. Instead, consume carbs from healthy sources, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
About this Author
Pamela Ellgen is an award-winning journalist and certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She graduated with a B.A. from Washington State University where she studied writing. Ellgen wrote for the Portland, Ore.-based newspaper, “The Asian Reporter,” for 10 years.
