Want to lose weight fast? These tips can help you lose weight in a good way, and science backs them up.

How to Drop Pounds in 3 Easy Steps

1. Eat less processed carbs

Cutting back on sugars and starches, or carbohydrates, can help you lose weight fast. This could be done by eating less carbs or by eating more whole grains instead of artificial carbs.

When you do that, you feel less hungry, and you usually end up eating less (1Reliable Source).

If you follow a low-carb eating plan, you'll get your energy from burning fat instead of carbs.

If you eat more complicated carbs like whole grains and cut back on calories, you'll get more fiber and take longer to digest them. This makes them more filling so you can eat them until you're full.

A 2020 study showed that a diet with very few carbs helped older people lose weight (2Trustworthy Sources).

Research also shows that a low-carb diet may make you less hungry, which can make you eat less without even realizing it or feeling hungry (3Trustworthy Sources).

Researchers are still looking into the long-term effects of a low-carb diet. A low-carb diet can also be hard to stick to, which can lead to yo-yo eating and make it harder to stay at a healthy weight.

There are some things that could go wrong with a low-carb diet that might make you want to try something else. Diets with less food can also help you lose weight and are easier to stick to for longer amounts of time.

A 2019 study found a link between eating a lot of whole grains and having a lower body mass index (BMI) (4 Trusted Sources). This is because whole grains are more filling than refined carbs.

Talk to your doctor about how to lose weight to find out what will work best for you.

2. Eat meat, fat, and veggies

Each meal should have a range of foods. For your meals to be well-balanced and to help you lose weight, they should include:

a source of protein, fat, and veggies. A small amount of complex carbs, like whole grains.

For ideas on how to put together food, check out:

This meal plan is low in carbs

These lists of 101 healthy low-carb recipes and low-calorie foods are part of this lower-calorie meal plan.

Protein

To keep your health and muscle mass while dropping weight, you need to eat the right amount of protein (5Trustworthy Sources).

Evidence shows that eating enough protein may improve cardiometabolic risk factors, appetite, and body weight (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source).

In general, a typical guy needs between 56 and 91 grams of protein per day, and a typical female needs between 46 and 75 grams per day. However, protein needs depend on many things. Here are some tips to help you figure out how much protein to eat without eating too much (9Trusted Source,10Trusted Source):

• 0.8g/kg of body weight
• 1-1.2g/kg of body weight for people age 65 and up
• 1.4–2g per kilogram of body weight for athletes

Protein-rich diets may also help you cut back on cravings and snacking by making you feel full and satisfied (11).

Meats like beef, chicken, pork, and lamb, as well as fish and seafood like salmon, trout, sardines, and shrimp, are all good sources of protein.

eggs

Beans, lentils, quinoa, tempeh, and tofu are examples of plant-based nutrients.

Vegetables

Don't be afraid to put lots of leafy green veggies on your plate. They are full of nutrients, and you can eat a lot of them without gaining a lot of calories or carbs.

All veggies are healthy and full of nutrients, but some, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, and corn, have more carbs than others.

Because they have fiber, these vegetables are called complex carbs, but you might want to watch the amount you put on your plate.

Broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and tomatoes are some vegetables you should eat more of.

• kale
• Brussels sprouts
• cabbage
• The Swiss chard
• lettuce
• cucumber peppers

The good fats

Don't worry about eating fats.

No matter what diet you choose, your body still needs good fats. Olive oil and avocado oil are both great choices for your diet. Nuts, seeds, olives, and bananas are also tasty and good for you.

Because they have more saturated fat, other fats like butter and olive oil should be used in moderation (12).

3. Move around.

Even though you don't have to exercise to lose weight, it can help you lose weight faster. There are many good things about lifting weights.

By lifting weights, you'll burn calories and help keep your metabolism from slowing down, which is a typical side effect of losing weight (13, 14, 15).

Try building muscle three or four times a week. If you've never lifted weights before, a teacher could help you get started. Make sure your doctor knows about any new plans to work out.

If you can't lift weights, cardio exercises like walking, jogging, running, riding, and swimming are very good for weight loss and your health in general.

Both exercise and weightlifting can help you lose weight and are good for your health in many other ways.

What is a high-fat diet for weight loss?

It seems odd, but many people are able to lose weight by eating more fat, especially at first. This method is called a ketogenic or Keto diet, and it requires you to get most of your calories from fats, which should make up between 75% and 90% of what you eat. Only 10–20% of your calories should come from protein, and only 5% should come from carbs. The idea is that if you eat a lot of healthy fats and limit carbs, you change your metabolism and force your body to start using fat for energy instead of sugar. This means that your fat stores will be burned off instead of sugar.

Research does show that the keto diet is a good way to lose weight quickly and lower blood sugar. But it's hard to keep up, and there aren't any long-term studies that show it's a healthy way to eat that can help you keep weight off.

How does a Plate for Healthy Eating look?

We made the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate so that you can plan your meals and eat a well-balanced diet. Weight loss and general health are linked to some basic eating patterns. Think of a round dinner plate with a line running down the middle of it, splitting it in half. On one half of the plate, there should be equal amounts of whole grains (not refined carbs like white bread and white rice) and healthy protein (like fish, nuts, beans, and poultry, but not red meat or processed meats). On the other half, two-thirds should be filled with veggies, and the rest should be filled with fruit. Try to add a lot of variety to this half of your plate (or half of your diet) by eating fruits and veggies of different colors, but not potatoes or French fries.

To one side of the plate, picture a glass of water, since that's the best drink for weight loss and for general health (At some meals you can substitute coffee or tea with little to no sugar). Drink no more than one or two servings of milk each day.

On the other side of the plate, picture a container filled with healthy oils like olive or canola oil. Use it instead of butter when cooking or eating.

Think about the Healthy Eating Plate when you're trying to decide what to eat for a meal, going grocery shopping, or planning how to lose weight and keep it off. If you follow its rules, you'll have the best chance of staying healthy and keeping a good weight.