Do you want to lose weight fast? Or…do you want to lose weight permanently? 

It's so common to say, “I want to lose weight now” or “I need to lose weight fast”. Often, what happens when you want fast changes, it's because you are fed up with where you've been. And that is the kiss of death, because the truth is nothing in the human body happens quickly. 

Stay with me, because the systems, programs, and principles that I teach will help you get real results.

Will you lose 10 pounds in 7 days? No. I could help you do that, but I think it's a waste of time, arguably not good for your health. Could you do it? Sure. Do you wanna do it? Probably not. It's going to be a lot of discomfort and the progress isn’t going to stick around.

The truth is when it comes to changing your body, there are two things at play. True transformation can take some time, but it’s very dependent on your strategy. 

One reason it takes a long time to change your body is probably because you've been following the wrong strategy up until now.

Now I'm not here to knock your strategy, because I don’t know enough to do that. But I do know that with my processes, programs and principles, I’ve found the fastest way to change your body. That all being said, it's not going to happen overnight. And I realize you might be eager and desperate for change right now, and I really encourage you to stop and pause for a moment.

Ask yourself right now: Is it that you want success now…or do you want it forever? 

Do you want it fast or do you want it permanent? 

And if you really take a moment and check in with yourself, I think you're going to find you want the permanent. You want it forever! 

“Permanent” is the way to go, and here’s why. Homeostasis - the driving force to keep your body safe and sound biologically -  digs its feet in, and makes it hard to change your body. If your goal is to get leaner, or to get fit, to run faster or to build muscle, these principles are going to apply for you. But for now, this conversation is easiest to understand when we’re talking about weight loss. 

You can't truly change your body overnight, and go from zero to 60, metaphorically speaking. You can't go from “nothing” to working out for two hours every single day, and only eat 900 calories tomorrow. Homeostasis is going to dig its heels in and shut down your metabolism and you're not going to lose weight. 

Depending on how much you currently weigh, anything below 1000 to 1200 calories most likely is too little and you run the risk of stalling weight loss.

The absolute minimum number of calories I allow for my exercising clients equals your current body weight multiplied by 10. 

When it comes to permanent weight loss, the scale cannot be your only barometer. Instead, I encourage you to ask yourself, “What’s one thing I can do this week to move towards my goal? One thing I can do today that I'll do again tomorrow, and I'll do again the next day, and I'll do it the next day?” When you create habits, you’ll never have to “diet” or “start an exercise plan” again. It will simply be your bench mark and your results will be permanent.

Below, you’ll learn my personal approach for fast weight loss. You’ll also learn my preferred approach for permanent success.

Note: Please always consult with your trusted medical professional before following any of my suggestions offered anywhere on my blog on this site.

Let’s first review my best practices for fast weight loss. This next part of the conversation is specifically focused on weight loss. That being said, read on because the following suggestions also apply if you’re interested in building muscle, getting fit, improving digestion, or simply feeling better. 

First up, ask yourself if you want fast or forever weight loss?

If your goal is fast weight loss right now, here are some things that you can focus on. 

They may not be easy, because fast weight loss is never easy.

• Eliminate sugar, alcohol, dairy, and all grain based foods.

• Focus on eating lean protein, vegetables, and some fruit to ease the pain. 

For example, consider eating egg whites and spinach for breakfast. Have a big salad with grilled chicken at lunch, have some steamed broccoli and fish at dinner. But again, if you're choosing fast weight loss, you’ve got to be willing to buckle up and lean into and tolerate the discomfort that comes with it. Because no matter what protocol you follow out there for fast weight loss, it's going to be uncomfortable.

• Multiply your current body weight by the numbers 8 and 9 and aim for that range of calories each day. 

This range of calories is not a lot and it does assume that you are exercising, and does take into consideration the calories that you would expend through exercise, 

• Do 40 to 60 minutes of mixed cardio and very little strength training.

When losing weight quickly, know that you're also going to lose muscle. If you lose weight quickly, you will lose muscle. It just goes hand in hand. 

“Mixed cardio” simply means that you are doing a variety of modes and intensity of cardio. You want to do some steady state and some interval sessions each week. 

Aim for 6-7 cardio sessions each week with very little strength training. The results may not be great, but it works. Additionally, follow an intermittent fasting protocol. I prefer an 8/16 protocol where you begin your eating window within an hour of waking up, and you end the day by fasting. You would do that seven days a week until you reach your weight loss goal. 

Now let’s talk about my strategies for permanent weight loss. I will always encourage you in this direction because if you start making sustainable changes that are realistic day after day, your body will actually change better due to homeostasis. I usually see faster and better progress this way with the least amount of pain possible. Homeostasis is basically a collection of systems, instincts, and complex biology that's at play in your body to preserve your current level of all biological functions. 

If your goal is permanent weight loss right now, here are some things that you can focus on. 

• Strength training needs to be your primary focus every single week. 

Strength training should be your primary physical fitness activity. It is your cornerstone. It is your end all be all. It is the foundation. It is the lifeblood of permanent weight loss and body composition improvements. Aim for 3-4 strength workouts each week. 

1. Ignore the scale. 

I know the goal here is to help you lose weight, but ignore the scale for a while and instead focus on how your clothes fit. Monitor how your non stretchy clothes and bras fit. If you're going after permanent weight loss and strength training, let's put the scale aside for a period of time and look instead for improvements in how your body looks and feels.

Simply watch for a decrease in body fat. Another good metric to monitor is circumference measurements or, are your clothes getting bigger? 

So as body fat comes down and lean muscle mass comes up from strength training. There's not gonna be weight loss on the scale, but then what's gonna happen is you're gonna hit this threshold, which I call the muscle tipping point , where muscle goes up, body fat starts coming down and then the scale goes down. Consider investing in an accurate body composition screening, like DEXA or BodPod.

• Multiply your current body weight times 10 and 11 and aim for that many calories each day. 

This may not provide super fast weight loss, but it's way more likely to be permanent. 

This is your prescription for the forever fat loss.

1. Gradually reduce the foods that you know aren't serving your goal right now. 

Is it alcohol? Is it sugar, sweets, pasta? What is it that you need to cut back on? Because you know it's not in alignment with your goal. Start reducing those foods.

You don't need to eliminate everything, just start reducing. For example if you're having two glasses of wine every night, cut back. Maybe you have one glass of wine one night and two glasses the next night. And then maybe eventually you cut back to one glass. The same applies for sugar. 

Here I want to emphasize the importance of strength training. My 6 Week Strength and Cardio Plan is perfect if you don't know where to start. It tells you all of the sets, the exact exercises in the exact order, it gives you video tutorials for exercises you could do at home or at the gym.

Click here to download for free my 6 Week Strength and Cardio Plan<<insert link:

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I hope you found this article helpful. If so, leave a comment below and tell me, is your current goal to lose weight fast? Or permanently?