Eating Plans to Lose Weight Fast

Weight loss can take a long time or it can be done fairly quickly, especially if you need to lose only a few pounds. A weight loss eating plan needs to eliminate "empty calorie" foods and emphasize highly nutritious, filling foods. In addition, to lose weight fast, you will need to exercise moderately most days to keep your metabolism burning calories.

Avoidance

There is a good chance that the excess weight you've accumulated is the result of poor eating choices. Foods that are deep fried, processed and refined are loaded with calories and fat and have very few nutrients. Some examples of these foods are cheese fries, pizza, hot wings, burgers, doughnuts, candy, cakes and pies. If you want to lose weight, this stuff needs to go.

Water

Beverages are another culprit when it comes to excess body weight. Even in liquid form, calories are still calories. A good eating plan for fast weight loss would include the elimination of all beverages that are either sweetened or have calories. This would include soda, sweetened teas and juices, alcohol and highly sugared coffee drinks. A 24-ounce vanilla bean frappuccino at Starbucks weighs in at about 600 calories. You might as well drink a milkshake. Eliminate all such drinks if you are looking for quick weight loss.

Water, on the other hand, keeps the cells of the body hydrated, flushes toxins from the system, aids in digestion and has zero calories. The Institute of Medicine recommends that women get 2.7 total liters of water a day and men get 3.7 liters a day.

Fiber

Fiber is a substance that cannot be broken down by the body. It goes into the digestive tract, collects some debris and then passes through the system as an escort for wastes. According to the Mayo Clinic, eating fiber can help reduce your chances of developing heart disease and diabetes. It also recommends that women get 21 to 25g a day of fiber and men get 30 to 38g a day. When you eat fiber, it makes you feel full, which can satisfy your appetite for a longer period and lead to fewer calories being consumed. Some examples of high-fiber foods are pears, peas, oat bran, raspberries, lentils and artichokes.

Metabolic Rate

Eating small, balanced meals is a way to increase metabolism. Every time a meal is eaten, the body has to burn calories to digest the food. This is called the thermic effect of food. If this takes place every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day, the body will adapt to this pace and become more efficient at burning calories, which can lead to weight loss. An example of a small meal would be celery sticks spread with peanut butter and raisins. This is a balance of protein, carbs and fats, and it has a fiber to hold you over until the next meal.

Caloric Restriction

Burning 3,500 calories burns 1 pound of fat. The usual safe amount of weight loss is about 1/2 to 1 pound a week. To lose weight a little faster, reduce your daily calorie intake by 500 calories. If you do this along with a workout plan that has you burning 500 calories a day, you can lose 2 pounds a week.