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• Method 1 of 2: Lose weight quickly by getting rid of moisture
• Method 2 of 2: Burn fat quickly

Losing weight can be a long, frustrating process. To lose weight in a healthy way, most doctors recommend that you lose no more than 0.5-1 kg per week. But if you are determined to shed a few pounds in a few days, you can try to lose about 0.5 pounds of water weight daily by drinking more water and cutting down on salt and carbohydrates. While you can lose quite a bit of weight that way in a few weeks, the weight loss process will slow down pretty quickly afterward, as your water weight becomes stable. If you would like to burn a significant amount of fat in a short time, you could follow a low-calorie diet for a few days in consultation with your doctor.

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Method 1 of 2: Lose weight quickly by getting rid of moisture

1. Try to consume less sodium so that your body retains less water. Eating too much salt can cause your body to retain water, causing you to gain weight and make you feel bloated. To lose water weight, you have to resist the urge to add salt to your food. Avoid nitrate-rich foods and drinks such as cold cuts, salted snacks such as chips and salted nuts, and sports drinks.
   • You can avoid many hidden sources of salt by cooking with fresh, unprocessed ingredients.
   • When cooking, try replacing the salt with other flavorful spices, such as black pepper, thyme, basil, or garlic.
   • Eating more potassium-rich foods, such as bananas, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes, can also help flush excess salt from your body.
2. To lose water weight quickly, eat fewer carbohydrates. If you eat a lot of simple carbohydrates, your body also retains more water. This is why many people lose weight quickly when they have just switched to a low-carbohydrate diet. To lose weight quickly, you can try to eat as little carbohydrate-rich products as possible such as white bread, potatoes, pasta and biscuits and cakes.
   • Try replacing high-carb foods in your daily menu with fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber, such as berries, beans and green leafy vegetables.
   • Eating little or no carbohydrates for more than a few months can be unhealthy. Discuss with your doctor how you can safely adjust your carbohydrate intake.

   Warning: Although avoiding carbohydrates can help you lose weight fairly quickly in the short term, extremely low-carb diets are not recommended if you want to keep pounds off in the long term. A healthy diet should contain complex carbohydrates, such as wholemeal bread and brown rice.

   
   
3. Drink more water to get rid of excess fluid. It may seem contradictory, but staying hydrated makes your body less likely to retain excess water. Most adults should drink 2 to 2.5 liters of water per day to stay healthy and hydrated and to avoid water retention. Only in the following cases should you try to drink more water:
   • If you move a lot
   • When you are in a place where it is very hot
   • If you are pregnant or breastfeeding
   • If you are sick, especially if you vomit or have diarrhea
   • If you are on a diet rich in fiber or protein
4. Eat hydrating foods to get more water. Water isn't the only good source of hydration for your body. You can also help flush out excess moisture by eating fruits and vegetables with lots of water in them, such as melons, strawberries, and leafy green vegetables.
   • Low-sodium soups or broths are also good options.
5. Make yourself sweat by getting some exercise. Exercise can help flush excess fluid and sodium from your body, causing you to lose water quickly. You should therefore regularly work up a sweat by doing some cardio training, such as cycling, running or brisk walking.
   • Intensive forms of exercise, such as circuit training, are a great way to get rid of excess fluid and sodium.
   • Don't forget to drink plenty of water while exercising. If you become dehydrated, you will eventually only retain more moisture!
6. Talk to your doctor about the use of diuretic medications. If you notice that your body retains a lot of water, or if you gain weight quickly, discuss this with your doctor. He or she can help you discover what is causing your problem and what to do about it. Depending on how much water you are holding onto and why, he or she may recommend medications or nutritional supplements that can help you get rid of excess fluid and water weight.
   • Treatments that are often used to prevent your body from retaining water are magnesium supplements and diuretics (water pills).
   • If you gain more than 1 kg per day or 2 kg per week, you should notify your doctor right away. Other signs that your body is retaining too much water are swollen hands or feet, shortness of breath, cough, nausea, and feeling full even when you have eaten little.

Method 2 of 2: Burn fat quickly

1. Ask your doctor if it would be safe for you to go on a low-calorie diet. To lose fat quickly, you need to significantly reduce the number of calories you consume in a day. On most low-calorie diets, you eat no more than 800 to 1,500 calories daily. Before trying such a strict diet, you should discuss with your doctor to what extent you can safely limit your daily calorie intake and for how long.
   • Eating so few calories a day is not healthy for most people, and it won't help you keep the weight off in the long run.
   • Most doctors do not recommend a very low calorie diet (that is, less than 800 calories a day) unless you need to lose weight quickly for medical reasons (such as getting ready for surgery or a medical condition such as diabetes).

   Warning: a low-calorie diet can be dangerous if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have certain health problems, such as an eating disorder or nutrient deficiency.

   
   
2. Add up the number of calories you consume each day to determine how much you can cut. The number of calories you should eat each day to maintain your weight varies with your age, gender, and activity level. Most adult women should consume about 2,000 calories per day, while the recommended amount for men is about 2,500. You may be eating more than you think. Before trying to eat fewer calories, write down everything you normally eat in a day and add up the total number of calories.
   • With most prepackaged products you can find information about how many calories they contain on the packaging. In restaurants, the number of calories per dish is sometimes on the menu. You can also find out how many calories are in certain foods by using a table like this.
   • If you now eat 3,600 calories a day, for a daily allowance of 1,500 calories, you should try to eat 2,100 calories less. Just keep in mind that this is not enough to indeed lose half a kilo per day.
   • To lose 0.5kg of fat per day, you need to cut 3,500 calories from your daily menu. For most people, this is not possible to do safely unless you are currently eating an extremely high amount (for example, 5,000 calories per day).
3. Burn extra calories with cardio exercise. In addition to consuming fewer calories by eating less, you can of course also burn extra calories by exercising more. For example, if you currently consume 5,000 calories a day, you can eat 3,500 calories less by cutting 2,500 calories from your daily menu and trying to burn 1,000 calories a day with exercise.
   • The number of calories you can burn with exercise depends on many factors, including your current weight. For example, if you weigh 63 kg, you can burn about 1000 calories by playing soccer for 2 hours. If you weigh 75 kg, you should play for 2.5 hours before.
   • To find out how many calories you can burn with some of the most common forms of exercise, you can use a table like this one.
   • Keep in mind that if you consume very few calories, you may not have the energy to do a vigorous exercise safely.
4. Do not follow this diet for longer than recommended by your doctor. Following a low-calorie diet is not a safe or effective way to lose weight sustainably. If you really want or need to lose half a kilo per that, try not to do it for longer than a few weeks at the most. Your doctor can help you determine the best way to switch back to a healthy diet without gaining weight again.
   • Keep in mind that following a very low-calorie diet will likely cause you to lose not only fat, but water and muscle mass as well.