The Quickest Way to Lose Weight in a Healthy Way

The quickest way to lose weight in a healthy way is by combining dieting with exercising. Safe weight loss is considered losing anywhere from half a lb. to 2 lbs. per week, according to the Weight Control Information Network. Your resting metabolic rate is the number of calories your body burns in a day before exercising, according to NetWellness. To lose weight safely and quickly, create a calorie deficit by eating fewer calories than your resting metabolic rate and by burning extra calories through exercise.

Determining Your Resting Metabolic Rate

• Determining your resting metabolic rate is the first step of quickly losing weight in a healthy way. The most accurate way to determine your resting metabolic rate is to breathe into a device such as MedGem that measures your oxygen consumption. Alternatively, you can use the resting metabolic rate calculator from the Mayo Clinic. If an individual had a resting metabolic rate of 2,300 and he consumed 2,300 calories per day for a week, his weight would not fluctuate.

Exercising

• Walking, jogging, and swimming are all great ways to burn calories and create a calorie deficit by exercising. For example, if a person who weighs 155 lbs. walked at 2 miles per hour for an hour, she would burn 176 calories. She would burn 422 calories if she went for a light bike ride for an hour and 704 calories if she swam freestyle fast for an hour, according to NutriStrategy.com. The Journal of Nutrition found that exercises that elevate heart rate result in a decrease in body fat and an increase in lean muscle mass.

Dieting

• The Harvard School of Public Health explains that diets that are lower in calories will result in weight loss regardless of what combination of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins a person eats. Fast food is particularly high in calories and should be avoided at all costs when trying to lose weight. For example, a Baconator from Wendy's contains 970 calories and a Double Cheeseburger from Burger King contains 510 calories. Fast food is also bad because of its high saturated fat content. Diets that are high in saturated fat increase the risk for heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.

Creating a Daily Calorie Deficit

• The fastest rate of weight loss that's considered safe by the Weight Control Information Network is 2 lbs. per week. To lose 2 lbs. of weight per week you would need to create a daily calorie deficit of 1,000 calories because there are 3,500 calories in 1 lb. of fat, according to The Ohio State University Extension Program. The fastest and healthiest way to lose weight safely is to eat 500 calories less than your resting metabolic rate and burn 500 calories through exercise daily.

Stay Hydrated

• Staying hydrated throughout the day can actually help with weight loss, according to The Ohio State University Extension Program. The first way that water helps with weight loss is by reducing an individual's appetite. The second way is by maintaining metabolism throughout the day. Try carrying a water bottle with you throughout the day to stay fully hydrated.