Many women have a few extra pounds that they’d like to say goodbye to – for good. The struggle is real and can be near constant if you don’t know how to lose weight properly. Do you cut out all sweets? Snacks? Eating entirely? Should you drink a gallon of water a day? The fads are never-ending and it can be incredibly difficult to sort out what advice is helpful and what isn’t.

Many of us just want to find the fastest ways to lose weight for women. There are some cosmetic procedures like Sculpsure that are effective for weight loss, but there are also plenty of alternatives as well. Today, we’ll explore several different techniques that will help you burn off extra fat quickly and safely. Let’s go!

1. Eat Lots of Protein

Proteins are your muscles’ building blocks and without a healthy amount of protein in your diet, your arms, legs, and belly will lose their firmness. You might start to resemble a snowman…and nobody wants that. So the next time carb cravings hit you, don’t reach for the potato chips.

Instead, why not try a healthy sandwich with some meat and cheese slices? Or maybe a spoonful of peanut butter or some eggs? There’s always a healthier, protein-rich option – it just might take a bit more time to prepare. But you are totally worth it.

2. Get the Rest You Need

Rest is actually one of the fastest ways to lose weight for women. It can be tempting to stay up really late at night and then remain in bed until the afternoon. But by resisting that temptation, you can actually start to lose weight. Staying up later increases your hunger and can lead to binge eating…and watching the pounds pile on.

Tiredness also contributes to a slow metabolism, which may bring weight loss to a complete stop. The best habit to follow is getting to bed early, waking up early, and eating a balanced breakfast to kickstart your body for the day. Regular sleep habits will help you shed weight in a healthy way.

3. Say ‘No’ to Sugar and Carbs

This tip is pretty obvious but we all know that it’s hard to stay away from cookies, cake, pie, candy, and all that other ‘good’ stuff. Sometimes you just want comfort food; the only problem is that most comfort foods are both carb- and sugar-rich.

Sugar really is horrible for your waistline so if you want to lose weight quickly it makes a lot of sense to cut it out of your diet. It doesn’t have to be all at once! You can start by not buying those chocolates at the supermarket. Once you’ve got the art of the passive ‘no’ down, you can really take control of your eating habits and actively refuse that second slice of dessert. Go you!

4. Watch What You Drink

Soda, pop, a soft drink…whatever you call it, soda wreaks havoc on your body in more ways than one. But one of the most obvious effects is weight gain. Soda is loaded with sugars and empty carbs: a recipe for weight gain if there ever was one. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a carbonated beverage every once in a while but if it’s a steady thing, you’ll find it almost impossible to lose weight.

Try drinking a glass of water for every soda you consume – it’ll get you in the habit of drinking water and you can start to make the transition from unhealthy to healthy in no time. You could also try making your own special drinks at home – iced tea, for instance. That way, you know exactly what’s going into your drink and you can use healthier sweeteners like honey.

5. Exercise

The dreaded E-word. Most of us hate taking time out of our busy days to do some squats or take a short jog, but it truly is the best way to get in shape. Try some aerobic/cardio exercises to cut down on belly fat. There are apps, websites, and videos for every kind of exercise imaginable – and most of it is free information that you can take advantage of right now.

You might not see visible results right away and the bathroom scale might not budge for a few weeks, but there will be a difference if you create an exercise routine and stick to it. We promise.

6. Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a relatively new trend that has worked wonders for thousands of women (and men). The concept might seem a little strange at first, but bear with us! Intermittent fasting is basically what it sounds like: fasting at steady intervals in order to lose weight.

Many people like the ‘alternate day method’, where you fast one day, eat normally the next, fast the next day…and so on. However, there are many, many different methods and you’ll probably want to do some research to figure out which one is best for you.

Over just a few weeks, using intermittent fasting, you could lose almost fifteen pounds – and even more as you continue to implement the tools, tips, and tricks we’ve given you in this blog post.