There are numerous ways to lose weight quickly.

Of course, the best way is to do it in a natural, sustainable, healthy way. No pills. No fad diets. No more hoping and praying to lose weight. Just natural, healthy, sustainable weight loss.

That means getting back to the health basics we promote every day. Sunshine, organic Paleo foods, quality sleep, exercise and meditation will all help to lose the weight and keep it off for good.

Yet, when the New Year arrives everyone seems to want a quick fix. After all, where’s the real motivation without some results you can see?

Here are three simple steps to lose weight fast. Try them out but also be sure to get back to the healthy basics mentioned above.

The goal with these quick fix recommendations is to regulate appetite, improve metabolic health and shed the pounds.

1. Eat organic low- carb, high-protein foods

• The Paleo diet works for weight loss. It’s a naturally low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. When the majority of carbs are cut out of the diet, especially processed ones like wheat, the body starts to shed pounds fast. It is one of the most popular weight loss approaches. The reason is that decreasing carbohydrates in the diet decreases insulin levels, which leads the body to breakdown and burn stored fat for energy and results in weight loss. Consistently, it has been shown that low-carbohydrate diets lead to greater weight loss short-term than low-fat diets¹. Low-carb diets have also been shown to help prevent or reverse metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and Cardiovascular Disease. Another benefit to going Paleo is that low-carbohydrate diets may improve High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride levels. We like the Paleo diet as it is not a severe restriction of carbohydrates, but rather a natural selection of the right types and amounts such as those from vegetables. There are many reasons why you should try the Paleo diet.

2. Practice intermittent fasting

• Intermittent fasting is a pattern of fasting and feasting (eating). IF, as it’s also known, specifies the time frame when to eat foods – not the types of foods to eat. There are different types of IF methods. The goal with IF is caloric restriction. The result is weight loss along with several other important health benefits such as lowering inflammation, decreasing blood pressure and normalizing blood lipid values. IF is very heart-healthy. IF allows for a reset of the entire body, which is very imperative to weight loss. Fasting, or going for period of time in which you don’t eat, is more natural for the body than eating 4-5 meals every day. Ancient hunter-gatherers didn’t have a Whole Foods to run to each time they ran out of food. If they couldn’t find anything to eat, then they wouldn’t. It’s as simple as that. It is natural. Fasting has also been shown to lower insulin levels and as a result the body shifts to burning stored fat as its fuel source, which results in significant weight loss. Fasting also causes levels of Human Growth Hormone to increase leading to further fat loss. Overall, metabolic health becomes restored with IF.

3. Take Berberine

• Berberine, or Berbe as we call it, is a natural supplement that aids in weight loss. Once ingested, it is able to activate what is known as the “master metabolic switch” and regulate key fat-regulating hormones in the body. In a pilot study, obese participants were given 500 mg of berberine three times a day for twelve weeks². The results from the study showed that they lost an average of 5 pounds². Another incredible study gave individuals with metabolic syndrome 300 mg berberine three times a day for three months. In three months, the participants went from an obese body mass index (BMI) classification to an overweight BMI classification³. The study concluded that the weight loss was due to an inhibition of fat stores through berberine’s key regulation of hormones³. Additionally, research has also found that berberine can inhibit the growth of fat cells by inhibiting the expression of fat enzymes⁴. If your goal is weight loss this New Year, try taking 500 mg of berberine three times a day (total of 1,500 mg). Take your dose about a half an hour before meals. If you have a medical condition or are on medication, be sure to talk to your doctor before adding this to your supplement regimen.

References:

1. Brehm et al., 2003: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12679447
2. Hu et al., 2012: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711312001870
3. Yang et al., 2012: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3310165/
4. Choi et al., 2006: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17202835/