How to Lose Weight Fast

Weight loss is one of the most popular topics when the warmer weather arrives, and it is one of the questions most often asked at the pharmacy counter. Maintaining a suitable weight is something that concerns us all, whether for aesthetic or health reasons. We usually look to lose weight quickly, but is that really the most suitable approach? How can we achieve it? We explain everything.

Healthy weight, overweight and obesity

Weight is not just a number on the scales. Our weight is a sign of health, but what is a truly healthy weight?

This healthy weight depends on each of us and our build. However, as a standard guideline, the Body Mass Index (BMI) is used. It is calculated by dividing weight (in kg) by height squared (in metres). The result establishes a weight range and makes it possible to classify it as underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obesity:

• BMI 18.5-24.9: healthy weight
• BMI 25.0-29.9: overweight
• BMI >30: obesity

As we have mentioned, BMI is a guideline measurement, because build, body fat distribution and muscle mass, among other factors, must be taken into account.

Problems associated with overweight and obesity

Excess weight brings different problems and increases the risk of developing health conditions. Some of the problems influenced by overweight and obesity, and which they can contribute to, are:

• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Joint problems
• Heart attack
• High cholesterol
• Respiratory problems
• Sleep apnoea
• Stroke
• Some types of cancer

How to lose weight quickly

We always recommend that weight loss should happen gradually, in a controlled, responsible and healthy way. With weight loss, we should not only aim to lose kilos, but also to adopt a habit in the way we eat that allows us to maintain a healthy weight, as well as our wellbeing and quality of life.

Losing weight quickly with unsuitable diets can mean that we never really learn how to eat properly, and it can lead to loss of muscle mass, health issues or rebound weight gain.

Why am I not losing weight?

Sometimes we follow a suitable diet, but we do not pay attention to the state of our gut flora or gut microbiota.

The balance of our gut flora, or the set of microorganisms that live in the intestine, can help encourage weight gain or weight loss. So, an imbalance can stop us from losing kilos. In this way, an altered microbiota:

• May absorb more calories, causing us to gain weight.
• May lead to mild inflammation that makes fat metabolism more difficult, increases visceral fat and alters appetite hormones.
• Does not communicate properly with the brain, so it can cause anxiety, a feeling of hunger and lack of satiety.

For this reason, we always recommend taking probiotics to support slimming diets, to help maintain microbiota balance and improve the chances of successful weight loss.

Tips for losing weight fast

Some basic guidelines that can be included in our daily eating routine, and that we encourage from the pharmacy to help build the habit, are:

• Split meals into 5 a day and keep portions small: breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. This helps us avoid reaching the next meal feeling hungry.
• Give more importance to fruit and vegetables in our day-to-day routine. Vegetables should become the main feature of our meals, so they should appear in greater quantities than the rest of the foods. Essentially, we need to balance the way we eat and our weekly intake of meat, fish, pulses, pasta or rice.
• Between meals, have fruit or herbal teas, as they have a filling effect.
• Limit the use of salt and oil in meals.
• Avoid fried foods, sauces, ultra-processed foods, pastries and alcohol.
• Drink 1-2 litres of water daily.
• Moderate calorie deficit, consuming fewer calories than you burn.
• Sleep well and get the right number of hours, as this is a key factor in keeping ghrelin and leptin balanced and avoiding disruption.
• Manage stress.
• Keep the microbiota stable.

• Do daily physical exercise to burn calories. If you never exercise, start gradually and increase the frequency and duration. Choose activities you enjoy and that help you relax. Combine cardio, strength and toning exercises.

You can always support yourself with a weight loss product or slimming tablets that give you an extra boost to help you achieve your goal. But remember not to neglect the previous guidelines; this will help the product work and will also help you avoid rebound weight gain.

Products for weight loss

If you are wondering what can I take to lose weight, here are some of the best weight loss supplements, backed by our pharmacy team:

Forté Pharma XtraSlim 700

The extra-strength fat burnerForté Pharma XtraSlim 700 helps burn existing fat, making it an excellent ally for rapid weight loss.

These weight loss tablets achieve their effect thanks to the combination of wakame (stimulates fat metabolism) and turmeric with Konjac glucomannan, blackcurrant (supports weight loss), choline, chromium and vitamins B6 and B1.

Directions for use: Take 2 capsules at lunch and 2 capsules at dinner.

Forté Pharma XtraSlim 3 en 1

XtraSlim 700 Captador 3 en 1helps eliminate fat thanks to its LipoCapt complex (mushroom polysaccharides), Gymnema sylvestris and chromium, which capture extra fats, sugars and calories, helping with weight loss by controlling appetite and blood glucose.

How to use it: Take 2 capsules before lunch and 2 capsules before dinner, with a large glass of water.

Forté Pharma Turboslim Drenante

Turboslim Drenante de Forté Pharma helps to reduce volume. It is a product that helps to eliminate excess fluids, while also helping to stimulate lipid metabolism thanks to the green tea in its formula, which is combined with meadowsweet, cherry stalk, hibiscus and prickly pear fruit.

You can find it in different available flavours, all very pleasant:

• Turboslim Drenante sabor piña
• Turboslim Drenante sabor frambuesa
• Turboslim Drenante sabor té verde de melocotón
• Turboslim Drenante sabor cítricos

Directions for use: It comes in different flavours, all very pleasant. Shake before use and pour 50 ml into 1.5 litres of water, then drink throughout the day. Alternatively, you can also dilute 10 ml in a large glass of water and take it this way 5 times a day.

Forté Pharma XtraSlim Reductor Apetito

The reductor del apetito XtraSlim de Forté Pharma helps you achieve a feeling of fullness and reduce hunger. It does this thanks to the Lipo-App complex (based on holy basil and konjac), carob and B vitamins.

How to take it: Take 2 capsules 1 hour before lunch and 2 capsules 1 hour before dinner, with a large glass of water.

The importance of diet for weight loss

As well as using a weight loss supplement, it is very important to combine it with a healthy diet and lifestyle habits. Why? To maintain our weight once our goals have been achieved and avoid the dreaded rebound weight gain.

How our body regulates appetite

Appetite is controlled by different hormones:

• Ghrelin, which is a hormone that stimulates appetite.
• Leptin, which regulates the feeling of fullness. That is why the balance between the action of both is essential to avoid constant hunger or anxiety. Factors such as stress or poor sleep disrupt them. Excess body fat can generate leptin resistance, making it harder to control satiety despite having energy reserves.
• Insulin and glucose play a role in feelings of hunger and fat storage.

Controlling rebound weight gain

Rebound weight gain is something that always concerns us with slimming diets. When we stop them, we put kilos back on and, in some cases, even more than we originally lost. But have you considered why this really happens?

We bring about the rebound effect ourselves because, when we stop the diet plan for losing weight:

• We become more flexible about the types of foods and the quantities.
• We have not learned how to eat properly.
• We do not exercise.
• We move away from healthy lifestyle habits.
• We have lost weight using an unsuitable or risky diet.
• We do not take our calorie expenditure into account.

For this reason, we must become more aware of our diet and find the perfect balance that allows us to control and maintain a healthy weight.

You can always seek support from your nutritionist or endocrinologist to lose weight, especially if there is a health condition or disorder, difficulty losing weight or obesity. From our pharmaceutical advice service, we can help you through the process and support you in developing healthy lifestyle habits.