11 Ways To Lose Weight Fast Without A Crash Diet Slideshow

Taking in fewer calories is the key to getting thinner, but expending energy quickens the weight-loss process.  Try things like biking to work, using the stairs, dancing on the weekends, or playing pick-up sports after work to counteract extra calorie consumption. 

Most processed foods have been stripped of their nutrients and fiber in order to lengthen their shelf life and improve their taste, but there's almost no way to quickly lose weight with processed foods in your diet. 

A squirt of ketchup, a layer of mayonnaise, or a shmear of cream cheese makes bland foods more appealing, but these condiments can add extra, unnecessary calories to your food. Make monotonous veggies more palatable by using different fresh herbs and dry spices; they contain virtually no calories while offering a myriad of health benefits.

Not all snacks are equally caloric, but picking up a bag of chips, nibbling on a cookie, or eating a couple pieces of chocolate can quickly raise your calorie count. If you can, try avoid snacking altogether, or only stick to low-calorie fruits and vegetables like red bell peppers, oranges, and baby carrots.

Low-carb diets were trendy in the 1990s (and still are to a degree) because they usually do lead to weight loss. Replacing traditional carbohydrates like bread, pasta, and grains with lean protein such as salmon, ground turkey, or chicken breast reduces overall appetite and accelerates weight loss.

Being active helps, but high-intensity training sessions are considerably more effective at shedding weight. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an exercise regimen founded on short, intense bursts of energy, making it a cardio and resistance workout all wrapped in one. HIIT jacks up your metabolism, burns fat in less time, and doesn't even require a gym.

Focus your diet on vegetables like edamame, arugula, mushrooms, and celery. These foods are fibrous, satiating, and low in calories; you can also eat as much as you want of them and still lose weight. Use vegetable pastas like spiralized zucchini or spaghetti squash to avoid being tempted by other refined carbohydrates.

This is a tough one, but if you're seriously committed to losing weight quickly, then you need to cut out all caloric beverages: This means all soda, sweet tea, fruit juice, milk, non-dairy milk, lattes, and alcohol are off limits. Stick with water, coffee, tea, seltzer, or other zero-calorie beverages, but be wary of diet soda; some studies show that drinking it may lead to increased appetite.

The therapeutic heat of the sauna can lull you into a state of tranquility, but the intense temperature also helps you lose weight. Sweating and overheating the body accelerates the heart rate, increases circulation, and helps shed excess salt and water. Sweating off the pounds is a real phenomenon, making this the most calming weight-loss method. Start off with the sauna once or twice a week for 15 to 20 minutes, and try to work up to a 30-minute session, which can burn between 150 and 300 calories.

Dropping water weight is a reliable way to quickly to shrink that waistline. Water exists around the tissue between your cells, and a diet rich in carbohydrates and sodium leads to extra water retention. Every gram of carbohydrates requires three to four grams of water to process and store it. The best ways to reduce retention is to cut back on salt, drink coconut water (it helps flush sodium from the body), and take dandelion extract to increase urination frequency. It also helps to switch to a low-carb diet.

Skipping meals is not a diet, but rather an eating pattern. Intermittent fasting involves eating all your calories during a specific window of time. Taking in all your calories over a tighter time frame — say, over four or six hours — allows the body to burn stored fat rather than the easily accessible calories. Periods of fasting teach the body to use the calories it consumes more efficiently. Though skipping breakfast is not recommended for everyone, if you can follow a disciplined eating regimen throughout the rest of the day, it can be an effective weight-loss strategy.