If you have your diet dialed in and you are working out on a consistent basis, you are probably already winning when it comes to the battle of the bulge. Still, even the most patient and dedicated among us can get frustrated with peeling inches off slowly. If you have a big event coming up, you may want to speed up your body’s transition from soft to tight and toned.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to speed up fat loss, but you have to do it safely.

Here are a few ways that you can melt fat faster without the help of dangerous weight loss methods.

Skip Breakfast Once A Week

The old bodybuilding rules of meal timing that call for small meals every few hours no longer apply for folks who want to lose fat fast. Instead, eating within a small window during the day and fasting for the rest of the day has been shown to improve the rate of fat loss without causing people to lose muscle.

Called “Intermittent Fasting”, this method has been championed by Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple, Brad Pilon of Eat Stop Eat, and Martin Berkhan of Lean Gains. Although all three have slightly different methods, the idea is the same. Eating normal amounts of healthy food combined with long periods without food will speed up fat loss because it is the way that our bodies are programmed to function.

Some IF observational studies show that people lose more fat if they skip breakfast and condense their daily meals into an 8 hour window, while some claim that going 24 hours without food once per week works best. We wouldn’t advocate that you take 24 hours off, especially if you have a personal history with disordered eating. But, consider skipping a meal every once and a while to let your body use your fat stores for energy.

Up Your Protein Intake

Protein is an important part of each meal, because of its appetite suppressing qualities. Eating protein at every meal helps with muscle repair and growth. The more muscle you have thanks to a consistent strength training program, the more energy you burn throughout the day just by existing thanks to a process called EPOC – excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. High protein diets have been found to have a thermogenic effect on the body, which means that people who eat high protein diets burn more calories throughout the day.

Hydrate

Many people are chronically mildly dehydrated, and they don’t even know it. When your body is dehydrated, your metabolism slows down. That’s why you feel tired and sluggish in the morning. You don’t need another cup of caffeine! In fact, you should probably skip your second cup of coffee and pound a few glasses of water instead. Your body needs adequate water to metabolize fatty acids.

Spice It Up

Spices like cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and ginger help melt away fat thanks to unique properties. Cayenne pepper and ginger speed up your metabolism, while cinnamon helps to balance your blood sugar levels. Sip ginger tea, sprinkle cayenne pepper in your salsa, and add cinnamon to your morning oatmeal.

Eat More Fat

Eatting fat can help you burn off fat. Weird, right? High fat diets are lower in calories because fatty foods help you feel full. If you start your day off with eggs and bacon, you most likely won’t feel hungry until the late afternoon. Eat a bowl of cereal instead, and you’ll feel hunger pangs sooner.

Combine a high protein, high fat, spicy diet that is low in carbs with intermittent fasting, weight training, and plenty of water, and you have yourself a recipe for fast fat loss. Before you run out and start sprinkling cayenne pepper on chicken and eating it for every meal, you have to stop and use your common sense. Make sure to eat plenty of fiber and green veggies, and don’t down spicy foods right before your workout. If you feel lightheaded during an intermittent fast, then eat something. Try these methods out, but don’t sacrifice your health and wellbeing just to lose a few extra inches.