Losing weight quickly requires dedication to your diet and workout routine. Even with dietary restrictions and intense exercise, the quickest rate of weight loss you should seek is 2 lb. per week. Any faster and you risk losing muscle and depriving yourself so much that adherence to your plan is impossible. Lose the weight too quickly and you are likely to regain it when you resume your old habits. To lose 10 lb in a fast—but healthy–five weeks, embark on some specific diet and fitness strategies to encourage the weight to fall off for good.
Stick to Your Calorie Goal
Eat 500 to 1,000 calories fewer than you burn per day to lose one to two pounds per week. Do not go below 1,200 calories as a female, or 1,500 per day as a male. These are the minimum daily requirements as per the National Institutes of Health. Adjust your expectations in terms of the rate of weight loss or seek to burn more calories every day.
Good ways to reduce calories include eliminating discretionary calories like soda, alcohol and candy, eating 20 percent less at meals and choosing snacks high in volume, but low in calories like air-popped popcorn. The closer you come to that 1,000-calorie-per-day deficit, the faster your 10 lb will come off.
Watch Your Portions
When eating healthy food, some people expect weight loss will occur. If you eat too much of any food—even healthy ones—you cannot lose weight. Try purchasing a small kitchen scale and weighing your servings of cereals, whole grain crackers and nuts to be sure you stick to recommended portion sizes. At meals, go for ½ cup of whole grains or starch, three oz. of protein and one or two cups of green vegetables or fruits to keep calories in check but still maximize nutrition. Fat is an important part of your diet as it assists in vitamin absorption and hormone production. Be particularly vigilant in measuring fats because they are calorically dense—1 to 2 tsp of olive oil, an ounce of avocado or a half ounce of nuts provides heart healthy fats with minimal calorie impact. After you lose the 10 lb, stick to smaller portions to keep the weight off.
Bump Up Your Intensity
Choose a formal activity to help you lose weight faster–a group fitness class, a 30-minute romp on an exercise machine or a walk with a friend. Make sure that activity revs your heart and forces you to break a sweat. If you have been doing the same workout for months, it is time to change it up and challenge your body so that it burns more calories. To lose 10 lb you must make your body uncomfortable to break through a plateau. Instead of an endurance session where you work at the same pace for an hour, try interval training.
The journal “Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism” in 2008 published a study that showed hour long sessions of all-out sprints alternated with more moderate-intensity rests generated greater fat oxidation and calorie burn than standard, steady-state work. Interval training may also keep your metabolism burning higher for a longer period of time, even when you stop exercising.
Although no magic weight loss foods exist, some foods seem to encourage your body to let go of its fat stores. Researchers at Curtin University in Australia conducted a 2009 study illustrating that five servings of low-fat dairy a day resulted in greater amounts of weight and fat loss than three servings per day when dieters followed a reduced calorie meal plan. Whole grains also induce weight and fat loss when eaten in place of refined grains reports a 2008 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Include skim milk on your morning oatmeal, make a snack of plain yogurt and berries, and add cottage cheese to salads. Eat a whole grain bagel, brown rice and bake with whole wheat flour instead of resorting to white versions of these foods. These foods take longer to digest and keep you feeling full longer. As a result, you are better able to stick to a lower calorie diet and lose your 10 lb in a reasonably quick amount of time.
About this Author
With degrees from Princeton and Columbia University, Andrea Cespedes is also a professionally trained chef and has focused studies in nutrition. With over 20 years of experience in the fitness industry, she coaches cycling and running and teaches pilates and yoga. She is an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer.
