You can find hundreds of diets that promise to help you lose weight fast. What matters, however, are the real results: some studies have shown that 95% of diet programs prove to be unsuccessful, and that the lost pounds are often regained within a year. Many of these diets are also a real torture and tend to weaken and strain the body. If you want to lose weight and be able to really maintain the results achieved, you need to make changes to your lifestyle, for example, starting to control food portions and exercise. Start by gradually changing your diet and habits, and establish a daily training routine: every little step will help you reach the desired goal, losing 10 kilos in two months.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Prepare to Lose 10 Pounds
Step 1. Talk to your doctor
Losing 10 pounds in two months is a major goal: given the extent of the changes you will need to make to your daily diet and exercise program, it is advisable to check with your doctor before starting.
- A low-calorie diet coupled with strenuous physical activity can be considered safe for most people, but it is good to discuss the details with your doctor. By analyzing your diet and exercise program, your doctor will be able to tell you for sure if it is suitable for your current physical and health condition.
- Contact a qualified nutritionist. A nutrition professional will be able to guide you towards a diet that is appropriate to your needs and goals. It will most likely suggest a specific diet plan, indicating which foods are good allies and which ones you should avoid.
Step 2. Keep a food diary
Your diary will be a valuable support both in terms of nutrition and exercise. You will be able to track multiple aspects of both programs to help you monitor your progress.
- Take note of everything you drink and eat. Having to describe meals and snacks will prompt you to behave more responsibly; moreover, if the desired results are difficult to arrive, it will provide you with important information.
- Also take note of the physical exercise done. Again, your journal will help you behave more conscientiously.
- Last but not least, keep track of your progress. For example in terms of kilos or centimeters lost. In the absence of relevant results, it will be good to reread and analyze your notes.
Step 3. Create a support group
Losing 10 kilos in two months will not be easy: you will have to significantly change your diet and lifestyle. Putting the changes into practice for two consecutive months will be no small challenge. A support group can help you stay motivated for as long as necessary.
- Go in search of friends, family or colleagues who can prove to be a positive support. Choose people who can motivate you to stay on the path, avoiding those who are too compliant. Those who lack the ability to help you resist through tough times need to be excluded from your support group.
- Find out if any of them want to achieve the same goal as you. Losing weight and getting fit is a popular desire, and sharing your diet and exercise program with a friend will make it a lot more fun.
- Also search online - there are numerous forums and support groups created by people like you who want to lose weight. At any time of the day you will be able to get in touch with any of them.
Step 4. Put your plans in writing
Take the time to describe your diet and exercise program in detail, they will help you organize yourself better and behave responsibly. Your plans contain all the answers to your doubts about how to lose 10 kilos in two months.
- Start with your diet plan. If you want to lose 10 kilos you need to make major changes to your diet; it will also be important to respect it strictly. When you want to lose weight, following a strict diet is the first thing to do.
- Write down your daily calorie limit, then plan meals and snacks around that limit. Include every meal, snack, and drink you plan to consume throughout the day.
- Write what kind of exercise you intend to do. Give yourself a weekly goal and specify how you intend to break it down for the seven days.
Part 2 of 3: Managing the Diet
Step 1. Cut down on calories
To lose weight, you will need to modify your diet by reducing the number of calories you consume daily. If you want to lose 10 pounds in two months, you need to make some serious cuts.
- It is generally believed that losing 500g-1kg of weight per week is safe for health. To lose 10 kilos in two months you will need to lose about one and a half kilos a week. While this is outside the safe limit, this may be a realistic goal for those who manage to stick to a strict diet plan during both months.
- You will have to give up at least 500 calories a day, or rather up to 750. It will be very useful to be able to reach your goal of losing ten kilos.
- While you need to significantly reduce the number of calories you eat each day, health professionals typically recommend never going below the 1200 calorie limit. A reduction that exceeds this limit could cause a dangerous lack of vital nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of the body.
- Also note that sticking to a high-calorie diet plan for a long time can cause a reduction in lean muscle mass rather than fat mass.
Step 2. Avoid carbohydrates
Numerous studies have shown that among the diet programs that allow you to lose weight faster are those low in carbohydrates. Such diets not only promote faster weight loss, they usually cause a loss of fat mass that exceeds that of lean muscle mass.
- For your diet to be low in carbohydrates, you need to focus on minimizing the amount you consume each day.
- Carbohydrates are contained in a wide variety of foods including: starchy vegetables (such as potatoes or peas), legumes (such as beans and lentils), fruits, dairy products and grains.
- Since carbohydrates are contained in a wide range of foods, eliminating them completely is neither a realistic nor a healthy goal. So focus on minimizing your intake of food groups that contain the most, such as grains, starchy vegetables, and some fruits.
- Many nutrients contained in foods such as grains and starchy vegetables are readily available in other food groups. Limiting its intake for a short period (no more than two months) is therefore not to be considered dangerous to health.
- Although fruit is a carbohydrate-rich food, it is not necessary to eliminate it in all its varieties. Take small amounts weekly by choosing fruits that contain only very few sugars, such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries.
- Make sure you eat the fruit in the correct portions: 120 grams in the case of smaller or chopped fruits or a small whole fruit.
Step 3. Fill up on lean protein and non-starchy vegetables
If you are following a low-carb diet, you can use two food groups that contain only minimal amounts. Protein and non-starchy vegetables are low-carb, low-calorie, and nutrient-rich foods, making them perfect for helping you lose weight fast.
- Aim for 1-2 servings of lean protein with each meal or snack. One serving of protein is approximately 90-120 grams or, in terms of volume, roughly the size of a deck of cards.
- Eat as many non-starchy vegetables as you want. The most common advice is to use them to fill half the plate.
- In general, your dishes will consist of half protein and half non-starchy vegetables, with the occasional addition of some fruit.
Step 4. Limit the number of snacks and make sure they are low calorie
Cutting calories significantly and exercising a lot could make you hungrier than usual or trigger the need for an extra charge throughout the day. It is therefore imperative to plan healthy snacks in advance that conform to your diet plan.
- If you are trying to follow a diet plan aimed at making you lose weight very quickly, make sure that your snacks do not force you to exceed the limit of calories you can eat daily. A 100-150 calorie snack is generally considered acceptable.
- Try to limit yourself to just one snack per day. Including two or more could put your daily calorie limit at risk.
- Stay true to your high-protein, low-carb diet plan by choosing high-protein snacks.
- Here are some examples of low-calorie, low-carb snacks: 35 grams of almonds, 120 grams of plain Greek yogurt, 90 grams of dried beef or a hard-boiled egg.
- Only use a snack if you are feeling really hungry or if you need to refuel after exercise. Eating when you don't really need it could slow down the weight loss process or cause the so-called "plateau effect" (ie a weight stall).
Step 5. Take adequate amount of fluids
Drinking enough clear, moisturizing fluids every day is essential for keeping you healthy. Rapid weight loss and increased physical activity levels make this directive even more important.
- When you lose weight - especially if you combine a diet plan with cardio workouts of greater intensity or duration - you need to take in enough fluids to rehydrate your body after exercise and keep it hydrated throughout the day.
- Aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water (about two liters) every day. Also note that an increase in physical activity could increase your daily water requirement by up to 13 glasses. Factors such as the level and type of exercise, gender and age affect your fluid needs.
- Drinks that are low in calories or totally free will help you stay within your daily calorie limit. Water, flavored waters, decaffeinated tea and coffee are the best choices.
Part 3 of 3: Start Exercising
Step 1. Get enough cardio activity
While exercise is only responsible for a fraction of your weight loss, when you want to lose a lot of pounds, you really need to increase your daily cardio activity.
- Compared to muscle strength training, a cardio or aerobic workout allows you to burn more calories, supporting your weight loss program more effectively.
- Most doctors recommend doing at least 150 minutes of cardio activity per week. However, since losing 10 pounds in two months is considered rapid weight loss, you will need to further increase the extent of your workout to achieve your goal.
- Consider doing at least 300 minutes of cardio a week. This is a considerable amount of exercise, but it will allow you to burn off excess calories and help you lose weight faster.
- You can opt for running, swimming, aerobics, biking, spinning, or using the elliptical.
Step 2. Include strength training
Strength or endurance training does not burn many calories, yet it is an important component of physical activity.
- Muscle strength development exercises promote the development and maintenance of lean muscle mass during the weight loss phase. In addition, an increase in lean muscle mass allows you to burn more calories even in a resting state.
- Most health experts recommend including at least 2-3 weekly workouts dedicated to building muscle strength. For an ideal result, train all the different muscle groups during each session.
- If you are having a hard time hitting the 150-300 minute weekly cardio milestone, reduce the time you spend on strength training. In just two months, you will benefit most from an increase in the amount of cardio activity.
Step 3. Increase your standard physical activity levels
In dedicating yourself to your daily tasks, do physical activity every day. While the movements you perform individually don't allow you to burn calories, when added up at the end of the day they can greatly affect the number of calories you consume.
- Normal standard physical activity includes: doing housework, gardening, walking meters to reach your destination after parking the car, walking up and down stairs etc.
- Find ways to increase your standard physical activity level to be even more active and move more at any time of the day.
- For example, try parking a few blocks away from the supermarket or office. Choose to take the stairs instead of using the elevator. Watch television while standing or get up from the couch more often.
Step 4. Try High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
It is a modern and very trendy type of training that allows you to burn a large number of calories in a short time, thus helping you to reach your goal.
- HIIT is a form of exercise that combines phases of high-intensity cardio activity and recovery phases where exercise becomes more moderate. Typically, when compared to regular cardio training (such as running at a regular pace), HIIT sessions are shorter.
- Although they are shorter, HIIT sessions allow you to burn more calories. Furthermore, some studies show that this type of training keeps the metabolism (the "burner" of calories) at a high level for a longer time after the end of the workout.
- In addition to cardio and strength training, consider doing 1 or 2 weekly HIIT sessions as well. The higher number of calories you burn will help you achieve your goal of losing ten pounds in two months.
Advice
- Before making any significant changes to your diet or exercise routine, consult your doctor.
- Using the stairs instead of the elevator is one of the simplest ways to increase your daily physical activity level.
