15-Pound Weight Loss: Discover How To Make Food Work In Your Favor

If you are on a mission to cut off some pounds, you may already have a number in your mind you want to lose. For many people, a target of a 15-pound weight loss is a reasonable place to start. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean you can easily achieve the goal overnight. A few factors will slow down or fasten the speed at which you will safely drop 15 pounds.

The 15-pound weight loss plan is subjective for a number of reasons. The amount of weight you can lose over a certain period will depend on several factors such as your lifestyle, BMI, and current weight. Fortunately for you, here are some tips you can follow to achieve the 15-pound target easily.

What Does 15-Pound Weight Loss Do To Your Body?

Shedding some weight will improve a lot of aspects of your well-being and physical health.

Weight loss can lead to changes in your mental health, personal life, senses, and much more. If you lose 15 pounds, here are some of the lesser known rewards and changes you might accrue (12):

• Better sleep: Many people who are overweight find it hard to sleep and even struggle with sleep apnea. This is as a result of the difficulty in breathing that is common in obese people. Weight loss will ease your breathing and make you feel more relaxed throughout the day.
• Better moods: Weight loss will make your body feel good. It will boost your mental health resulting in better moods. People who lose weight are reported to experience less depression, anger, fatigue, and tension. The more pounds you shed, the better your moods will be.
• Different food tastes: Researchers have evidence that people who have lost a lot of weight do not taste things the same as before. Sweet food won’t taste the same to you, so you could potentially consume fewer calories.
• Your brain function will improve: Obesity has been connected with memory loss, lower thinking skills, and inefficient brain function. Losing weight could improve your cognitive skills and activate some parts of your brain.
• Better sex: It’s no secret, overweight people can struggle with their sex life. Some even struggle with erectile dysfunction. Well, losing extra pounds can improve the quality of your sexual life (2).
• Reduced health risks: Your body will have lower risks of stroke, heart disease, diabetes, gallbladder illness, and osteoarthritis.
• Reduced cancer risk: If you have a lot of body fat, you will be more likely to get some type of cancer. By cutting down some kilograms, you reduce the risk of breast, prostate, endometrial, colon, and other cancers. If you have cancer, your body will fight the condition better with less weight.
• Lower body temperature: Higher mass index is linked to a higher temperature. If you shed a few kilograms, then you might feel cooler than before.

Read More: Creating A Diet Plan: A Detailed Playbook On Finding Your Own Dieting Rhythm

How Will 15-Pound Weight Loss Affect My Face?

The main part of your face is the skin. Under the skin, there might be fat on your chin and other parts of your face. So, are there any effects associated with losing that fat?

According to WebMD, if you have lost just a few pounds, your skin won’t just bounce back to where it was before.

You may notice extra folds in your thighs, belly arms, breasts, and of course, on your chin (8).

Carrying extra weight on your body damages the elastin and collagen fibers in your skin. It makes it harder for your skin to snap back after weight loss.

Younger skin will bounce back quickly. So, if you are older, then expect your chin and other parts of your face to have saggy skin longer afterward.

Is 15-Pound Weight Loss Noticeable?

Yes, a 15-pound weight loss is quite significant. That is about 7.5 Kilograms of your body fat you will have lost.

You will look leaner as you have lost a lot of fat. You will also have less belly fat and reduced waist size (10).

So, even if it is an unintentional 15-pound weight loss, it will be easily noticeable. Your clothes won’t even fit you as they used to before losing the extra pounds.

How Long Will It Take To Lose 15 Pounds?

Health practitioners recommend that you lose 1 to 2 pounds every week. This is the most manageable and safest way to hit your targets (11).

However, it is difficult to quantify the time you will take to hit the 15-pound mark as an individual. The timeline is different for everyone. This is because everyone’s body reacts differently to exercise and the consumption of food.

So, no one time fits all. You have to find your own pace.

However, if you can manage to lose 1 pound or more every week, it will take you less than 15 weeks to hit the 15-pound mark.

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So, Is It Possible To Have A 15-Pound Weight Loss Plan In 1 Month?

The short answer is yes. You can take a week, a few days or a fortnight, or even a month to lose 15 pounds. After all, you are just shedding 7.5 kilograms!

However, the approach is not sustainable, safe, and healthy.

You will likely end up with the following unwanted conditions which are not good for your health:

• A lot of the weight you lose may come from the muscles and water. You will hence have less muscle mass when you rapidly shed off kilograms (6).
• You will have a slowed-down metabolism as you will have lesser hormones, such as thyroid hormone. It is necessary to say that you will also have lost some muscle mass. The hormones together with your muscles control your metabolism rate (5).
• You could struggle with nutritional deficiencies that may cause consequences such as extreme fatigue, hair loss, poor immune system, brittle and weak bones.

15-Pound Weight Loss Women And Men Tips

There are many things you can do to effectively boost the rate at which you are shedding kilograms. Here are a few tips that will help you lose weight and a steady and healthy rate:

• Eat a lot of proteins: Studies show that a high-protein diet can boost your metabolism, preserve your muscle mass and keep you full for longer.
• Cut your sugar and starch consumption: A low-carb diet will make you lose more weight over time. Cutting back on starches and sugars is a great way to reduce your carbohydrate intake (3).
• Get plenty of sleep: Lack of enough sleep is associated with higher levels of ghrelin hormone. The hormone increases your hunger levels, lowers leptin levels, and also fullness hormone. Enough sleep will also help to lower your cortisol levels.
• Do resistance training: Lifting weights helps you fight against muscle loss and reduced metabolism rates that will take place when you lose weight.
• Eat a lot of fiber: Soluble fiber, in particular, helps the body burn belly fats and a lot of calories in your body (1).
• Do high-intensity workouts: High-intensity exercises involve short and intense bursts of training. Unlike regular cardio exercises, high-intensity interval training will continue burning calories long after your gym session.
• Eat slowly: Eating slowly means that you will chew your food thoroughly. This can help you feel full longer and also help you consume less food.
• Drink unsweetened green tea: Researchers have shown how drinking green tea can boost your metabolism by up to 5%. This increases your fat-burning capacity by up to 17% (7).
• Avoid alcohol: Alcohol contains a lot more calories than you might think. It is wise to take it in controlled amounts to not interfere with your weight loss target (4).
• Count your calories: You can only lose weight if you use more calories than you take in. So count whatever you eat and make sure you burn more to create a calorie deficit.
• Try intermittent fasting: When you are fasting, you do not eat anything. Your body needs energy and will therefore burn the stored fat to produce it once its glycogen storage is empty. This could eventually lead to weight loss.

What Is The Best 15-Pound Weight Loss Meal Plan?

The best diet plan for weight loss contains fewer calories than you burn every day. It also has all the nutrients you need, fewer sugars and simple carbs.

The plan should also be crafted in such a way that you will always be full. This avoids falling into the temptation of eating unhealthy snacks when you are hungry (13).

Here is a sample 15 pound weight loss diet plan for 3 days to help you get started:

First Day

Breakfast

• Coffee and unsweetened almond milk
• Scrambled eggs with spinach
• A cup of berries

Lunch

• A protein choice such as fish, shrimp, and chicken
• 2 cups of Brussels sprouts roasted using a tablespoon of olive oil
• A medium pear dressed with a tablespoon of peanut butter

Dinner

• Chicken sautéed with peppers and onions using olive oil
• A quarter cup of salsa with a tablespoon of Greek yogurt

Snack

• 50 pistachios

Read More: Lose Weight On A Budget: 15 Smart Ways To Save Money While Living A Healthy Lifestyle

Second Day

Breakfast

• Coffee and unsweetened almond milk
• A slice of whole-grain bread
• You can spread a tablespoon of peanut butter and slices of banana on the bread

Lunch

• A cup of spinach with baked chicken breasts,
• A half-cup of chickpeas mixed with a cup of sliced strawberries
• Use a teaspoon of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar for dressing

Dinner

• A cup of brown rice mixed with a half cup of green peas
• Sautéed shrimp mixed with garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Snack

• 1 pear and a quarter cup of cheese

Third Day

Breakfast

• Coffee and unsweetened almond milk
• A cup of Greek yogurt
• A quarter cup of blueberries with a quarter cup of whole-grain granola

Lunch

• Two cups of zucchini noodles and a cup bruschetta mixed with a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds and feta cheese
• One medium apple

Dinner

• Two cups of leafy greens and a cup of chopped veggies
• Use a teaspoon of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar for dressing
• Baked salmon with a cup of roasted sweet potatoes
• Two cups of sautéed veggies in a teaspoon of olive oil (9)

Snack

• A cup of kombucha tea or unsweetened green tea

Final Thought

If you want a 15-pound weight loss, then aim at a slow but steady rate of 1 to 2 pounds every week. This rate is much safer than losing a lot of kilograms in just a few days. Use the above tips and meal plan to attain your desired results faster, safer and healthier.

DISCLAIMER:

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!

SOURCES:

1. A randomized controlled trial: the effect of inulin on weight management and ectopic fat in subjects with prediabetes (2015, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
2. Better Sex: What’s Weight Got to Do with It? (2005, webmd.com)
3. Comparison of energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets on weight loss and body composition in overweight men and women (2004, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)
4. Dietary Guidelines for Alcohol (2020, cdc.gov)
5. Effect of a high-protein, very-low-calorie diet on resting metabolism, thyroid hormones, and energy expenditure of obese middle-aged women (1987, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
6. Glycogen storage: illusions of easy weight loss, excessive weight regain, and distortions in estimates of body composition (1992, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
7. Green tea extract ingestion, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance in healthy humans (2008, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
8. Loving the New Skin You’re In (2005, webmd.com)
9. On the menu: Study says dining out is a recipe for unhealthy eating for most Americans (2020, sciencedaily.com)
10. The far-reaching effects of a little bit of weight loss (2020, health.harvard.edu)
11. Weight loss: 6 strategies for success (2019, mayoclinic.org)
12. What Happens When You Lose A Lot of Weight (2020, webmd.com)
13. What to know about the 1,500-calorie diet (2020, medicalnewstoday.com)