Lose 30 Pounds In 3 Months: The Truth About What It Takes To Drop This Much Weight

Almost everyone in today’s society wants to lose a few pounds and tone up. However, weight loss has become 10 times harder than before. The problem is that most people have lost sight of healthy diets, which means they don’t know what’s good for them. As a result, a greater number of people are battling conditions such as obesity and eating disorders, binge eating, or bulimia.

The key to weight loss lies in combining healthy eating, maintaining calorie deficit, and engaging in regular physical activity. These are weight loss must-dos you simply can’t lose 30 pounds in 3 months otherwise. Read on to dive into how you can lose this much weight in such a limited amount of time both quickly and safely. 

Can You Lose 30 Pounds in 3 Months?

For some people, losing 30 pounds in 3 months sounds like a complete and utter lie. This is because the media has bombarded us with numerous ads on weight-loss supplements and pills. Such ads claim that supplements and pills can even help you lose weight in a week or two. 

However, after trying them, you may notice little or no change. Therefore, the perception of most people of losing so many pounds in such a timeline is unrealistic, but this is due to some marketers’ products that didn’t work.

According to experts, you can lose weight through exercise, healthy lifestyle habits, and consuming a calorie-controlled diet (6). Therefore, don’t fall into the trap of believing any weight loss pills or supplements will work.

Instead, you’re urged to become more active and engage in physical activity. The best way to lose 30 pounds in 3 months is by eating right and exercising. You need to pick practical and effective workout plans.

At the same time, you should focus on either a calorie deficit, low-calorie diet (LCD), or a very low-calorie diet (VLCD). The diet plan you choose will be influenced by several factors, including your daily calorie limit, your dietary requirements, and the weight you want to lose. 

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Designing Weight Loss Meal Plans

The key to developing an effective meal plan is to first determine your weight loss requirements. Experts recommend that you plan your diet according to your requirements (8). Therefore, you need to understand the following:

• The weight you want to lose. In this case, the goal is to lose 30 pounds. With a goal in mind, you’re more likely to stay on track.
• Your dietary needs if you have an existing health condition. Remember to also evaluate how your health condition affects your dietary requirements. For example, if you have diabetes, you need to manage your blood sugar levels. This means you’ll need to consume foods that don’t throw your blood sugar levels out of whack. 
• Any personal dietary restrictions or requirements. For example, if you’re allergic to certain foods, remember to avoid them when designing your meal plan. You can also talk to your dietitian about your allergies to help determine substitutes for such foods. In this way, you won’t miss out on essential nutrients. 
• The importance of including all food groups. According to experts, a great meal plan that ensures all the food groups are met should include the following daily ratios (1):

• Fruits and vegetables – 50%
• Lean proteins – 25 %
• Whole grains – 25%
• Fiber – 25 to 30 grams 
• Healthy fat sources such as avocado, nuts, seeds, and olive oil are also essential.

If you’ve never put together a meal plan by yourself before, you should seek professional help. They will guide you to craft a realistic meal plan that matches both your needs and activity levels. 

Example of a Meal Plan to Lose 30 Pounds in 3 Months

You may have tried a popular weight loss diet plan and perhaps it didn’t work. This could be that the results you achieved did not last long before you gained all the lost weight back. This may happen if you’re not cautious about the calories you’re consuming.

There’s so much more to dieting for weight loss than you may know. It doesn’t simply entail discovering foods with low fat and carbohydrate content. You must also take note of calories, meal portions, in addition to your eating habits and patterns.

Low-calorie meal plans tend to limit your daily calorie intake to 1,200 or 1,500 kcal, but your calorie intake will depend on individual factors and how much weight you want to lose. It’s important to ensure you still consume all essential nutrients during this time(10). Here’s an example of a low-calorie diet plan you can try:

Breakfast

• ½ cup shredded wheat or rolled oats with 1 cup 1% milk, 1 medium banana or ½ cup berries, a dash of cinnamon, 1 tbsp unsalted nuts or seeds to top, with an optional drizzle of maple syrup for sweetness, ¾ cup orange juice, and 1 cup regular black coffee.

Lunch

• 2 medium slices of whole-wheat bread, 2 ounces lean meat or tuna,  lettuce leaf, 3 slices tomato, and 1 tsp mustard. 1 medium piece of fruit.

Dinner

• 2 ounces salmon cooked in 1 ½ tsp olive oil, ½ cup green beans, ½ cup carrots, ¾ medium baked potato or sweet potato, topped with one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup cooked brown rice or quinoa, 2 cups water, and 1 cup unsweetened ice tea.

Snack

• 2 ½ cups air-popped popcorn.

How to Lose 30 Pounds in 3 Months with Exercise

Exercise is one of the most rewarding long-term weight loss methods. Regularly engaging in physical activity can help burn more calories, which further accelerates weight loss. However, there is so much you need to consider before you start working out to lose 30 pounds in 3 months. Some factors you should consider include:

The Exercise Program

There are so many activities that can be regarded as exercise and help you lose pounds. Even simple exercises such as walking and running can get your weight loss moving. However, if you want to lose pounds but also build muscle, you need to opt for strength-training exercises. At the same time, if you want to lose 30 pounds in 3 months, you should do HIIT workouts. Consult a trainer first to figure out the best workout regimen for your goals.

Read more: Is The Japanese Towel Exercise an Effective Way to Burn Belly Fat?

That being said, let’s evaluate some effective workouts for those who want to lose 30 pounds in 3 months:

Cardio

Cardio is one of the best forms of exercise that can help with your weight loss journey. The best thing is that even beginners can handle it. The best cardio workouts include:

Running

Running is one of the best aerobic exercises when you want to drop some pounds.

Experts have acknowledged that if you run at 5 mph for 30 minutes, you’ll burn approximately 295 calories (2). If you were to increase your duration to 60 minutes, you’d burn 590 calories. However, this is only the case if you weigh at least 154 pounds.

Before you start running for weight loss, you should consult both your doctor and fitness coach. They will give you the go-ahead after conducting a thorough assessment of you. For example, your trainer will assess your fitness abilities and create a suitable exercise plan.

Benefits of Running

Running can be more effective for weight loss than walking as it helps burn more calories. In addition, experts have stated that running is more efficient than walking for reducing belly fat (7).

Therefore, if you struggle with fat in your midsection, running may be just what you need. It’s also a great exercise for boosting your mental and overall health.  If you want to run outdoors, remember to choose a safe trail. If you choose to run indoors, you should get a treadmill. Get your instructor to create a challenging treadmill workout plan for you. 

Cycling

Cycling also helps with weight loss and improves your overall fitness. Cycling tends to target most of your leg muscles, including the quads and hamstrings. It also helps your health in the following ways:

• Improves lung health
• Strengthens heart muscles
• Lowers resting pulse rate
• Reduces the levels of fat in your blood
• Stimulates circulation

Cycling also helps you burn more calories. Here’s a sample of a chart that details how many calories you’ll burn depending on your weight and cycling speed (3). The measurements have been recorded after indulging in this activity for precisely one hour.

• If you weigh 130 pounds and cycle at less than 10 mph, you could burn 236 calories.
• If you weigh 155 pounds and cycle at a speed of over 20 mph, you could burn 1,126 calories.
• Cycling between 10 and 11.9 mph when you weigh 180 pounds helps burn 490 calories.
• Cycling between 14 and 15.9 mph (vigorous) when you weigh 205 pounds helps burn 931 calories.

The above chart is simply to show that this activity pays off and helps you burn calories. Don’t adjust your speed without consulting your fitness coach. Stick to the speed they recommend at first and only increase when they say so. 

You can choose to cycle outside or indoors. If you prefer indoors, you should get yourself a stationary bike. However, for faster results, experts recommend outdoor cycling. 

They acknowledge that a 155-pound individual can burn 260 calories on a stationary bike in 30 minutes (4). However, in the same timeline, they will burn 298 calories cycling outside.

Swimming

Swimming can also help you lose 30 pounds in 3 months if you combine it with healthy eating habits. This activity can help you burn calories depending on how long you swim, your pace, and the number of laps of the pool you do. Although this exercise seems straightforward, it’s essential to seek professional assistance.

Whether you’re a swimming guru or not, you should seek help if you want to swim to lose weight. Professional guidance may help you learn a thing or two about how to burn more calories while swimming.

If a 154-pound individual started swimming slow freestyle laps, they would burn 255 calories in 30 minutes (2). If they were to swim for another 30 minutes, they could burn 510 calories.

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Strength Training

Strength training helps build muscles and lose extra pounds. When you build more muscles, they tend to make your body more metabolically active. As a result, your body increases the rate at which it burns calories (5).

Therefore, you can start a strength training program for losing weight and building muscle. The exercises you’ll perform tend to differ and can include:

• Weight lifting exercises. These workouts require you to utilize free weights or weight machines. They can include exercises such as bicep curls, Romanian deadlifts, and leg presses. 
• Exercises that use your body weight for resistance. These include common exercises such as squats and lunges.
• Exercise with resistance bands. These workouts use bands to increase the intensity at which your muscles work. They are mostly recommended when you’re familiar with exercises that require you to use your body weight.

Your trainer should mix up your exercise and not focus solely on strength training programs. They need to switch things up and at times incorporate some cardio activities. In addition, they must schedule rest days to allow your muscles and body to adapt and recover.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

You could also include a HIIT program and a healthy diet to lose 30 pounds in 3 months. HIIT programs include exercises with a short burst of intense workout followed by rest or a low-intensity exercise.

Experts usually recommend a HIIT program to last for 15 or 20 minutes (9). This duration is very practical and convenient for beginners. However, if you’re at an intermediate or advanced fitness level, this duration could be extended.

Interestingly, HIIT workouts can incorporate cardio and strength training programs. This means that you can choose to run, skip rope, or do exercises that require free weights. Some of the most popular exercises in many HIIT workouts include squats, burpees, jumping jacks, bicep curls, and sit-ups. 

This doesn’t mean that your HIIT workout plan has to include these exercises. Your coach will only include exercise they feel can help you lose weight quickly and safely. 

Read more: Lose 20 Pounds In 2 Months With This Expert-Approved Guide

The Bottom Line

You may find it difficult to lose 30 pounds in 3 months without professional guidance or assistance. The key to losing such an amount of weight is to create a realistic diet and workout plan. You must improve your eating habits and perform sufficient exercise.

Your fitness level will significantly influence the exercise you include in your workout plan. This can include cardiovascular, strength training, or HIIT workouts. It’s important to remember to stay consistent with your diet and workout plan as weight loss demands perseverance, consistency, and endurance.