How To Lose 15 Pounds In 2 Weeks: Tips And Risks Associated With This

Are you concerned with how to lose 15 pounds in two weeks? In this article, we will show you the best way to lose weight by explaining what changes you need to make in your life to achieve it. As losing 15 pounds in two weeks is quite a feat, we will also highlight the challenges you may face due to quick weight loss and suggest healthier alternatives to ensure you shed those extra pounds in a safe way.

Which Is the Best Way to Lose Weight?

If you are wondering how to lose 15 pounds in two weeks, chances are that you’ve come across multiple videos, posts, and articles with people proclaiming how they’ve used certain diets, pills, or even teas to help them shed this stubborn weight. You may even be tempted to buy into these gimmicks and try the same thing yourself.

While there is nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight fast, some of the methods you might see advertised online are more often than not quite dangerous, unhealthy, and unsustainable. So what is the best way to lose weight?

It all comes down to diet and exercise. Eating the right foods in the right way and working out several times a week will go a long way toward helping you lose weight and keep it off in the long term.

Can You Lose 15 Pounds in 2 Weeks?

Yes, it is technically possible to lose 15 pounds in two weeks, but attempting to do this is highly discouraged by dietitians and doctors. According to the CDC, healthy weight loss is a slow, gradual, and steady process involving losing 1 to 2 pounds a week (15), which means that in order to lose 15 pounds, you would need anything between two and four months to make this possible.

What Are the Side Effects of Rapid Weight Loss?

As previously stated, healthy weight loss involves losing approximately 1 to 2 pounds a week, which equals 2 to 4 pounds in two weeks. If you are planning to lose weight fast, i.e. by following unhealthy tips, then you will put yourself, your health, and possibly your life at risk.

The effects of quick weight loss are many and varied, but some of the most common ones include (13):

• Moodiness and irritability – you are probably ‘hangry’
• Headaches – this could be because of low blood sugar
• Chronic fatigue – as you’re not giving your body enough food to turn into energy, it cannot sustain your required energy levels throughout the day
• Constipation – as you’re not eating enough, you will have fewer bowel movements and this often translates into harder stools that can be difficult or painful to expel
• Hair loss and brittle nails – hair and nails are not vital organs, so when you don’t provide your body with enough nutrients through food, whatever little nutrients it gets, it will use to sustain your vital organs, ignoring things such as hair and nails, which will eventually start to break and fall off

Quick weight loss has also been shown to lead to more serious and long-term side effects such as gallstones and malnutrition, which if left untreated could see you bedridden or worse. It’s important to remember that the fastest way to lose weight isn’t always the best.

Losing weight and keeping it off requires patience and hard work. This may not sound appealing, but it will be worth it in the end and could possibly save your life. Therefore, you should stay away from extreme weight loss methods such as starvation, incredibly low-calorie diets, diet pills and supplements, and laxative detox teas that are often touted as quick fixes to weight loss.

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Why Is Extreme Weight Loss a Cause for Concern?

Please remember that quick weight loss is not the same as sudden, unexplained, and extreme weight loss. If you realize that you are losing weight fast or that you have lost close to or more than 15 pounds in two weeks, then you should seek urgent medical attention. Chances are that this extreme weight loss could be caused by an underlying medical condition.

Some medical issues and conditions that have been linked to unexplained and quick weight loss include (13):

1. Hyperthyroidism 

This stems from an overactive thyroid that ends up producing more hormones than the body needs. When produced in the right amounts, these hormones regulate your metabolism, but when the thyroid produces more than is required, this puts your metabolism into overdrive, making the body burn calories at a faster rate and resulting in weight loss.

2. Muscle wasting 

When you work out at a gym, you build bigger and stronger muscles. The opposite occurs when the muscles in question are not used. A perfect example of this is if you have ever broken a bone and had a limb in a cast, you may have noticed that once the cast came off, the limb looked much smaller than the other one.

3. Depression 

In 2017, a study examining the causes of unexplained weight loss found a coloration between it and this mental illness in 7 percent of study subjects. A year earlier, research found that depression suppresses the function of the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands, which may affect your digestive system.

4. Rheumatoid arthritis 

While it is common knowledge that this disease attacks and affects your joints, many people may be unaware of its link to sudden and sometimes extreme weight loss. The chronic inflammation in the affected joints can speed up metabolism, which can further lead to weight loss.

5. Addison’s disease 

People who suffer from this illness may notice a drop in their appetite as the illness affects their adrenal glands and prevents them from producing enough cortisol and aldosterone.

6. Type 1 diabetes 

This type of diabetes causes your immune system to attack the pancreas, preventing the organ from producing insulin. A lack of insulin means the body cannot use glucose and any unused glucose travels to the kidneys where the body disposes of it through urine. The more blood glucose you lose, the more calories you get rid of through your urine.

7. Cancer 

Not all cancers present themselves in the same way. Furthermore, the stage and location of the disease/tumor can lead to different symptoms. However, unexplained and extreme weight loss is often a sign of cancers affecting the lungs, pancreas, liver, stomach, esophagus, or colon.

How Can I Lose 15 Pounds in 2 Weeks at Home?

If you are still insistent on quick weight loss and are wondering how to lose 10 -15 pounds at home, then you could attempt to make your goals come true through aggressive diets that are incredibly calorie restrictive. Some examples of meal plans to lose 15 pounds in two weeks include:

• The boiled egg diet – This involves consuming boiled eggs, lean meats, low-carb fruits, non-starchy vegetables, small amounts of healthy fats, and healthy drinks. This diet calls for the avoidance of grains, starchy vegetables, high-carb fruits, processed foods, and sweetened fruits.
• The military diet – Also known as the ice cream diet or the navy diet, this is a low-calorie, low-fat, high-protein eating plan that requires you to diet for three days and then take four days off. You then repeat this cycle every week until you achieve your desired weight loss goal. Proponents of this eating plan claim that it can help you lose up to 10 pounds in just one week (11).
• The soup diet – This involves eating nothing but vegetable soups for a couple of days until you lose your desired amount of weight. Popular soup diets include the cabbage soup diet, bean soup diet, and keto soup diet.
• The smoothie diet – This is a liquid meal plan (6) that involves drinks blended with fruits and vegetables for a week to as much as three months. On the smoothie diet, you will be required to consume two smoothies a day as meal replacements.

It’s important to remember that all the above diets are considered to be fad diets and are also very low-calorie diets that are lacking in a balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. This will lead to nutritional deficiencies and potentially cause issues such as anemia,  fatigue, weakness, eye diseases, reproductive health problems, memory loss, and diseases such as dementia, digestion problems, and skin disorders (12).

Read more: How To Lose 3 Pounds a Week According To Experts

How Can I Lose 15 Pounds in 2 Weeks Without Dieting?

If you don’t want to try any of the above diets, can you still lose 15 pounds in two weeks without dieting? Weight loss without dieting is possible, but losing this much in 14 days may be quite a stretch.

If you are willing to increase your timeline, here are some things you can do to help you lose the extra pounds:

1. Cut your caloric intake 

There is no better strategy for losing 15 pounds than reducing the amount of calories you consume because losing weight is made possible when you burn more calories than you take in. Use a calorie counter to determine how many calories you consume in a day and then reduce this amount by 500 to 1,000 calories. Do not be tempted to go any lower as this may result in crash dieting, which is not recommended.

2. Eat more protein

Not only does this keep you feeling fuller for longer and prevent snacking, it also helps build muscle and requires more energy to digest, two factors that increase your metabolism and help you burn more calories throughout the day.

3. Sleep more 

A well rested brain is a sharp brain. When you fail to get enough sleep, your body gravitates more toward comfort foods that are often high in calories, unhealthy carbs, and sugars. Always try to get 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night.

4. Avoid drinking your calories 

Popular energy drinks, sodas, and even store-bought smoothies are often made with a lot of sugar to appeal to the masses. All this sugar only adds extra calories to your diet, which can prevent weight loss.

5. Stop drinking alcohol 

As with energy drinks and sodas, alcoholic drinks are often full of hidden calories that many of us tend to forget are there. Popular drinks such as beer, wine, and cocktails can add anything from 120 to almost 300 calories to your diet per drink (5).

6. Drink more water 

Not only is it an appetite suppressant, but it has been proven to help boost your metabolism, which leads to burning more calories.

7. Increase your fiber intake 

Fiber takes a long time to move through the gastrointestinal tract, meaning that you’ll feel full for the entire period. By doing so, you won’t have any cravings for food or snacks. In addition to helping with weight loss, fiber also helps trim inches and prevents weight gain.

8. Avoid stress 

When you are stressed, your body produces more cortisol. Excessive amounts of cortisol in the body can trigger cravings for snacks and other unhealthy foods, in addition to signaling the body to store more fat.

9. Practice mindful eating 

This means making conscious choices when shopping, only eating when you’re hungry, eating smaller portions, eating and chewing more slowly, and taking smaller bites during meals (1).

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How Can I Lose 15 Pounds in 2 Weeks with Exercise?

There is no approved lose 15 pounds in two weeks workout plan you can use to get rid of the extra pounds in such a short span of time. You can understand this simply by looking at the stats for one day. In order to lose 1 pound of fat a day, you need to burn approximately 3,500 calories (4).

As a general rule, women and men require 2,000 and 2,500 calories respectively each day. This total can vary, depending on factors such as age, height, and level of physical activity in a day (17). To lose any extra weight, you need to cut around 500 to 1,000 calories from your average daily food energy consumption.

So when you think about it, how can you burn 3,500 calories a day if you only consume at most 2,500 calories? Where does the extra 1,000 come from?

Tips on How to Lose 15 Pounds in 2 Weeks for Women

As previously stated, trying to lose 15 pounds in two weeks is possible but not recommended as the methods used could lead to unpleasant side effects and possibly some serious long-term issues.

If you still want to do it, crash dieting could help you, but it will leave you with side effects such as a weakened immune system, fatigue, dizziness, irregular bowel movements, headaches, irritability, and dehydration (3). If you choose to crash diet, please try and refrain from working out. Chances are that you will not have enough strength to go about your day, let alone to work out for hours on end.

Tips for Healthy Weight Loss

Healthy weight loss, which does not include losing 15 pounds in two weeks, is what can be considered as sustainable weight loss. Although it may sound quite unappealing, but if you want to see long-term weight loss results,  then the slower the process, the better results it will produce. According to Dr. Griebeler, slow weight loss helps your body adapt to the changes better. (16)

Here are some things you can try for better results during your healthy weight loss journey:

• Eat more protein as this will keep you feeling full for longer 
• Eat slowly and chew more
• Drink green tea as according to research, it helps to boost your metabolism by approximately 5 % and burns more fat (9)
• Do more exercise, increase your physical activity, and try high-intensity interval training (HIIT) as this helps burn calories, even after you have finished your workout
• Increase your intake of soluble fiber as this burns more fat

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

Factors That Can Affect Weight Loss

Weight loss is something you can achieve when you burn more calories than you consume. If you are trying to start a healthy weight loss journey, there are some factors you need to consider (17):

• Gender: women generally have a larger fat-to-muscle ratio than men, so the rate of weight loss is generally lower in women
• Age: as age increases, the weight loss rate decreases
• Initial weight: starting body mass also determines how much weight you can lose
• Calorie deficit: the difference in the number of calories should be negative, but not too much

FAQs

• How fast can I lose 15 pounds?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is safe and sustainable to lose weight at the rate of 1 to 2 pounds per week. (7) Therefore, you can lose 15 pounds in approximately five to 15 weeks. The duration can vary depending on factors such as your age, diet, fitness level, and the amount of physical activity.

• Is it possible to lose 15 pounds in a month?

It is technically possible to lose 15 pounds in a month, but it is not at all safe. It can only be done through a strict low-calorie diet. You should also seek the assistance of a medical consultant to avoid problems as this method has far too many side effects. (6) It is always recommended to either reduce the number of pounds you want to shed or increase the time span.

• Is 15 lbs weight loss noticeable?

15 pounds is a lot of weight so yes, 15 pounds weight loss is generally noticeable. It is most noticeable in people who are shorter or those with less muscle mass. Body parts such as the belly, hips, and thighs store most of the fat, so they tend to show the effects of weight loss more.

• Is losing 10 lbs a month healthy?

Similar to how losing 15 pounds in a month is not safe for your health, 10 pounds of weight loss in the same timeframe is also not healthy. The ideal rate is a maximum of 2 pounds a week, so a weight loss of 10 pounds a month is far too aggressive and unhealthy.

The Bottom Line: How to Lose 15 Pounds in 2 Weeks

Trying to lose this many pounds in such a limited amount of time is not recommended as it is not healthy and can lead to illness and undesirable side effects. You should always remember that taking shortcuts in weight loss will only serve you for a short amount of time and not in the long term as you might hope.

If you choose to remain on this path, it will not be easy and will take a lot out of you. You will need to work hard and have the inner drive and willpower to push through, even on the toughest days. Please consult your doctor and dietitian so they can advise you on the best way to approach this and remain healthy while you do so.