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.
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.
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.
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):
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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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):
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Not only is it an appetite suppressant, but it has been proven to help boost your metabolism, which leads to burning more calories.
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.
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.
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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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?
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.
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:
Read more: Lose 20 Pounds In 2 Months With This Expert-Approved Guide
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):
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. 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. 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. 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.FAQs
How fast can I lose 15 pounds?
Is it possible to lose 15 pounds in a month?
Is 15 lbs weight loss noticeable?
Is losing 10 lbs a month healthy?
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.
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!