Losing weight is no walk in the park. Many people have tried and given up, while others have tried and attained their weight loss goals. Those who have succeeded in losing weight attribute their success to knowing what weight loss entails. The secret to weight loss is focusing on healthy eating, maintaining a calorie deficit, and engaging in physical activity.
You must combine all three of these factors to lose any amount of weight. If you focus on these three pillars of weight loss, you will be surprised how relatively manageable it is to lose weight.
Read on to discover whether you can lose 10 lbs in 10 days safely and effortlessly. All our recommendations are expert-approved and are backed up with valid scientific evidence.
You can’t lose 10 lbs in a week simply by cutting calories or exercising more. Such extreme weight loss, if even possible, would require eating unhealthy, low-calorie foods and training excessively for most people.
Even with this extreme approach, 10 pounds in a week is unattainable for most people. Whatever you’d lose in a week would also most likely be mostly water weight and not fat.
When you first start a new workout or diet routine, a process called glycogen depletion occurs. Glycogen is a form of carbohydrate our bodies store for energy. As it’s used up, so are the water molecules that are attached to it (8).
This means that when you exercise a lot or restrict calories severely, your body depletes its glycogen stores and sheds water weight quickly.
After the first few weeks of creating a consistent calorie deficit, your body switches to burning more fat for energy, and you’ll see more sustainable weight loss.
For a healthy approach to weight loss, losing 1-2 pounds per week is recommended (12).
You can realistically expect to lose 1-3 pounds in 10 days by following a healthy and sustainable weight loss plan. This amount is considered to be safe and achievable for most people.
You should keep in mind that weight loss is also dependent on factors such as your starting weight, body composition, and metabolism (3). Some people may lose more weight in 10 days, while others may lose less.
We talk more about realistic timelines in our blog – How Long Does It Take for Intermittent Fasting to Work?
Here are the practices that can help you lose weight safely and sustainably:
As previously mentioned, one of the keys to weight loss is cutting calories. If you consume fewer calories than your body burns, you’ll lose weight. The amount of calories your body burns daily depends on your age, weight, and activity level (6).
However, before you start to burn calories, you should know your daily calorie needs. Here’s a sample of approximate recommended daily calorie intakes for both males and females in different age groups (16):
Males between 19 and 20 years:
Females between 19 and 30 years:
Males between 21 and 30 years:
Males between 31 and 50 years:
Females between 31 and 50 years:
Males over 51 years:
Females over 51 years:
To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than you burn. A deficit of 500-750 calories per day is recommended to help you lose weight at a safe and sustainable pace (12). To cut major calories, you can try and follow a low-calorie or a very low-calorie diet, which may require medical supervision. Such meals will help you consume fewer calories than your body uses. Let’s walk you through both of the diet plans.
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A low-calorie diet tends to limit your calorie intake to 1,200 or 1,500 daily (17). It’s recommended that you consult a registered dietitian or your healthcare provider to discuss if this diet plan is right for you. It isn’t enough calories for everyone. If they do give you the go-ahead, then you must remember to eat a balanced diet so you don’t miss out on any nutrients. These include vital nutrients such as fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Ask your dietitian for help when designing a low-calorie meal plan. Our beginner intermittent fasting meal plan article gives some more insight on this.
Here’s an ideal example of a 1-day low-calorie diet plan (17):
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Another meal plan to consider when you decide to cut calories for weight loss is a very low-calorie diet. Such a diet involves meals that contain fewer than 800 calories daily (14). Other restrictive very low-calorie meals may consist of 500 calories daily.
The 500-calorie diet contains a quarter of the daily recommended calorie intake for most adults. Eating so few calories comes with its risks (18), including nutritional deficiencies, gallstones, and muscle loss.
Therefore, before you consider a VLCD, make sure you talk to your dietitian and physician. You need medical supervision when on such a diet as it can be potentially dangerous to your health. In most cases, doctors will recommend a low-calorie diet rather than a very low-calorie diet. It is usually more appropriate for helping obese people lose weight quickly and safely.
Weight loss is a rollercoaster ride and you’ll need to learn to manage your weight and keep that number on your scale where you want it through trial and error. Sticking to a meal plan will help you with this. However, before you jump in headfirst, make sure you take note of the following (15):
Here are some weight loss meal plans that you can consider for your weight loss journey (1):
Breakfast
Two quinoa edamame egg muffins, grilled tomatoes, and mushrooms drizzled with some olive oil, and a glass of almond oil.
Snack
Two rice cakes spread with two tablespoons of butter and a sliced banana.
Lunch
Tuna salad sandwich prepared with whole-grain bread and salad vegetables such as diced tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and peppers, a medium-sized banana, a handful of nuts, one sliced orange, and a cup of lemon and ginger herbal tea.
Snack
One hard-boiled egg, two oatcakes, and a portion of arugula.
Dinner
Chicken and vegetable stir fry with one cup of steamed brown rice, two squares of dark chocolate, and a handful of walnuts.
Breakfast
One whole-wheat English muffin with apple and peanut butter and a cup of low-fat milk.
Snack
One carrot cake energy bar.
Lunch
One medium baked potato with 100 grams of beef chili and 28 grams crème fraiche, with a side serving of peas or green beans.
Snack
Raspberry frozen yogurt pop.
Dinner
Salmon with pineapple-avocado salsa and a portion of leafy greens. Also eat a cocoa chia seed pudding, a handful of strawberries, and a hot drink of oat milk before bed.
Read more: Is The Japanese Towel Exercise an Effective Way to Burn Belly Fat?
1Breakfast
Oatmeal with banana, pumpkin seeds, and a drizzle of maple syrup together with coffee prepared with low-fat milk.
Snack
Chocolate peanut butter cup and some apple slices.
Lunch
Mashed avocado, roast turkey, and chopped tomatoes on two slices of whole-grain toast, topped with extra virgin olive oil, shelled hemp seeds, and cayenne pepper, and a handful of blueberries.
Snack
A portion of hummus with raw vegetables for dipping and two oatcakes.
Dinner
Greek mac and cheese casserole, a portion of steamed asparagus, broccoli, or any other vegetable. Also, have some Greek yogurt with berries or nuts for dessert.
Breakfast
A berry smoothie with some protein powder.
Snack
Tofu “egg” salad stuffed tomato.
Lunch
A bowl of bean and vegetable soup drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil, one slice of whole-grain seeded bread, slightly steamed vegetables such as garden peas, broccoli, or carrots, and a fruit portion.
Snack
Lemon, pistachio, and berry frozen yogurt bark.
Dinner
Slow cooker sweet potato curry served with one cup of cauliflower rice, one wheat paratha, and a satsuma.
If you decide to start a keto meal plan for weight loss, you absolutely must do your research to come up with a practical keto menu. Here’s a 2-day diet plan sample to give you ideas on what to include in your 7-day keto menu (11):
Breakfast
Egg muffins with cheddar cheese, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes.
Snack
Roast turkey, cucumber, and cheese roll-ups.
Lunch
Spiced cauliflower soup with bacon pieces or tofu cubes.
Snack
Celery sticks and pepper with some guacamole.
Dinner
Garlic and herb-buttered shrimp with zucchini noodles.
Breakfast
A smoothie prepared with almond milk, spinach, nut butter, protein powder, and some chia seeds.
Snack
One boiled egg.
Lunch
Shrimp and avocado salad with tomatoes, herbs, lemon juice, olive oil, and feta cheese.
Snack
Flax crackers with cheese.
Dinner
Garlic butter steak with asparagus and mushrooms.
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You may also manage to lose 10 pounds over time if you keep away from junk food. Junk food refers to foods with a high calorie content but little to no nutritional value (10). They also tend to have high saturated fat and high sodium content.
Most of these foods tend to fall into two categories: fast foods and snack foods. The danger of eating junk foods is they tend to be low in terms of satiation value. Therefore, the chances of overeating are quite high, which ultimately leads to consuming more calories than you intended to or needed.
Here are some examples of junk food you ought to avoid:
Another factor you should consider when researching how to lose 10 lbs in 10 days (or in general) is carbohydrate intake. Weight loss professionals are divided into two camps: those who argue that you need to keep carb intake to a minimum, and those who don’t believe in avoiding a whole food group and recommend limiting the consumption of refined carbs.
You have the power to decide what carbs you should eat and how much of them (7). It is advised that you narrow down your search to carbs with a low glycemic index per serving. These include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, and legumes.
Cutting out all carbs may make you miss out on vital nutrients such as fiber. Therefore, you should be choosy with your carbs and choose those that are more nutritious and have a higher fiber content in one serving.
Exercising and cutting down your calorie intake can help you lose weight fast (12). Therefore, you must start an exercise program if you want to lose 10 lbs in 10 days, or in a more realistic time frame. However, before you do this, you should talk to your doctor and fitness trainer.
Your doctor will consider your health history and any medical conditions and advise on any considerations you should make when starting your new exercise regimen, while your trainer must assess your fitness level to figure out what workout plan best suits you.
For faster weight loss, some experts recommend incorporating short intervals of HIIT workouts into your cardio routine (13). Let’s say you usually jog or run for 45 minutes. You should add a 60 to 90-second burst of higher-speed running or jogging every 5 minutes. Such a HIIT workout is believed to push your body to burn more calories due to the sudden increase and shift in the workout intensity.
Apply the same concept in your other workouts. Suppose you work out on a treadmill. To incorporate a short interval of high-intensity training, simply increase the incline or resistance. This should make your body burn more calories in the same duration.
Another tactic that will help you shed 10 pounds is eating more lean protein. Lean protein is essential as it helps with muscle development and maintenance (2). It also increases your satiety, which makes you feel fuller for a longer period.
As a result, you’re less likely to overeat or snack too much. Increasing your protein intake will come in handy when you decide to eat fewer calories, such as when you decide to go on a low-calorie diet.
In this case, you’ll feel fuller for longer, which will help suppress your cravings. It will help you stick to eating low calories, which may ultimately lead to weight loss.
Read more: 24 Weight Loss Smoothies, 2 Diet Plans, and 5 Belly Fat Smoothie Secrets
You may have seen multiple articles that insist you keep your hydration levels up while on a weight loss journey. Experts say that water is vital for weight loss and can help you shed extra pounds due to the following reasons (9):
One of the best ways you can trigger your body to burn more calories is by moving around more. Don’t just sit on the sofa and laze around when you have nothing to do. Try taking a brisk walk as this will help your body burn more calories.
In addition, try to add more movement into your daily routine. For example, instead of taking the elevator, use the stairs. This will activate your lower-body muscles and will help you burn some extra calories.
Similarly, try to move around while you’re on your break. Instead of sitting, try and take a 5 or 10-minute walk. A longer walk is even better, but that will depend on how long your break lasts.
You can also try to park further from the entrance to your workplace, the grocery store, or anywhere else you drive to. This will help you squeeze in a brief walk. Such small and seemingly unimportant changes will help you move around more, which will further trigger your body to burn extra calories.
It’s technically possible to gain 10 pounds in a week by overeating and not exercising. However, this weight is most likely water weight or temporary bloating, which can easily be lost once you resume your regular eating and exercise habits. You’re unlikely to gain 10 pounds of fat in such a short time.
Losing tummy fat quickly requires strict adherence to a healthy, low-calorie diet and regular exercise (12). More specifically, focusing on reducing your overall body fat percentage will help you lose tummy fat quickly.
You may have randomly lost 10 pounds in a week due to factors such as water weight loss, temporary illness or stress, and changes to your diet or exercise routine.
Water weight loss – If you’ve been consuming a lot of salty or highly processed foods, your body will retain more water, which can cause weight gain (4). Cutting out these foods and increasing your water intake may result in quick water weight loss.
Temporary illness or stress – Illness or stress can sometimes cause a decrease in appetite, which can lead to unintentional weight loss.
Changes to diet or exercise routine – Starting a new diet or exercise routine can cause a sudden drop in weight due to changes in calorie intake and physical activity levels.
However, if you experience any sudden weight loss without an obvious cause, you should consult your doctor to rule out any underlying health issues.
Although it’s fairly impossible for you to lose 10 lbs in 10 days, losing weight more slowly and sustainably is achievable. However, it’s smart to only start a weight loss program under professional and medical supervision and guidance.
Losing 10 pounds will entail embracing practices that may take a toll on your body and health if they’re not done in a safe way. These include cutting down your calories and increasing your activity. For some people, sticking to these changes may be difficult, which is why you’re asked to seek professional guidance before you embark on a weight loss journey. Professional help, advice, and motivation can push you toward attaining your weight loss goals.
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