Losing weight and reaching your goal weight can be a challenge, whether it’s 5 or 10 pounds you want to lose. If you have a timeframe where you need to reduce weight quickly like a month, it’s even harder. So you’re probably wondering, “Is it even realistic to lose 10 pounds in a month?”
Losing 10 pounds in a month is a steep goal, but doable. Most experts suggest losing one to two pounds a week is a realistic weight loss goal, and this is a bit over that. Because it is over, you will need to make substantial changes to hit these weight loss goals in one month.
So what changes do you need to make for a substantial weight loss? In this article, I have a list of 15 weight loss tips on how to lose ten pounds in a month and keep it off permanently.
What’s more, their body fat percentage also went down with their weight.
So what are the changes needed for a substantial weight loss?
Based both on science and my personal experience, I came up with a definitive list.
Here are 15 simple tips on how to lose 10 pounds in a month and keep it off permanently.
Let’s get started.
woman how lose 10 pounds
Table Of Contents
1. Eat fewer calories
2. Eat a nutritious diet
3. Eat balanced meals
4. Eat more fiber
5. Avoid processed foods
6. Workout in the morning
7. Do cardio exercise
8. Do resistance exercises
9. Eat a high-protein breakfast
10. Cut out sugary drinks
11. Drink water before each meal
12. Drink coffee or green tea
13. Try intermittent fasting
14. Cook your meals at home
15. Stock up on healthy snacks
Final Thoughts
1. Eat fewer calories
Eating less is the obvious place to get started. Whether counting calories works has been a hot topic within the weight loss community for years, some trainers argue it’s a must, while others say there are better ways. Regardless of your approach, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn to lose 10 pounds.
You can either reduce your calorie intake by changing your eating habits or increase your activity levels; or both. This balancing act os critical to creating a calorie deficit for weight loss.
Take in more than your body needs; you’ll gain weight.
Eat less than your caloric needs; you’ll drop weight,
So the question is, how many calories a day do you need to cut to reach your weight loss goals?
One pound of fat is around 3,500 calories, and losing 1-2 pounds of fat a week is considered safe and realistic. To lose one pound of fat per week, you need to create a deficit of 500 calories per day or 3,500 a month.
Based on this math, to lose 10 pounds in one month, you need a 1250-calorie deficit per day (assuming you don’t add additional exercise to burn calories.) While this calorie deficit seems a lot, remember, it doesn’t have to come solely from reducing food. You can add activity to take the pressure off of your diet.
Here are a few simple ways to reduce your daily calorie intake:
Use a smaller plate size: Downsizing your plate is the easiest way to reduce portions and food intake because we tend to fill our plates when serving. The bigger the plate is, the more food we serve ourselves. By using a salad plate instead of a dinner plate, you will automatically cut your portion.
Cut the junk food: Another easy win is banning empty calories. Sugary drinks and candy are the best places to start. For some, cutting your drinks and sweets alone can result in a 500-calorie deficit a day.
Keep a food journal: keeping track of your meals and food intake throughout the day brings awareness and makes it easier to stay under your calorie budget. There are many great apps for tracking.
How much you eat every day is going to be critical in your weight loss journey – even after you lose 10 pounds. But you don’t need a starvation diet. Instead, swap high-calorie food items for lower-calorie, more nutrition, and filling meals.
2. Eat a nutritious diet
The type of food you eat is as essential as your calorie consumption, if not more. When you want to lose weight and maintain healthy body weight, what you eat matters. For your weight loss, eat a diet high in nutritional value that will help you feel full longer.
Different foods have different nutrients. Some are void of nutrients, while others offer them in abundance, and this creates a difference in how your body processes them.
Foods high in nutrition are:
Leafy greens vegetables
Avocado
Whole grains (quinoa, oats, oatmeal, brown rice)
Peanut butter
Fruits (apples, banana, blueberries, strawberries, mangos, are all high in antioxidants.)
Legumes (black beans, red kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils)
Chicken
Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines)
Red meat (grass-fed, organic)
Foods like this are full of essential nutrients like fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Together they increase satiety, slow digestion, and reduce appetite. They will reduce your overall calorie intake and body weight.
When you are working on your weight loss plan, make sure you’re eating a diet rich in nutrients. Think high-fiber, high-protein, and healthy fats. Low-calorie veggies also help you add more volume to your meals.
3. Eat balanced meals
Nutritionally balanced meals are another pillar of a sound weight loss diet. Each meal should include all three macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbs.
According to the USDA Dietary Guideline, a healthy diet plan should include:
Carbohydrates: 45–65% of calories
Fat: 20–35% of calories
Protein: 10–35% of calories
However, there are several other suggested macronutrient ratios for weight loss.
40/30/30 plan or Zoon Diet recommends 40% of calories from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat (1).
A low-carb Atkins Diet has you eat 60%-70% fat, 20% to 30% fat, and 5% to 10% carbs.
The Ketogenic Diet has macro distributions of 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs, which means carbs are to be limited to a mere 50 grams a day.
There are many other diets with varying macronutrient distributions, and there is no right or wrong plan here. It’s not a matter of one approach being better than the other. Instead, ask which balance of macros can you stick to for the long term. Some may find the Atkins or Keto diet tolerable or even enjoy their high-fat component. But others need a generous carb allowance to enjoy their diet.
What’s important is to maintain your proscribed calorie intake throughout the day with healthy balanced meals that offer the appropriate portion of each macro food group.
4. Eat more fiber
Eating nutritious and balanced meals are the cornerstone of any good weight loss plan, but there is one nutrient you want to be sure you eat regularly, and that’s fiber.
Numerous studies show diets high in fiber have significant weight loss effects (2) That’s because fiber is a nutrient that stays intact and undigested as it passes through your digestive system, so your body doesn’t retain calories from fiber.
Moreover, fiber produces more prolonged feelings of fullness. Fiber also helps you stay regular, which also leads to weight loss. According to one study, eating 30 g of fiber every day results in weight loss and helps manage blood pressure (3).
Fiber-rich foods like legumes, green beans, and whole grains are rich sources of dietary fiber. Include them in your everyday meal planning to take advantage of fiber and its health benefits.
5. Avoid processed foods
Just as there are foods you should eat to shed your body weight, there are things you need to avoid. One fantastic strategy to lose weight is to cut out processed junks. A diet high in processed foods is also high in calories and full of preservatives, sugars, and sodium. No matter what your activity level, too much low quality food, like doughnuts and you will gain weight.
Be careful. Food manufacturers are clever with their advertising and packaging to promote these unhealthy food products. Many processed junks are being advertised as healthy when they are not. Always read ingredient labels and stay away from highly-processed items.
Here’s a healthy food list to base your diet on. This list can be handy when grocery shopping.
6. Workout in the morning
Workouts help you burn calories, torch fat, and increase your metabolism. But according to UK research, working out in the morning on an empty stomach can have a more significant impact. The experts say morning workouts can help you burn extra calories and 20% more fat loss as opposed to working out during the day or later in the day (4). The reason is that when your body is deprived of its energy supply, glycogen, your body taps into your fat reserve for fuel.
Best of all, you don’t need a gym membership or a grueling, long workout to reap the benefits. Your morning workout can be as short as 6 minutes. For example, see this 6-minute morning workout that you can do right after you get out of bed. It’s an easy way to score extra calorie expenditures without leaving the house.
Make this part of your morning routine for at least 3 – 4 days a week.
7. Do cardio exercise
While you now know the benefits of a morning workout, you also want to maximize your efforts by doing the right exercise to lose pounds. Cardio exercise can improve your fitness and lower your body fat percentage. According to studies, cardio activities, also known as aerobic exercise, are great for weight loss.
Cardio is any type of physical activity that raises your heart rate and burns calories. It includes running, jogging, stairs, biking, swimming, Zumba, and even power walking. For indoor options, hit the treadmill, elliptical, or try cycling on a stationary bike. Or try some HIIT style workouts and do interval training with calisthenics like jumping jacks, mountain climbers, and burpees.
In addition to overall weight loss, cardio workouts seem to be particularly useful at getting rid of the dangerous belly fat (visceral fat) that resides near your organs, which can cause metabolic disease (5).
8. Do resistance exercises
Cardio is excellent for burning calories, but not suitable for muscle building. Muscle is essential; one of the side effects of dieting is a loss of lean muscle mass. The amount of muscle you have can account for around 20 percent of your total metabolism. When you begin to lose your muscles, your metabolism will slow, and it will be harder to lose weight. (6).
Our advice is to incorporate resistance training and weight lifting into your workout regimen to prevent muscle loss (7). As an added benefit, your body will also look firmer and have more tone.
Here’s a list full of resistance or strength training workouts you can do using your body weight or a pair of dumbbells.
Squats
Lunges
Push-ups
Plank
Crunches
You can hold weights in your hands for added resistance when doing the squats and lunges. If you not sure how to do these exercises above, talk to a personal trainer in your local gym to make sure your forms are correct. You should aim for at least 30 minutes of resistance training 2 to 3 times per week.
9. Eat a high-protein breakfast
If you are starting every day with a bowl of cereal and a slice of white bread, it’s time to rethink your breakfast. A high-protein breakfast like freshly cooked eggs and smoked salmon may help you eat 175 fewer calories on your lunch break, according to Biofortis Clinical Research (8). In their research, those who had a high-protein breakfast reported feeling fuller, more satisfied, and less inclined to eat after their meal.
Another study found that increasing protein intake from 15 to 30% of total calories helped people eat less per day. Those participants lost over 10 pounds during their 12- week study (9).
Protein-rich foods are weight loss friendly, compared to carbs and fats, because protein takes more work for your body to digest. It uses more energy in the form of calories to metabolize protein (10).
To get started, here are some healthy high-protein breakfast ideas that taste amazing!
Two eggs with a side of salad and a cup of black coffee
Greek yogurt with fresh berries or any other fruit (Fun fact – berries are also high in fiber)
Spinach and tomato omelet with a side of turkey bacon
10. Cut out sugary drinks
Cutting out drinks like sodas and juice is one effective way to lose weight, they offer little to no nutritional benefit, but instead are a huge source of sugar and have high amounts of calories. They contribute to weight gain and increase your risk of diabetes.
According to Harvard research, sugary drinks make up 9% of the total calorie intake for both adults and children (11, 12). They are also suspected of partly contributing to the current obesity epidemic.
To illustrate how much sugar soda has, here is one popular soda’s sugar content: one 12oz can of Coca-Cola contains 150 calories and 39 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to about ten teaspoons of sugar! (13) Ice cream only has 14 g of sugar per cup.
Bonus tip: alcohol, like wine, also has little nutrition and a lot of calories. Plus, when you are in your cups, it is easy to overeat. To keep to your daily calorie intake, switch out sugary drinks with non-sugar alternatives, like glasses of water.
11. Drink water before each meal
Regular water consumption can help decrease your appetite, especially before meals. Instead of sugary beverages, drinking water enables you to achieve your goal to lose 10 pounds in a month.
For one, dehydration can often be mistaken for hunger, so stay hydrated. Hydration will help prevent overeating and cuts down on unnecessary snacking.
What also can help your weight loss is to drink 17oz of water a 0.5 hour before your meal. According to one study, this habit helped dieters increase their weight loss by 44% over three months (14). Another study showed drinking 500ml of water before a meal can cause you to eat less and consume 13% fewer calories. (15).
Research also shows drinking water may benefit your metabolism by boosting your resting energy expenditure by 30%. So, fill up that water bottle. It helps increase the number of calories your body burns, which will result in losing weight faster and easier. (16).
Tips: I like to mix glass water with a tablespoon of lemon juice, a little extra boost of vitamin C.
12. Drink coffee or green tea
Black coffee and green tea also make great beverage choices during weight loss. According to research, natural chemicals found in both coffee and green tea increase fat burning and stimulate the calorie-burning process by 3-11%. (17).
The caffeine found in coffee and green tea boosts metabolism and effects weight loss. Coffee and tea are drinks you can enjoy, as long as you forego, adding dairy and sugar.
13. Try intermittent fasting
One popular program for fat loss is intermittent fasting (IF). (IF) is an eating pattern that alternates periods of fasting and eating.
This eating pattern can help people eat fewer calories and optimize some weight loss related-hormones. It works because IF doesn’t regulate what you eat, instead, it helps reduce your total daily calorie intake with a fast. By temporarily depriving your body of food, your body becomes forced to tap into the fat reserve for fuel.
If you are new to IF, the most straightforward plan to start is the 16:8 fasting method. In this method, you fast for 16 hours, which includes sleep and eat in the remaining 8-hour window. In a typical 16:8 fasting schedule, you begin fasting around 8 pm and end the next day at noon. You eat your first meal then and complete all your eating by 8 pm.
Then start another 16-hour fast. Intermittent fasting methods can help you lose weight if you make it part of your everyday routine.
14. Cook your meals at home
In weight loss and dieting, small changes can make significant impacts. Research shows those who cook meals at home 6-7 times a week eat about 600 fewer calories, 5 grams less fat, and 16 grams less sugar than those who cook dinner less than once a week (18).
Here’s the bottom line, you don’t have to be a pro around the kitchen. Start cooking simple recipes with whole ingredients and a combination of herbs and spices. Making your own lunches and dinners will help you fit in your jeans.
15. Stock up on healthy snacks
Here’s an easy trick, have snacks you want to eat handy. Healthy snacks can be a diet saver when your hunger strikes unexpectedly. Without having weight-loss friendly snacks, it’s easy to reach for treats like cookies and chips. Having healthy choices within reach will keep you from having to make decisions on the go.
While there are countless snack options, here are some of my favorite weight loss snacks:
Greek yogurt
Fruits
Nuts
Hard-boiled eggs
String cheese
Smoothies
Apple + peanut butter
Nuts and seeds
If you buy healthy snacks, make sure to check their nutrition labels for hidden calories.
Final Thoughts
How to lose 10 pounds in a month? Make small lifestyle changes and you will see progress. Some may see a massive drop in weight right away. But for other, successful and permanent weight loss may take time. Everyone is a little different.
While you may wonder “how much weight can I lose in a week?” and “how to lose 10 pounds in a month?” the most important thing, is to focus on developing healthy habits. Start exercising and eating healthy to nourish your body better – not just to lose weight.
When all these healthy habits become part of your lifestyle, losing weight becomes part of your gain.
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