Losing 10 pounds in a week is considered to be an extreme weight loss. While that is true, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be unhealthy. On the contrary, there is a healthy way you can lose weight fast and without exercise.
The wheel was invented, a long time ago, all you have to do is spin it. By following the 7 simple steps you can get fast results that will stay.
This method is radical, but only the first week in order to get immediate results. Then after the week is up, you’ll press on the break just a little to make it more sustainable for the long ride.
According to WHO, every 4th person in the world is overweight.
It’s little wonder that the weight loss and diet industry is valued at $192.2 billion. When so many people are looking for a way to lose weight.
But don’t fall for the fads, to lose 10 pounds in one week you don’t need a magic pill, overpriced smoothies, or a personalized training program. Your weight loss journey starts and ends at the table.
You can easily adapt this method no matter your food choices because it’s based on choosing nutrient-dense foods and avoiding nutrient-poor, calorie-rich foods.
The method consists of 7 steps, that is 7 changes you can make in your diet to achieve this amazing result without putting your health at risk.
Now, let’s dive into the 7 steps that you can take to lose 10 pounds in just one week
Reduce calorie intake
The mechanism of losing weight is simple. To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than you spend. That way you will enter the caloric deficit, forcing your body to burn fat for energy.
Use this calculator to find out exactly how many calories your body spends during the day. That is the maximum amount of calories you can consume in a day to maintain your current weight. When you go over you gain weight, but when you stay under you lose weight.
When you want to go extreme, and quickly lose weight, you need to drop your caloric intake to the minimum required, which is 1200 calories.
Don’t go under this amount because it’s really unhealthy. You also don’t want to stay too long on this limit, that’s not good either.
One week is enough to quickly get those first results, to gain momentum and motivation to continue.
After the first week is up, and you decide to stay with the plan, increase the caloric intake. But aim to stay under your total energy expenditure amount, which you calculated above, to stay in the caloric deficit.
IMPORTANT: If you suffer from any health condition, talk to your care provider or a family doctor. Ask them what is the lowest caloric intake you have to meet daily and proceed with that number. Your journey might be longer but it will be a healthy one, which is what really matters.
Have 3 meals a day
Contrary to the popular belief, frequent, smaller meals will not speed up your metabolism. Neither will fewer, bigger meals. BUT, according to one study, consuming 3 large meals in a day decreases the feeling of hunger and desire to eat.
Have those three meals spread across the day in equal intervals. Make sure you reserve half an hour to eat your meal undisturbed so you can focus on chewing the food thoroughly.
For example, you can have your breakfast at 8 am, then lunch at 2 pm and dinner at 7 pm.
Next, you’ll need to divide daily calories equally on all three meals. Meaning, if you are on 1200 calories, each meal should have 400 calories.
This way you get enough calories in equal intervals for your body to use as energy. Once the body spends all consumed calories it can start using up energy stored as fat.
Think before you drink
Even the neighbor’s beagle knows you shouldn’t drink your calories. But as many times as it was said already, to some it still doesn’t stick. Don’t do it, seriously. It gives you no value but only adds up calories.
When you’re thirsty, drink water. It is truly the best drink for your body.
If you like oranges, then eat the whole thing. Don’t just drink its juice. The fiber in oranges is quite filling and of that soluble kind. You know the one that expands and nicely fills up your belly making you feel full longer.
Drink green tea in between meals.
Green tea has many health benefits, especially for metabolism. And it must be really efficient in weight loss because extracts from green tea are used in many pricey, anti-obesity products. But drinking the real thing is by far the healthier option. The study suggests 3-5 cups of freshly brewed green tea every day will give you all the benefits.
For all my coffee lovers out there. Black, unsweetened coffee tastes wonderful, once you acquire the taste for it. If your taste buds are not yet accustomed to the taste, believe me, it’s worth taking the effort to train them. And then at once, your favorite drink goes from having 200+ calories to 0 calories.
Give up the junk
What should be an occasional indulgence, became an everyday diet for many.
Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are among the top three chronic illnesses in the world, and the top 10 causes of death. Both are almost exclusively related to diet.
Expression junk food is there for a reason. And to be honest, I wouldn’t even call it food. Just because it’s edible doesn’t mean it should be eaten.
These foods have no nutritional value, but they more than make up for it with a large number of calories.
GIVE UP THE JUNK!
This is the most important step on your weight loss journey. And this is the best thing you can do for your health.
List of most common offenders:
-
- Anything oil fried
- Pizza, burgers, and relatives
- All snacks
- All the candy
- Anything made with refined grains
- Anything that contains sugars (yes, even raw and organic and raw, organic)
- Anything with a long ingredient list
- Cheese
- Cream (cooking, sour, fresh…)
If you are unsure whether something is junk or not, ask yourself, or better yet ask google: “ Which nutrients am I getting from this?”.
Choose nutrient-dense food
Choosing the right food will fuel your body and give you all-important macro and micronutrients.
Nutrient-dense foods are all foods that have high amounts of essential vitamins and minerals in relation to their caloric load.
When you’re planning your meals make sure to include food from the table below. You’ll get the most benefits for the fewest calories.
Most nutrient-dense foods:
|
GREENS |
VEGETABLES |
FRUIT |
GRAINS |
LEGUMES |
| watercress | red pepper | tomato | oats | lentils |
| chard | pumpkin | lemon | whole wheat | chickpeas |
| spinach | cauliflower | strawberry | quinoa | broad (fava) beans |
| broccoli | carrot | orange | buckwheat | peanuts |
Source: Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables: A Nutrient Density Approach
When it comes to diet, there is no one size fits all. We all have different food preferences. That’s why you must choose food that is good for you but that you will actually want to eat.
It matters little that red pepper is nutrient-dense if you can’t stand the taste of it. But if you love carrots then eat them roasted, grated, or fresh cut up in sticks.
Find the nutrient-dense foods you like eating and build your meals around them.
Eat more fiber
According to this review of published studies on how fiber regulates weight, an increase of 14 g/day of dietary fiber aids in weight loss.
AHA recommends 30 g/day, but when you are on a weight loss mission that is not enough.
Try to up your intake to about 40-50 g/day of dietary fiber. That should cover soluble and insoluble fibers from a variety of foods.
Soluble fiber will especially help you lose that stubborn belly fat, which is one of the hardest to get rid of. While insoluble fiber improves colon flora, which is important for good nutrient absorption.
Another vote for fiber is that the calories from fiber don’t “stick”. Because fiber is not digestible it just does its work and gets out. Although fiber has caloric value, those calories don’t really count. That’s because fiber will never be stored as fat in your body, which is not the case with, for example, sugars.
Careful with the protein
In recent years, we saw a rise in high-protein diets as a solution for quick weight loss. While some swear by it, others have completely different results.
Whatever the truth, the fact is that the average person shouldn’t consume more than 1,6 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight a day. Mind that this is a maximum. If you go above that amount for extended periods you are risking bone loss, weight gain, cardiovascular illnesses, and liver and kidney problems.
The average person that engages in moderate physical activity needs 0,8 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight a day. In imperial units that would be 0.0127 ounces of protein per 1 pound of bodyweight.
And for the purpose of losing 10 pounds in a week, choose from nutrient-dense sources of protein listed below:
Nutrient-dense animal sources of protein:
-
- lean meats
- poultry
- fish and seafood
- eggs
Nutrient-dense plant sources of protein:
-
- legumes
- tofu, tempeh
- nuts and seeds
- quinoa, buckwheat
PRO-TIP
For faster weight loss try to incorporate some light cardio into your day. Cardio motivates your body to burn up fat stores. Moderate to fast-paced walking is perfect. If you do that 30 minutes a day, you will speed up your weight loss even more.
You can lose 10 pounds in a week the healthy way
It’s absolutely possible to lose 10 pounds in one week without exercise and without risking your health.
By consuming the minimum required daily calories for one week, you will create a caloric deficit that will force your body to use up its stores of fat for energy.
This should not be a problem once you make a few changes in your eating habits. Like choosing water and unsweetened green tea. Eating three meals and skipping snacks between meals. Choosing nutrient-dense foods and staying away from calorie-rich junk food that has no nutritional value.
