5 Tips if You Want to Lose 10 Pounds in 2 Weeks

While it may be possible to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, this isn't a healthy goal. In fact, losing weight too quickly can have long-term consequences for your weight and health. Still, two weeks is a good amount of time to kickstart your weight loss and start to see real progress.

For fast-but-safe weight loss, the best strategy is to cut down on carbs, fill up on protein and reduce your calorie intake. High-intensity workouts can also increase your calorie burn and speed up fat loss.

Here are five habits to establish in the next two weeks to help you lose 10 pounds in about a month.

To get started, figure out your daily calorie needs to maintain your current weight. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans' chart estimates calorie needs based on age, sex and physical activity level, so that's a good place to start.

To get a more precise number, download a calorie tracker like LIVESTRONG.com's MyPlate app, which takes more factors into account (and lets you track the calories you eat and burn).

Keep in mind that one pound of fat equals about 3,500 calories, per Harvard Health Publishing. This means you must create a 3,500-calorie deficit — whether it's by eating less, exercising more or both — to drop one pound. Now multiply that number by 10.

If your goal is to lose 10 pounds, you need a 35,000-calorie deficit. That's a big number. If you wanted to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, you'd need to cut or burn 2,500 calories per day for those 14 days. This is not realistic or healthy for anyone.

A healthier approach is to aim for a 500- to 1,000-calorie deficit each day, according to the Mayo Clinic. This will help you lose between 1 and 2 pounds per week, so you could be halfway to your 10-pound goal in two weeks.

Keep in mind, though, that you shouldn't fall below about 1,500 calories per day. This is the minimum calories for weight loss because going lower could cause muscle loss, fatigue and nutrient deficiencies, and it could slow your metabolism (causing you to ​gain weight​ in the long run).

Whole foods such as fruit, vegetables and whole grains are naturally high in fiber, and fiber is key for weight loss because it fills you up on fewer calories.

Just aiming to eat 30 grams of fiber each day could help you lose weight as effectively as a more complicated diet, according to a February 2015 randomized trial in the ​Annals of Internal Medicine​.

Foods high in fiber include:

• Beans, peas and lentils
• Avocados
• Berries
• Nuts and seeds
• Sweet potatoes
• Squash
• Pears
• Oatmeal

Look for these foods in their whole, unprocessed form (i.e. rolled oats rather than flavored instant oatmeal; a baked sweet potato rather than potato chips). Processed foods have been linked to weight gain.

HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, can reduce total fat mass and belly fat, according to a February 2018 meta-analysis in ​Sports Medicine​.

This workout method involves short, intense bursts of exercise followed by brief periods of rest or low-intensity training. It can be applied to strength training, body-weight exercises, cardio workouts or full-body circuits. A typical HIIT workout can include moves like burpees, push-ups, high knees, plank jacks and mountain climbers, working for 20 to 30 seconds at your max capacity and then resting for 10 to 15 seconds in between.

HIIT burns calories in the moment, but here's the real kicker: You'll also burn tons of calories after your workout thanks to the "afterburn effect."

Just don't do HIIT every day — stick to two or three of these workouts a week.

Rather than simply cutting calories, some people choose to follow a time-restricted eating strategy known as intermittent fasting. Basically, you eat only during certain hours of the day and abstain from food for the other hours (you can and should continue to drink water, though).

Although the research is still limited on IF, a December 2019 review in ​The New England Journal of Medicine​ linked it to weight loss as well as reduced inflammation, lower blood pressure and improved mental state.

There are several different types of IF, but popular methods include 16:8 fasting, which has you eat your meals during an eight-hour period and fast for the other 16 (including the time you're asleep), and 5:2 fasting, which calls for five days of regular eating and two days of eating only 500 to 600 calories.

Especially if you're getting a lot of salt in your diet (and most of us do), cutting back on the amount you eat can be a healthy change that can also help you lose weight in two weeks.

Sodium holds water, leading to fluid retention. On top of that, excessive sodium intake contributes to high blood pressure, which may increase your risk of heart conditions and other health problems.

To slash your salt intake:

• Look for salt- or sodium-free on food labels
• Avoid processed foods high in salt such as deli meats, pizza, soups, breads/rolls, burritos and tacos
• Opt for fresh foods, including fruits and vegetables
• Make food at home more, and limit takeout and dining out

Crash diets have long been blamed for metabolic slowdown, weight gain, hormonal imbalances and impaired immune function. These weight-loss plans are unsustainable in the long run and deprive your body of vital nutrients. Plus, yo-yo dieting may increase the risk of dying from heart disease, per the Mayo Clinic.

Furthermore, these diets plans don't lead to lasting weight loss, per the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Detox programs, cleanses and other very-low-calorie fad diets have no proven benefits and may worsen existing health conditions.

As the Mayo Clinic points out, the key to lasting weight loss is to change your diet and exercise habits rather than starving yourself or skipping meals. That's why the general recommendation is to lose no more than 2 pounds per week.

So, while you may not be able to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, following the above tips will put you well on your way to hitting your goal weight and keep you healthy in the process.