That extra 10 lbs. may have crept on gradually over the course of several months or a year, but it is understandable that you want to drop it as fast as possible. If you want to lose 10 lbs. and keep it off, you must recognize that quick--in terms of weight loss--is a rate of 1 or 2 lbs. per week, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At this rate, expect to lose 10 lbs. in five to ten weeks. If you are close to your goal weight, you may have to accept that the rate of weight loss will occur more slowly. Adopt simple strategies to make this weight loss happen without extreme deprivation or endangering your health.
Step 1
Eat less. Lose weight by eating fewer calories than you burn---it takes 3,500 calories burned to lose a pound of weight. Choose lower-calorie foods at meals like low-fat dairy instead of full-fat, white meat poultry instead of ground beef and flaked, unsweetened cereal instead of granola. To lose 10 lbs. quickly, make all of these changes at once--rather than gradually over several months. You can save 200 to 500 calories per day, depending on your changes and portions.
Step 2
Stick to standard portion sizes of foods, because eating too much is the number one reason for weight gain according to the Cleveland Clinic. Divide your plate, mentally, by fours. Reserve one-fourth for starch, one-fourth for a lean protein and fill the other half with leafy green vegetables like lettuce, spinach, asparagus or broccoli for an easy way to control portions. At restaurants, leave a third to half of your meal uneaten, as portion sizes are notoriously inflated.
Step 3
Keep a food diary. Write down your daily intake to help you identify places where you unknowingly take in extra calories. You may be eating more, mindlessly, than you realize. If you regularly grab a donut in the breakroom, a sample of cheese at the grocery store and finish the crust of your kid's grilled cheese, you may be taking in hundreds of extra calories that you will never miss but can help you create a calorie deficit quickly and easily.
Step 4
Eat a minimum of 1,200 calories per day if you are a woman or 1,500 if you are man, advises Medline Plus. Dip below these levels and risk energy lows that will impede exercise or make you feel so deprived that you give up on your weight loss plan.
Step 5
Up your cardiovascular activity. Add just 15 minutes to your current routine to make it manageable, but effective, in burning a greater number of calories in each workout. If you regularly exercise for 30 minutes and burn 300 calories, you can increase your burn by 150 calories by adding this extra time without feeling like you are spending hours at the gym.
Step 6
Burn calories all day long. Make excuses to move more to accelerate your 10 lb. weight loss. Take the dogs for an extra walk, invite your kids on a bike ride, steam clean the rugs, start a garden and mow the lawn. Your daily calorie burn is a sum of all the movement you do, not just formal exercise at the gym.
Tips and Warnings
- Skip restaurants and fast food as often as possible--prepare food at home when you can. Make extras when you have time to cook and stash it in the fridge or freezer for times that you need a quick, diet-friendly meal.
- Losing weight on a starvation or fad diet may be a short-term solution, but you are likely to regain the weight--and more--quickly, after you return to your normal habits.
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