If you're planning to lose 10 pounds and 10 inches, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that losing 10 pounds is far from an insurmountable goal, and can be safely and certainly accomplished in just over a month. The bad news is that, no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to lose those inches in a specific area; spot reduction of fat through direct exercise is a myth. As such, if you're truly looking to lose 10 inches from a specific area, you'll have to lose many more inches overall.
Step 1
Decrease your daily caloric intake to form a caloric deficit. Start by consulting a free basal metabolic rate calculator, widely available on the internet through a cursory search. By entering your age, gender, height and weight, you'll receive an approximate figure for the number of calories necessary to sustain your current body mass without exercise. Now, aim to modify your current diet--or construct an entirely new diet--so that it contains between 500 and 1,000 fewer daily calories than your basal metabolic rate. As per MayoClinic.com, since 3,500 calories are equal to one pound of fat, this will allow you to lose between one and two pounds of fat per week.
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Step 2
Do cardiovascular exercise at least three times per week. Aim to complete a minimum of either three weekly sessions of 20 minutes of highly intense cardiovascular activity, or five weekly sessions of 30 minutes of low intensity cardiovascular activity, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. As your cardiovascular fitness improves, feel free to increase the frequency, duration or intensity of your cardio so that you're exercising up to seven days per week.
Step 3
Complete at least two weekly resistance training sessions. While directly training the areas on which you'd like to lose inches won't magically target those areas of fat, it will develop the underlying muscle. This development can create the illusion of increased leanness and definition, giving the visual appearance of a smaller circumference for the targeted body part. For each targeted body part, select three to five resistance based exercises. At each session, complete three to four sets of 12 to 15 repetitions for each of these exercises, resting for approximately 90 seconds between sets.
Things You'll Need
Calculator
Cardiovascular exercise equipment.
Tip
A great way to begin cutting calories is by cutting out all junk foods; these are often the most calorie dense foods in your diet, and they offer little in the way of nutritional value.
Warning
Always consult your doctor before embarking on a new program of diet and exercise.
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