How To Reduce Weight In 20 Days

A sensible weight-loss goal is to lose around 1 to 2 lbs. a week; to lose more would require excessive calorie cutting. Dietitian Joanne Larson explains that if you eat a very-low-calorie diet, after a few days the body will turn to lean muscle tissue for glucose to use as energy, as its own store becomes depleted. The rate your body burns calories depends on how much lean muscle mass you have, and since muscle mass decreases when you eat too few calories, so does your metabolism. Therefore, it it best to aim for a maximum weight loss of 5 to 6 lbs. during a time frame of 20 days.

Step 1

Eat a serving of vegetable soup or green salad before your lunch and dinner. Dr. Barbara Rolls, author of "Volumetrics," reports that dieters that ate a salad or soup at the start of each meal consumed around 12 percent less total calories during the meal. If you typically eat about 1,500 calories between lunch and dinner, adding a soup or salad to each meal would reduce your calorie intake by approximately 160 calories a day. Over 20 days, this would be a total of 3,200 calories, which would result in the reduction of about 14 to 15 oz. of body fat.

Step 2

Replace soda with water. One 12 oz. can of a cola-type soda contains 140 calories. If you replace a can of soda with a large glass of water twice a day, you will reduce your calorie intake by 5,600 calories in 20 days. This is equal to around 1.6 lbs of fat. (Resource).

Step 3

Turn off the dishwasher. The Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine says that by performing everyday tasks manually, people burn an average of 100 to 200 calories more per day. Levine recommends doing away with labor-saving gadgets such as remote controls, dishwashers and motorized lawnmowers to burn more calories without taking up an exercise-based activity. If you burn an extra 150 to 200 calories daily by simply moving more, you will reduce your body fat by around 1 lb. in 20 days.

Step 4

Eat a low-energy-dense breakfast. Actress and author of "Shape Up Your Life" Marilu Henner says that by starting the day with low-energy-dense "wet foods" you will give your metabolism a healthy kick start. Wet foods can be eaten in large portions without providing many calories, and as they have a high-water content, they also keep you feeling full. A breakfast of a bagel with cream cheese has around 400 calories, compared to 150 calories provided by half a grapefruit and a large apple. By eating fruits or a smoothie for breakfast, you can lower your calorie count by around 200 per day if you have been accustomed to eating energy-dense breakfast foods. Over 20 days, this would equate to more than a pound of fat.

Step 5

Go for a walk. You do not need to spend money on equipment or sports clothing to experience the benefits of exercise; all that is required to burn calories through walking is a pair of flexible-soled shoes and some land. If you find walking boring, you can liven things up by taking along an iPod and listening to some music or an audio book. If you take a brisk 30 minute walk three times a week, you will lose around 175 calories. Over 20 days, this is equal to almost half a pound of body fat.

Step 6

Avoid alcohol. Although the occasional alcoholic drink is not detrimental to health, alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. This makes it nearly as high in calories as fat, which has 9 calories per gram. If you customarily drink an average of one can of beer a day, you are ingesting 2,800 calories a week; the equivalent to 3/4 lb. of fat. Additionally, alcohol interferes with the body's fat burning process, and any calories consumed from alcohol will be used by the body before those provided by existing fat stores.