How To Lose Weight In A Week. How many of us have become determined to lose weight, only to get discouraged by the amount of time it takes? There is no doubt there are too many of us.
Well, weight loss does take time. But there is some good news too – you can lose weight in as little time as a week.
With the right changes in your habits, you can adopt a healthy way of living, and weight loss would no more be that goal you had always dreaded.
The 23 tips we talk about in this post can help you shed pounds and lose fat, all in just a week. So delay no more, and read on!
1. Set Realistic Goals
Yes, goals are necessary to motivate yourself to lose weight. But while setting goals, you must be realistic. Unrealistic goals can only be deterrents in your quest for weight loss.
You can’t lose 10 pounds in a week. But one to two pounds is how much you can lose in a week without starving yourself. And for that, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than what you consume each day (1).
2. Set A Time
In today’s fast-paced world, there is no doubt we spend the least amount of time at the dining table. And healthy eating is something we give the least attention to – something that can turn dangerous over time.
Reinvent yourself as a slow eater. Cherish the food you are eating. Eat mindfully. Set a time for 20 minutes, and ensure you are spending each minute savoring the dish before you. Hogging your food can only lead to overeating, as your stomach doesn’t have the time to tell your brain that it’s full.
3. Reduce Your Portions
Portions, my friend, portions. You can’t even think of losing weight if you don’t let go of your large plate. It’s plain common sense – reducing the size of your plate means eating less, and eating less means fewer calories. Usually, when we are dining, we tend to eat more than what is required – a terrible habit most of us have unknowingly cultivated.
Cut the portions in half and ensure you are choosing smaller portions. A study conducted at The Pennsylvania State University talks about research that has shown the relation between large portions and obesity. It also says that for weight management, you can eat larger portions of low-energy-dense foods (2).
4. Don’t Eat In Front Of The Television
Eat while you eat, and watch while you watch. Merging television time with your dining time can lead to mindless eating. You tend to focus on what’s happening on the television screen, and become unaware of what’s going inside your mouth and stomach. And, ultimately, you end up overeating. Eat at the dining table, and focus on your food. This helps you become aware of what you are eating, and you will only eat as much as you require.
5. Eat Cautiously
Honestly speaking, how many of us even think of doing this? Probably a few tens in a million? (Well, that’s an astonishingly good number!) You must start eating before you feel too hungry, and stop before you are full. This is because when we starve, we tend to eat more than we actually should – that spells disaster. This is the reason people who starve themselves to lose weight only end up gaining more. Remember to eat slowly and not when you are starving. Also, remember to end your meal just before you are about to be satisfied and let that burp out. Post that, drink a glass of water and you will be fine.
6. Get Good Sleep
Your sleeping patterns have a lot to do with your weight. Lack of adequate sleep can eventually lead to weight gain. Here’s how – you feel tired since you didn’t sleep properly the previous night. As a result, you might be tempted to skip exercise the next day or any other regular activity that involves physical movement. And to make things worse, you are tired at your workplace, and tend to grab a pack of chips or a donut to get an instant burst of energy.
And there you go – you have just created the recipe for disaster. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that those individuals who got inadequate sleep were prone to late-night snacking. They were also more likely to choose high-carb snacks (3). Another study had revealed that sleeping too little can prompt someone to have bigger portions of foods
7. Follow The 80/20 Rule
Now, there’s some good news. Discipline yourself to eat only organic and healthy food 80 percent of the time. And the remaining 20 percent? Yes, you can reserve that for your favorite junk. This way, you can binge less and control yourself when you feel like binging.
8. Maintain A Positive Attitude
Believe it or not, how you think does affect your health in ways you can’t imagine. Maintain a positive outlook throughout, and always say to yourself that you are healthy and active. Most don’t understand, but what you do to yourself can have a dramatic impact on your mind, and ultimately, on your life. Reduce stress and learn not to take everything too seriously.
Change Your Food Habits
Of course, as the popular saying goes, you are what you eat. And, you are also what you don’t eat. What you keep feeding yourself plays the most important role in keeping you fit and healthy. So you better feed yourself with the good stuff. Oh yeah, food maketh a women.
9. Eat Plenty Of Fruits And Vegetables
You would have already come across this a number of times. Fruits and vegetables play a vital role in weight management and health maintenance. One major factor that can contribute to weight loss is consuming foods low in energy density (the amount of calories per gram of food). Fruits and vegetables, in their natural state, contain plenty of water and fiber (two essentials that result in a decrease in calories and energy density). Most importantly, the abundance of water and fiber can make you feel full, thereby discouraging overeating or binging on junk (4). In one American study, it was established that there was a link between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased weight and fat loss (5).
10. Have Soup Regularly
This might come as something unexpected for most of you, but hey, soups have their own advantages. Having a soup at the beginning of a meal can curb your appetite, and you will only end up eating less. Also, soups can be highly nutritious but low in calories – precisely something every person who wants to lose weight needs. In a study conducted at The Pennsylvania State University, it was found that consuming low-energy-dense soup can help decrease your calorie intake and enhance weight loss (6). You can ideally go for vegetable-based soups, soups made of chicken or beef broth, and tomato soups without the cream – these will fill you up with fewer calories (7).
11. Have Whole Grains
Whole grains are one of the healthiest foods you will find in your kitchen. These grains get digested slowly, ensuring you feel full for long. A study revealed that women whose diets largely comprised of whole grains were half as likely to gain weight than those who consumed less of whole grains (8). Another study had found that incorporating whole grains in one’s diet can help reduce abdominal fat (9).
12. Eliminate Sugar
Sugar must be the last thing you should think of if you want to lose weight. Or probably, it must be something you should not think of at all in the first place. In a study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, it was found that consumption of beverages sweetened with sugar can cause weight gain in women (10). Another study had discouraged the consumption of sugar for a healthy lifestyle (11). According to the University of California, San Francisco, sugar can be worse than fat when it comes to harmful health effects (12).
13. Skip Bacon
Yes, bacon is one of the yummiest foods out there. But there is something else you must look at – it is extremely unhealthy. Bacon contains a lot of fat, and it is the bad kind of fat. 68 percent of the total calories you get from bacon actually come from fat, and about half of that is saturated fat (13). According to one Canadian study, a diet rich in saturated fat can contribute to the development of obesity (14). Bacon can have severe repercussions, and the best way to avoid them is by avoiding bacon. You can, instead, replace it with some veggies or even eggs.
14. Drink Green Tea
Health experts across the world vouch for green tea for a reason – it is amazingly healthy. Green tea is known to boost the calorie-burning mechanism in our body. According to a study, green tea can indeed help you lose weight (15) (you might have to drink about seven decaff cups a day). Green tea contains loads of antioxidants, the most potent of them being the catechins that have been found to boost metabolism and reduce body fat (16).
15. Eat Healthy Snacks
Well, who doesn’t love snacking? But the problem is, we snack on stuff we are supposed to stay away from. How about healthy snacking? You can carry with you something nutritious every time you step out of your home. Fruits, granola bars, or even a packet of plain popcorn – anything similar can serve the purpose. These contain fewer calories and are far better than those high-calorie ones (17).
16. Say No To Anything Crispy, Creamy, Or Cheesy
We know that’s a hard nut to crack, but crack it you must. A big no to sauces, fried foods, and high-calorie eats. Does that sound too difficult? Well, you can take some creative steps to keep those unhealthy foods out of your way. You can skip the cheese while having sandwiches. Refrain from adding mayonnaise or butter while you are cooking something at home. Lemon and pepper make a great combination for zest. And yes, coming to soups, ditch the creamy ones and embrace the broth-based ones. Creamy and cheesy foods are possibly one of the best sources of saturated fats, and hence, carry the recipe for self-destruction. They increase bad cholesterol and make you vulnerable to heart disease (18). Above all, they cause obesity.
17. Eat Good Fats
Hold on right there if you thought fats were bad. Because no, they are not. Not all. Fats, just like the other nutrients, are essential to keep the body functioning at the optimum level. They keep your skin and hair healthy, and also help absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K (also called the fat-soluble vitamins) (19). The trick lies in differentiating the good fats from the bad. Sources of good fats include foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, avocados, and walnuts (20). These are beneficial in many ways, some of which include keeping the heart healthy, preventing arthritis, dementia, and depression. Most important, good fats have also been found to contribute to healthy weight loss (21).
18. Take Vitamin C
We would be saying nothing new when we talk about the unmatchable goodness of vitamin C. But still we say it because most of us don’t realize it.
It is not unwise to consider vitamin C as one of the ideal nutrients for weight loss. The fruits that are replete with vitamin C, like oranges, grapes, kiwis, etc., maintain your health and stop you from binging. They make you feel full without adding too many calories.
Vitamin C also helps in fat burning, which ultimately leads to weight loss.
19. Drink Plenty Of Water
Nothing new here, again. This is something we have been learning right from school. If you are serious about losing weight, drinking a minimum of two to three liters of water must be your everyday goal. Make it a habit of drinking a glass of water before (to prevent overeating) and after (to aid digestion) a meal. It has been found that people who drink more water and less of soda or other high-calorie beverages would be more successful in losing weight (22). Numerous American studies have also backed the efficacy of water in aiding in healthy weight loss (23), (24), (25).
Change Your Exercise Habits
How you shape your body, more or less, determines how you shape your life. No wonder people who wake up and run in the morning end up being healthier and happier. Do you also want to be like them? Then, better keep your body moving.
20. Do Yoga
No other exercise routine has gathered as much acclaim and popularity as yoga. It is inexpensive (all you need is some space), portable (considering the fact that you can do it literally anywhere), and effective like no other. Yoga benefits all the parts of your body. If done regularly, yes, it can also aid in weight loss and get you back in shape. Here is how it works – yoga forges a strong mind-body connection. So you will be aware of what you are eating, and you will know when you are full. This encourages mindful eating, a practice that can go a long way in keeping you fit and healthy. A medical study conducted in 2005 that involved 15,500 healthy middle-aged men and women had revealed the fact that yoga could help shed pounds; or at least keep one from gaining weight (26).
21. Burn Extra Calories
Extra is always good, isn’t it? You can burn a few extra calories every day by doing a few quick and easy exercises. Simply walk a mile within 20 minutes or clean your house for 30 minutes. All such activities can help burn calories.
22. Exercise In The Morning
Well, there is honestly nothing wrong with exercising in the evening. But exercising in the morning has its own advantages. According to research, morning exercise improves the quality of sleep at night. This, eventually, could also promote weight loss (27).
23. Lift More Weights
If there is any smart way of losing body fat, it is lifting weights. Weightlifting burns body fat and helps build lean muscles; it also is effective in reducing belly fat. More muscle means quicker metabolism – something that every individual who wants to lose weight must aim for.
Losing weight is not as complex as it seems. With these simple tips under your belt, you can indeed lose pounds in just a week!
