Is it possible to lose 10 pounds in a month? As a certified personal trainer and health coach, I’m all about realistic fitness goals—but I do hear you when you say you want actionable ways to lose weight in a month.
Let’s talk about how to do this realistically.
While losing ten pounds in 30 days is not easy, it is doable! Proper nutrition, exercise, and serious commitment are required for this kind of weight loss.
Here is the guide for how to safely lose 10 pounds in a month—no fasting or crazy detoxes required.
1. Keep Track of Your Calories
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The truth is, if you eat poorly, you’ll feel poorly! But the number of calories you’re consuming still matters, especially when you have the aggressive goal of losing 10 pounds in one month.
The overall equation for weight loss comes down to this: you have to burn more calories than you take in. Calorie consumption is something you really have to watch.
While everyone’s caloric needs are different, for the average woman looking to lose weight, eating around 1,600 calories per day will help you drop pounds.
Your calorie intake is something very personal that you will need to experiment with, so consider keeping a detailed food journal or using a food-logging app like MyFitnessPal.
2. Stick to Clean Eating
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In general, fill up your plate with veggies, fruits, lean protein, and healthy fats with real ingredients.
Other tips include:
Cut out processed foods, packaged foods, and artificial ingredients.
Get rid of your soda and sugary drink habit to make weight loss easier.
Eliminate added sugars, such as white sugar, brown sugar, fructose, and molasses.
You should also eat more healthy, filling foods to avoid grabbing high-carb and high-calorie snacks.
Try foods like:
Boiled or baked sweet potatoes
Beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils
Whole fruits and vegetables
Eggs
Nuts
Lean meats, poultry, and fish
High-fiber foods, such as oats, whole wheat bread, bananas, and carrots
3. Stay Hydrated
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Removing sodas and other sugary beverages plays a big role in weight loss—and you can replace them with water!
Drinking plenty of water is essential for weight loss because it:
Helps suppress your appetite
Stimulates metabolism
Improves your workouts
Helps remove body waste
Saves you calories when you drink it instead of soda, juice, and sweetened tea or coffee
The recommended water intake is around 9 cups daily (8 oz each) for women and 13 cups for men.
4. Eat a High-Protein Breakfast
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A high-protein breakfast can help you stay on track with your weight loss goals. Eating more protein can reduce the number of daily calories you need to consume. Eating high-quality protein can also cut down on the your calorie intake.
High-protein foods include eggs, cheese, yogurt, eggs, peanut butter, and certain breakfast cereals.
5. Combine Cardio and Strength with HIIT
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Dietary choices are helpful with weight loss, but you won’t see any results without exercise!
Try getting your cardio and strength training done simultaneously by doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
This type of training utilizes interval workouts, which burn more calories in less time by using short bursts of all-out effort followed by brief rest periods. HIIT workouts get your heart pumping hard, and typically use a series of strength moves to do so.
This helps you tackle both your cardio and strength simultaneously, which is especially helpful if you’re short on time.
6. Prioritize Sleep and Minimize Stress
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Sleep and stress are two factors that are often overlooked when looking to lose weight, but they do matter!
Stress causes your body to release cortisol (i.e., the stress hormone), and too much of it can cause belly fat. Work on minimizing stress as much as possible by practicing deep breathing and meditation, journaling, taking long walks in nature, or doing yoga.
As for sleep? Plenty of research associates poor sleep habits with less weight loss. For example, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that when dieters cut back on sleep over a 14-day period, they lost 55% less weight from fat.
Getting too little sleep can also throw two of your body’s hunger hormones out of whack—leptin and ghrelin—which can cause you to hold onto more fat and crave sugary, salty foods more frequently.
Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night. If you are having trouble falling asleep, you can try meditation, taking magnesium or melatonin, and reducing or eliminating screen time before bed.
7. Bring Your Hormones Back Into Balance
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Sometimes hormonal issues can also make losing weight extra difficult, especially if you’re in perimenopause or menopause.
If you’re currently feeling the menopausal spread around your middle, you’re not alone: it does get harder to lose weight as you age. (But it’s not impossible!)
Try adding some of the best supplements for menopausal weight gain into your diet, including vitamin D, calcium, vitamin C, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Walking For Weight Loss | Your 14-Day Plan
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Guess what, my friends, walking works. Study after study proves that people who walk regularly stay more youthful, stronger, and happier in old age.
To get started, try my free 14-day challenge and get walking for a weight loss plan.
Walking For Weight Loss | Your 14-Day Plan
53 Best Weight Loss Snacks
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To keep you from going crazy with calories even when the saltiest of cravings hit, my team and I rounded up our best weight loss snack recipes that are super easy to throw together. And when you don’t have time or you’re on the go, we also made a list of our favorite healthy purchased snacks too.
14 Health Benefits of Cucumbers (And a Few Refreshing Recipes)
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From healthy skin to improved memory, check out the top 14 health benefits of cucumbers!
And if you’re lucky enough to have a load from your garden or farmers market on hand, you’ll definitely want to check out some of our favorite cucumber recipes, too.
14 Health Benefits of Cucumbers (And a Few Refreshing Recipes)
I Tested The Best Lululemon Look Alikes on Amazon: Here Are My Favorites
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Have no fear—as a fitness expert and an avid shopper, I have done my homework and tested the best Lululemon look-alikes that Amazon has to offer!
I’ve been in the fitness industry for over 30 years working as a Certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, and Health Coach. I will admit I became a Lululemon fan even before Lululemon became all the rage! Their leggings and other apparel have amassed a large fan base over the last two decades. But here’s the problem: it’s expensive.
I Tested The Best Lululemon Look Alikes on Amazon: Here Are My Favorites
53 Best Weight Loss Snacks
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To keep you from going crazy with calories (even when the saltiest cravings hit), my team and I rounded up the best weight-loss snack recipes that are super easy to throw together.
And when you don’t have time, or you’re on the go, we also made a list of our favorite healthy purchased snacks, too.
Inspiration For Weight Loss – 12 Inspiring Tips to Get You Motivated
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Let’s get one thing straight: being healthy isn’t just about the number on your scale. There are tons of other factors that affect your health besides your weight, and every one is built differently.
However, if being overweight is affecting your day-to-day life, sometimes weight loss is the goal. Unfortunately, even if you know how to lose weight, finding the inspiration for weight loss and motivation to actually make those healthier choices can be another story.
Whether you’ve been in a rut for a few months or many years, we’ll help you find the weight loss motivation you need to finally make a change.
Inspiration For Weight Loss – 12 Inspiring Tips to Get You Motivated
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