How Much Weight Can You Lose in a Week?

Losing weight is a process. There are many benefits to shedding unwanted pounds and getting to a healthy weight. How much weight a person can lose in a week can depend on many things.

If you are determined to lose weight there are things you can do improve your chances of losing the weight quickly, especially in a week.

Just so you know, it is okay to lose weight at a steady and slower pace. The chances of long-term success are increased if you are willing to make changes over time that will become part of your lifestyle.

How much weight you can lose in a week can depend on where you are in your weight loss journey. You will lose the highest number of pounds in your first one to two weeks of your weight loss journey.

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How Much Weight Can You Really Lose in a Week?

I have heard of people losing as much as 15 pounds in a week. However, this is not common. It was her first week of being on the Weight Watchers food plan.

This lady followed the program’s reduced calorie diet and walked a little bit and was able to shed 14 pounds in 7 days.

Granted she probably had about 50+ pounds to lose, but she was able to jump-start her weight loss by following a proven plan.

It is more common to lose 8-12 pounds in the first week of a weight loss plan. I did it following the keto diet and I know others that have done the same.

You can do it too by following a few simple tips to set you up to lose 8+ pounds in the first week of your weight loss journey.

1. Eat Low Carb

Eat Low Carb

Reducing carbohydrates and sugar intake will allow you to lose weight quickly, especially in the first 2 – 4 weeks. Eating high protein and low carb will help the pounds to melt away.

While eating 30 or fewer carbs a day may not be the best long-term plan, it is a good plan for the early stages of a weight loss program.

The Fuhrman Diet, the Paleo Diet and the Keto diet are some good options for losing weight fast and they are all based on eating low carb.

2. Get Moving

If you have been sedentary for a while, start with 10 – 15-minute walks. If you exercise already, vary it. Try something different…swim, run, bike ride, dance, take an aerobic exercise class.

Increase the amount of time you are exercising over the next week. Pick something that is enjoyable to keep you motivated. Not only will exercise help shed the extra pounds, but it also improves the way you feel.

3. Stay Focused

Avoid “cheating” at least for the next week or two. Plan days that you may decide to “treat” yourself. Make a vision board or similar with pictures of what you are going to do when you lose the weight.

Remind yourself regularly what losing weight will mean to you…interact with your family more, have more energy, reduce obesity-related health conditions, etc.

4. Reduce Your Caloric Intake

Protein Shakes

If you want to lose weight, you are going to have to cut back on your caloric intake. Pre-bariatric patients are often put on an 800 – 1200 calorie diet.

This is something you should work out with a doctor or dietician.

Reducing the calories you eat will be difficult for the first week, but it will maximize the weight you lose.

Twelve hundred calories is a good daily caloric intake for fast weight loss. If you plateau, try varying the number calories from day to day.

5. HIIT

High-Intensity Interval Training is another trick that can help get fast weight loss in gear. HIIT is a form of exercise that consists of 30-second bursts of exercise followed by 90 second periods of relaxation exercise or less intense exercise.

You can run in place as fast as you can for 30-seconds and walk for 90 seconds. Repeat this action 7 more times.

Do this exercise routine 3 times a week and it will help you maximize your week’s weight loss.

Don’t like to run? Ride a stationary bike or move in the water. The requirement here is 30 seconds of high-intensity movement followed by a 90 second recovery period.

6. Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a type of eating where you fast for periods of time. It could be days of fasting or hours.

The way I like to do it is to go a few evenings a week without having dinner.

That means that I only eat for an 8 hour period during those days and go 16 hours without eating. Some people follow this way of eating every day.

There are people that follow an intermittent fasting plan where they eat only 4 hours a day.

I have found that I lose weight and feel less bloated if I eat light and early in the evening. Doing this will add to your efforts to lose weight quickly.

7. Avoid Processed Foods

Processed Foods

Avoid processed foods as well as fast food. Processed foods have a lot of sodium and fast food is high in fat.

Neither fat or sodium contributes to weight loss or general health. Eating clean whole foods will help you lose weight faster.

8. Reduce Being Sedentary

If you spend a lot of time sitting, get up and move around throughout the day. I have heard the phrase, “sitting is the new smoking” and I am inclined to agree with that statement. Even if you exercise 60 minutes a day.

It is good to get up throughout the day. Some of us have jobs where we sit at a desk. Get up every few hours and spend five or ten minutes walking and stretching.

If you drive a lot, follow the same plan sitting behind the wheel of a car for extended periods of time is something that should be avoided also.

You can lose ten plus pounds of weight in the first week, but it will take focus. My best success with weight loss came from eating low-carb.

Eliminating pasta, bread, rice and sugar can jump-start the process whether you are trying to lose 10 pounds or 100.

The weight can drop off relatively quickly without the carbohydrates. Intermittently fasting is another great way to lose weight and maintain weight loss.

Weight loss does not end with the first week (unless you only want to lose ten pounds). Losing weight takes following a food plan that is sustainable.

You need something that is going to work over the long-term and is able to become part of your lifestyle. Some people can be satisfied with protein shakes others want real food.

Learning to count calories or eating prepackaged meals (Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, Diet Direct, etc) can be a good choice if you want to eat something that feels more substantial than protein shakes.

lose 10 pounds in a week

Can You Lose 10 Pounds in a Week?

It is possible to lose ten pounds or more in week one of diet and you may lose a lot more than 2 pounds a week in your first month.

The safe and sustainable way to lose weight is by setting a goal of .5 to 2 pounds per week.

In a years time, following this guideline can have you shedding up to 100 pounds. Losing weight is a journey.

Make a plan for how you can be successful and get started today.

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