Buzz
Losing weight can be a lengthy process, especially if you're aiming to shed a significant amount of weight, as this requires ample time. Weight loss pills and supplements might seem appealing for those looking to lose weight quickly. However, frequent use of such products can lead to a tolerance buildup, potentially causing severe health risks. Dropping 10 kg is no small feat, but by adopting a healthy eating plan and lifestyle changes, you can reach your goal more quickly.
Steps
Change Your Diet
Control your daily food intake. This is one of the key factors that will drive your weight loss. Reducing your food intake by managing portion sizes or counting calories can effectively aid in weight loss.
- Controlling portion sizes is sometimes the only thing you can control. If you dine out or eat food prepared by someone else, portion size is something you can always manage.
- Estimate the calories you consume and the calories your body uses each day. Pay attention to both your food and drink throughout the day, noting the appropriate amount of food to eat for optimal results. This way, you can monitor whether you're overeating or under-eating and how many calories to cut to lose weight safely.
- Speed up the weight loss process by aiming to reduce your calorie intake to the lowest possible safe level—typically 1200 calories/day. However, this figure may vary depending on your activity level, gender, and weight.
- It's best to consult with a doctor to ensure 1200 calories is safe and appropriate for you.
- By cutting around 500 calories/day, you can typically lose about 0.5-1 kg per week.
- Consuming less than 1200 calories/day may risk nutritional deficiencies and could slow down your weight loss progress.
Expert's Answer
Question
A reader's question on Mytour: "How long will it take me to lose 10 kg?"
EXPERT ADVICE
Answer from Claudia Carberry, RD, MS:
Claudia Carberry, nutritionist, responds: "It will take around 10 weeks or even up to 20 weeks to lose 10 kg. At this pace, the weight loss rate will be about 0.5-1 kg per week, which is a safe and healthy rate."
Prepare a meal plan and snack ideas that align with your calorie goals. When you have a structured eating plan, it's easier to follow through. Additionally, this plan helps you know exactly what to eat during both main meals and snacks.
- Set aside some time to plan meals for the entire week. Ensure you list all main meals and snacks throughout the day.
- You can use an online calorie counter to determine the calorie content of foods or meals in your plan. Double-check to make sure the food's calorie count stays within your target range.
Follow a low-carb diet. Studies show that low-carb diets typically result in faster weight loss compared to low-fat or very low-calorie diets. By reducing carbohydrate intake, you can more quickly reach your desired weight loss goals.
- Carbohydrates are commonly found in foods like grains, fruits, starchy vegetables, legumes, and dairy products.
- Initially, a low-carb diet may cause some side effects. While not dangerous or unsafe, these effects can cause discomfort. Common side effects include headaches, hunger, irritability, and fatigue.
- Currently, there are many online low-carb diet plans based on varying carbohydrate levels. If you struggle to create your own meal plan, you can find one that best suits your needs.
Focus primarily on lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables in most meals. When limiting carbohydrates in meals and snacks, you’ll need to concentrate on lean proteins, vegetables, and fruits. This eating pattern will help you feel full longer and promote faster weight loss. If desired, you can also incorporate healthy fats into your diet.
- Choose lean protein sources for each meal, such as pork, eggs, poultry, seafood, lean beef, beans, nuts, and tofu.
- Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables daily. You should aim for 1-2 servings of fruits and vegetables at each meal. While some fruits and vegetables contain higher carbohydrate levels, they offer essential nutrients like fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, making them suitable even for low-carb diets.
- Healthy fats include avocados, nuts, olives, olive oil, and coconut oil.
- For example, a meal might include cheese and fruit, leafy greens with some raw vegetables, kale salad with fish, or roasted pork tenderloin with a variety of vegetables.
Avoid high-fat foods, sweets, and processed foods. These foods are often high in calories and can slow down or hinder weight loss. Furthermore, they tend to contain very few essential nutrients such as vitamins or minerals.
- If you want to lose 10 kg quickly, you’ll need to completely eliminate or limit snacking or additional meals.
- Avoid foods such as sweets or desserts, fried potatoes, chips, sugary drinks, and sweetened coffee or tea.
- Also, steer clear of alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic drinks not only lack nutritional value but also add extra calories.
- Even if such foods fall within your allowed calorie limits, consuming them can prevent you from obtaining important nutrients from healthier foods (like protein, fruits, or vegetables). Increased consumption of sugary foods lacking nutrients can slow down the weight loss process.
Incorporate Physical Activity
Increase exercise intensity. The best way to lose weight quickly is to follow a calorie-controlled diet and engage in regular exercise. You’ll need to exercise at a fairly high intensity to achieve rapid weight loss of 10 kg.
- High-intensity exercise includes any activity that increases your heart rate and breathing rate. Exercise until you can’t speak more than a word or two without taking a break. If you rate your exercise intensity on a scale from 1 to 10, you should aim for a 7 or 8.
- Each person should aim to exercise for about one hour. Plan to exercise regularly for an hour each day, whether at high or low intensity.
- Moderate-intensity activity will also burn calories and support weight loss. However, high-intensity activity will burn more calories and may help you reach your weight loss goal faster.
- Before starting any exercise plan, you should consult your doctor to ensure that the exercise routine is safe and appropriate for you.
Engage in regular aerobic exercises. Aim for at least 150 minutes of cardio exercises per week, but experts recommend increasing this to 300 minutes or 5 hours per week to boost weight loss efforts.
- Common cardiovascular exercises include running, swimming laps, dancing, cycling, and certain martial arts. While these activities burn different amounts of calories, they all provide effective results.
Incorporate strength training exercises. Strength training is an effective and safe way to support weight loss. It helps build lean muscle mass, which can increase your body's calorie-burning potential over time.
- Strength training is particularly effective for weight loss because stronger muscles require more energy to function, meaning you burn more calories.
- Plan for two days of strength training each week, with each session lasting at least 20 minutes. Common strength exercises include weight lifting, bodyweight exercises, and Pilates.
Plan for one or two rest days. Rest is an important part of your workout plan. Constant training, especially at high intensities, can cause strain on your joints, muscles, and overall body, leading to potential injury.
- Taking a few days off allows your body time to recover and prevents injury.
- Rest is just as essential as training.
- However, you should still engage in light activities on your rest days. This could include simple yoga to recover, light walking, or casual cycling.
Maintain Enthusiasm and Motivation
Keep a food journal. Tracking your meals helps you stay on plan and provides motivation. By reviewing your food journal, you can see your progress and understand how well you're sticking to your plan, which can be quite motivating.
- Many people believe they eat less than they actually do. Keeping a food journal helps you be more accountable by giving you an accurate picture of what you’re actually consuming.
- You can use a physical journal or download a food tracking app on your phone to log your meals (including calories), exercise, and other metrics you’re tracking.
- Additionally, you can use your food journal to jot down how you’re feeling about your meal plan or note the days you find challenging.
Track your weight loss progress. Write down your goals and place them somewhere visible. Underneath, create a record of the number of kilograms or centimeters you have lost.
- If you feel like giving up, look back at your goals and the progress you’ve already made. This can motivate you to keep going.
- Regularly check your weight to see if your diet plan is working. This will allow you to adjust your approach as needed.
Use reminder notes. Place sticky notes in prominent places, like on your bathroom mirror, fridge, or even on your steering wheel. Writing short, motivating phrases will keep you inspired throughout the day.
- Self-motivation helps remind you of your goals and the plan you’ve set.
Find a workout buddy. This is especially helpful in keeping each other accountable for your fitness routine. Having a workout partner gives you an extra reason to stick to your schedule.
- Your workout buddy can boost your enthusiasm when you feel discouraged.
- They can also motivate you when you're feeling down or losing your drive to follow through with your plan.
Manage stress. Stress can make it difficult to stick to your diet and exercise plans. Managing stress can help you feel more motivated and energized to follow through with your weight loss goals.
- The more stressed you are, the slower your weight loss will be, and it could even lead to weight gain. Managing your mood allows for faster progress in losing weight.
- It's essential to find activities that help you relax and calm your mind. Try talking to friends, taking a walk, listening to music, or reading a book.
Warning
- Be cautious with weight loss pills and similar products. These items often lack rigorous testing and contain many ingredients that can hinder your weight loss efforts, such as acai berry extracts and willow bark. In fact, these products may even lead to serious health complications over time, long before their dangers are fully recognized. It’s safer to stick to proven methods, like a combination of exercise and a healthy diet.
