Can You Lose 10 Pounds In 2 Weeks?

1. Your Current BMI And Weight

People who carry extra weight tend to burn calories faster. Meaning, someone with a higher body weight will use up more energy during physical activity compared to someone who weighs less.

Harvard Medical School published a study that showed the potential calorie burn of three people of different weights after lifting weights for about half an hour. The rate of their calorie burn increases with heavier body mass.

1. A person weighing 125 pounds would burn 90 calories.
2. A person weighing 155 pounds would burn 112 calories.
3. A person weighing 185 pounds would burn 133 calories.

2. Distribution Of Muscle Mass vs. Fat

Two people who both weigh the same can burn calories at different rates depending on their body composition. People who have a higher percentage of muscle burn more calories per minute than those with higher concentrations of body fat.

3. Physical Activity

The number of calories you burn can be influenced by how intense your workout is. For example, a 200-pound person burns about 115 calories by walking a mile and around 140 calories by running the same distance. Someone who is in good shape may burn more calories while running, especially if they go uphill or pick up the pace, compared to a heavier person who cannot run as fast.

The human body naturally adapts and begins to work more efficiently as it gets in better shape and basically learns how to do the same task using less energy. This is the reason that it is necessary to keep increasing the intensity or the length of your exercise routine to prevent your weight loss from stalling or to maintain your healthy weight.

1. Your Ancestry And Genetics

Some people are genetically inclined to gain weight and store fat, sometimes in specific areas of the body. If both parents are overweight, there is a greater chance their children will also be overweight. This can be due to genetics or lifestyle patterns.

2. Ethnicity

Certain ethnicities are at higher risk for obesity, with African American adults being the most at risk, Hispanic/Latinos coming in second place, and Caucasians coming in 3rd place. The Asian American community in the United States has a very low rate of obesity; however, they may still be at risk if they are carrying visceral fat.

3. Your Age

Many people experience weight gain as they get older, and most never had issues with their BMI when they were younger, but begin to gain weight around the age of 60 unless they are taking proactive steps to maintain a healthy weight. As people age, they tend to become more sedentary and often stop preparing meals, preferring to eat out, which adds to the problem. Many obese adults were also obese as children, so teaching healthy eating habits to the young can get them started out right and may preserve their health in the long run.

4. Gender

Each gender stores fat on their body in different locations, which can make it harder to lose. Women usually have a concentration of fat on their hips and buttocks, while men normally carry excess fat on their bellies. Men usually have a higher concentration of muscle mass, which helps them burn calories at a faster rate than women. People who carry more fat than muscle burn calories at a slower rate, so unfortunately, women have a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to their weight loss potential. This is especially true for African American and Latino women who tend to have a higher concentration of body fat than their other female counterparts.

5. Behavior And Lifestyle Habits

Unhealthy eating habits and a lack of physical activity can tank your chances of losing weight and increase the risk of gaining a significant amount of excess weight. Paying attention to what you eat and drink and cutting back on high-calorie, high-fat, and sugary foods can help lower your daily calorie intake. Many people drink sodas or sugary beverages several times a day, and those extra calories add up quickly. Plus, these drinks do not add any nutritional value and can lead to cravings for even more sugary foods.

6. Your Environment

Your environment can also impact your ability to maintain a healthy weight. If you have easy access to fresh, healthy foods, it is much simpler to make good choices, but if fast food is your only option, eating healthy can be a challenge. The ability to get enough exercise can also depend on where you live, such as if you have access to safe parks, walking paths, or a gym nearby to make it easier to stay active. Even your work schedule can make a difference, since long hours and stress can lead to unhealthy eating habits and less time for exercise.

7. Not Getting Adequate Sleep

Staying healthy requires getting enough sleep, which, according to many experts, is between 7 and 9 hours for an adult every night. This is especially important if you are trying to lose weight because lack of sleep can cause hormone imbalances and incite cravings for unhealthy foods.

8. Your Medicine

Sometimes the routine medicine you take every day gets in the way of your weight loss efforts. If you are working on losing weight, make sure you consult your doctor and seek their assistance to see if they can find medications that will not inhibit your potential to lose weight.

9. Stress

Stress can do crazy things to your body, including causing weight gain. The reason this happens is that stress triggers the release of a hormone called cortisol, which can cause many unpleasant side effects such as an increase in your appetite and cravings, high blood pressure, insomnia, a weak immune system, blood sugar imbalance, digestive issues, hair loss, and more.

10. The Speed Of Your Metabolism

If you have ever tried to lose weight but kept gaining it back, or if you lost a little at first but then hit a point where nothing you did seemed to work, that was your body’s survival instinct kicking in and thwarting your efforts.

Your body is designed with a built-in instinct to survive, so it will store energy when it feels like there is not enough food so it can be converted to energy later. When you restrict your calorie intake to lose weight, your body thinks there is trouble, which triggers this survival instinct. Your metabolism can adjust to accommodate many of the weight loss strategies commonly used, which can be a huge obstacle to people who are trying to lose weight.

Eat Fewer Calories

If you want to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body burns each day. To figure out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, check these guidelines. They estimate your daily calorie needs based on your gender, age, and activity level. If your goal is weight loss, you would need to eat less than that number. Research has revealed that 3,500 calories are equivalent to one pound, so you would need to create a deficiency of this many calories to lose a pound through eating less or getting more exercise. A calorie tracker app like MyPlate by LIVESTRONG can make keeping track of your calorie intake much easier.

If you are trying to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, this can be done by reducing your calories by between 500 and 1000 each day (depending on your current weight). It is important to give your body what it needs to function properly and to preserve your muscle mass, so be mindful to eat the right kinds of foods and include strength training in your exercise plan.

Stay Away From Processed Foods

A good strategy is to avoid processed and junk foods and load up on veggies, fruits, and whole grains because they are packed with fiber. Fiber helps fill you up with fewer calories and keeps you full longer. Getting at least 30 grams of fiber a day can give your weight loss a boost. Some great sources of fiber include:

• Beans, lentils, and peas
• Berries
• Sweet potatoes
• Squash
• Avocados
• Nuts and seeds
• Pears
• Oatmeal
• Stick to foods in their natural form, like a real sweet potato instead of chips, or plain rolled oats instead of flavored instant oatmeal. Processed foods are full of sodium and other artificial additives that cause weight gain.

Switch Up Your Exercise Routine

Create an exercise routine that is a good blend of cardio and strength training. Also, incorporate some high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which involves a combination of intense bursts of exercise and then slowing it down for a bit and repeating. It helps to get rid of localized belly fat and lowers your body fat percentage. One of the biggest benefits of HIIT training is that it keeps your calorie burn rate high for a longer time, so incorporate it into your routine at least twice a week.

Intermittent Fasting May Work For You

The New England Journal of Medicine reported that intermittent fasting can help reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, and promote weight loss. Intermittent fasting means you eat only during certain hours of the day and refrain from eating the rest of the time. It’s important to keep drinking water throughout the day to maintain proper hydration.

There are different types of intermittent fasting, and some of the most popular methods include:

• 16/8 fasting: You eat within an 8-hour window and fast for the remaining 16 hours. (including while sleeping).
• 5/2 fasting: You eat normally for five days and fast for two, consuming only 500-600 calories on those two days.

Reduce Sodium In Your Diet

Consuming too much sodium can raise your blood pressure and cause water retention and bloating, which can lead to other health issues. High concentrations of sodium are found in a lot of foods, especially in meals from restaurants, fast food places, and ready-to-eat processed foods. Surprisingly, many beverages also include high levels of sodium.

• Check food labels for sodium content.
• Stay away from foods that are high in sodium, like processed items such as pizza, deli meats, soups, bread, rolls, tacos, and burritos.
• Opt for fresh foods, like fruits and vegetables.
• Cook meals at home as much as possible and limit dining out or eating fast food.

Seek Out Expert Help

If you are serious about losing weight and want to do it safely, work with a doctor who specializes in obesity treatment. At Reveal Weight Loss, experts like Dr. Avik Sarkar and Dr. Haroon Shahid, leading authorities in non-surgical weight loss, can guide you through the process and help you reach your weight loss goals.

An expert in medical weight loss can help you lose 10 pounds safely and effectively and identify any challenges that have held you back in the past and create strategies to help you overcome them and achieve sustainable weight loss.