How to lose weight fast in 2 weeks
Science-Backed Tips to Lose Weight Fast and Sustainably
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Cutting carbs, eating more protein, lifting weights, and getting more sleep are all actions that can promote sustainable weight loss.
Focusing on long-term health and habits that you can stick with over time will help improve your health and are more likely to result in lasting weight loss.
Here are some science-backed tips to help you lose weight.
1. Eat protein, fat, and vegetables
Aim to include a variety of foods at each meal. To balance your plate, your meals should include protein, fat, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.
The following are the recommended amounts you should eat by age according to the
Protein
Eating a recommended amount of protein is essential to help preserve muscle mass while losing weight.
Diets with adequate protein may also
The following are examples of foods that contain protein with amounts and servings from the
Vegetables
All vegetables can be nutrient-rich additions to your diet. Aim to eat about
Examples of vegetables include:
- leafy greens
- tomatoes
- bell peppers
- green beans
- squash
Note that certain vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn are considered carbs or grains when on the plate because theyre higher in carbs and calories. Be mindful of your portion sizes when adding these vegetables to your plate.
Healthy fats
Healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds are great choices for your eating plan.
Although some oils, like olive oil, are considered healthy, they also provide 9 calories per gram, compared to protein and carbs, which provide only 4 calories per gram.
For this reason, its important to eat healthy fats in moderation and limit saturated and trans-saturated fats.
The following are examples of other foods that contain healthy fats:
Butter and coconut oil should be enjoyed
2. Move your body
The
Cardio workouts include things like walking, jogging, running, cycling, or swimming. Learn more about types of weight training exercises.
Be sure to talk with a doctor before starting a new exercise plan.
3. Eat more fiber
Fiber moves slowly through the digestive tract and can help you
It might also stabilize blood sugar levels, promote regularity, and protect against certain chronic conditions.
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, breads, and legumes are food groups that contain a lot of fiber. Aim to eat
The following are examples of foods that contain fiber with their recommended daily servings:
4. Eat mindfully
Having a good understanding of how your body responds to food and eating can help you make sure youre not overeating. This is known as mindful eating. It can involve the following:
- eating more slowly
- learning to recognize when youre hungry vs. when youre craving food for emotional reasons
- cooking colorful foods with a variety of textures to prolong and enjoy your meals
The reason eating quickly can be problematic is that it doesnt allow your brain to register consciously when youre full.
Eating slowly gives your stomach more time to tell your brain youre full, which helps you learn to distinguish the feeling of genuine hunger vs. fullness. This
Try minimizing distractions while you eat and follow these to slow down during your meals. Learn more about mindful eating and weight loss.
5. Stay hydrated
Drinking plenty of water can help promote weight loss by
It might also work by
Be sure to choose water or other low calorie drinks rather than sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, which are high in sugar and calories and
Other benefits from drinking water related to weight loss include helping you stay hydrated while you exercise and helping remove waste from the body. In general, drinking water helps your body run more efficiently.
6. Get plenty of sleep
In addition to changing your diet and exercise routine, getting enough sleep each night may be beneficial for weight loss.
One study found that people who regularly sleep less than 7 hours per night are
Plus, sleep deprivation might also alter levels of hormones that control hunger and appetite.
As a general rule of thumb, its recommended to aim for at least
Its not always necessary to count calories as long as you follow a balanced diet rich in protein, fat, and vegetables.
If youre not losing weight, you may want to keep track of your calories to see if thats a contributing factor.
Try using a free online calculator to estimate your calorie needs.
Eating too few calories can be dangerous and less effective for losing weight. Aim to reduce your calories by a sustainable and healthy amount based on a doctors recommendation.
Here are a few nutritious meal ideas that can support weight loss and include a mix of proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbs:
- poached egg with sliced avocado and a side of berries
- salmon baked with ginger, sesame oil, and roasted zucchini
- spinach, mushroom, and feta crustless quiche
For some nutritious snack ideas, check out this article.
You may lose weight more quickly in the first week of a diet plan and then at a slower but more consistent rate after that. In the first week, you typically lose a mix of both body fat and water weight.
If this is the first time youre changing your diet and exercise habits, weight loss may happen more quickly. Losing 0.52 pounds (lbs) per week is a safe amount to aim for.
What is the fastest way to lose weight?
Reducing your calorie intake and adding more physical activity to your routine can help you lose weight quickly and sustainably. That said, each person is different, and there may be other factors that need to be considered, such as your diet, what medications youre taking, your hormones, your mood, and genetics.
How can I lose weight in 7 days?
Decreasing your intake of processed foods and added sugar can help you lose weight in 7 days.
Drinking plenty of water and adding fiber to your diet might also help. That said, many factors influence your ability to lose weight, and its better to aim for slower and more sustainable weight loss of 0.52 lbs per week.
How can I drop 20 pounds fast?
Exercising, staying hydrated, and enjoying a balanced diet rich in nutrient-dense foods can help you lose 20 pounds or reach your healthy goal weight.
For safe and healthy weight loss, 0.52 pounds of weight loss per week is a realistic weight loss goal that you are more likely to maintain.
Eating protein, fat, and vegetables; drinking more water; increasing the fiber in your diet; and adding exercise may all help you reach your weight loss goals. But there may be other things to consider, like what medications you take, other health conditions you have, your hormones, and genetics.
How can I lose 10 pounds in a week?
Losing 10 pounds in a week is not realistic or sustainable. For safe and healthy weight loss, aim for 0.52 pounds of weight loss per week by changing your diet and lifestyle.
How can I lose 15 pounds in 2 weeks?
Losing 15 pounds in 2 weeks is unrealistic, unsustainable, and likely unsafe. Healthy weight loss is 0.52 pounds of weight loss per week, and you may be most likely to do this by changing your diet and modifying your lifestyle.
While losing weight quickly may be your goal, its important to think about the long run.
While you may lose water weight quickly, fat loss takes longer, and developing sustainable weight loss may take longer than youd like.
Following a balanced diet and staying active can help support long-term weight loss.
Read this article in Spanish.
How to naturally lose weight fast
We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission or other tangible benefit. Wellos and Healthline Media are owned by RVO Health. Heres our process.
Medical News Today only shows you brands and products that we stand behind.
Our team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations we make on our site. To establish that the product manufacturers addressed safety and efficacy standards, we:- Evaluate ingredients and composition: Do they have the potential to cause harm?
- Fact-check all health claims: Do they align with the current body of scientific evidence?
- Assess the brand: Does it operate with integrity and adhere to industry best practices?
Many diets, supplements, and meal replacement plans claim to ensure rapid weight loss, but lack any scientific evidence. However, there are some strategies backed by science that have an impact on weight management.
These strategies include exercising, keeping track of calorie intake, intermittent fasting, and reducing the number of carbohydrates in the diet.
In this article, we consider nine effective methods of weight loss.
Methods of weight loss that scientific research supports include the following:
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a pattern of eating that involves regular short-term fasts and consuming meals within a shorter time period during the day.
The most common intermittent fasting methods include the following:
Alternate day fasting (ADF): Fast every other day and eat a typical diet on non-fasting days. Themodified version involves eating just 2530% of the bodys energy needs on fasting days.- The 5:2 Diet: Fast on 2 out of every 7 days. On fasting days eat 500600 calories.
- The 16/8 method: Fast for 16 hours and eat only during an 8-hour window. For most people, the 8-hour window would be around noon to 8 p.m. A study on this method found that eating during a restricted period resulted in the participants consuming fewer calories and losing weight.
It is best to adopt a
If someone wants to lose weight, they should be aware of what they eat and drink each day. One way to do this is to log these items in either a journal or an online food tracker.
One
Mindful eating is a practice where people pay attention to how and where they eat food. This practice can enable people to enjoy the food they eat and
As most people lead busy lives, they often tend to eat quickly on the run, in the car, working at their desks, and watching TV. As a result, many people are barely aware of the food they are eating.
Techniques for mindful eating include:
- Sitting down to eat, preferably at a table: Pay attention to the food and enjoy the experience.
- Avoiding distractions while eating: Do not turn on the TV, or a laptop or phone.
- Eating slowly: Take time to chew and savor the food. This technique helps with weight loss, as it gives a persons brain enough time to recognize the signals that they are full, which can help to prevent over-eating.
- Making considered food choices: Choose foods that are full of nourishing nutrients and those that will satisfy for hours rather than minutes.
Protein can regulate appetite hormones to help people feel full. This is mostly due to a decrease in the hunger hormone ghrelin and a rise in the satiety hormones peptide YY, GLP-1, and
Good choices for a high protein breakfast include eggs, oats, nut and seed butters, quinoa porridge, sardines, and chia seed pudding.
The Western diet is increasingly high in added sugars, which has definite links to
Refined grains undergo processing to remove the bran and the germ, which contain most of the grains fiber and nutrients. These include white rice, white bread, and regular pasta.
These foods are quick to digest, and they convert to glucose rapidly. Excess glucose enters the blood and provokes the hormone insulin, which promotes fat storage in the adipose tissue. This contributes to weight gain.
A
Where possible, people should swap highly processed and sugary foods for more nutritionally dense options. Good food swaps include:
- whole-grain rice, bread, and pasta instead of the white versions
- fruit, nuts, and seeds instead of high sugar snacks
- herb teas and fruit-infused water instead of high sugar sodas
- smoothies with water or milk instead of fruit juice
Dietary fiber describes plant-based carbohydrates that are impossible to digest in the small intestine, unlike sugar and starch. Including plenty of fiber in the diet can
Fiber-rich foods include:
- whole-grain breakfast cereals, whole-wheat pasta, whole-grain bread, oats, barley, and rye
- fruit and vegetables
- peas, beans, and pulses
- nuts and seeds
One emerging area of research is focusing on the role of bacteria in the gut on weight management.
The human gut hosts a vast number and variety of microorganisms, including around
Every individual has different types and amounts of bacteria in their gut. Some types may increase the amount of energy the person extracts from food, leading to fat deposition and weight gain.
Some foods can increase the number of good bacteria in the gut, including:
- A wide variety of plants: Increasing the number of fruits, vegetables, and grains in the diet will result in an increased fiber uptake and a
more diverse set of gut bacteria. People should try to ensure that vegetables and other plant-based foods comprise 75 percent of their meal. - Fermented foods: Fermented foods including sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, yogurt, tempeh, and miso
contain potentially probiotic microorganisms. Researchers have studiedkimchi widely, and limited evidence suggests it may have anti-obesity effects. Similarly, studies have shown that kefir may help to promote weight loss in overweight women. - Prebiotic foods: These stimulate the growth and activity of some of the good bacteria that aid
weight control . Prebiotic fiber occurs in many fruits and vegetables, especially chicory root, artichoke, onion, garlic, asparagus, leeks, banana, and avocado. It is also in grains, such as oats and barley.
Numerous studies have shown that getting fewer than 56 hours of sleep per night is associated with an increased incidence of
How long someone sleeps also affects the regulation of the appetite-controlling hormones leptin and ghrelin. Leptin sends signals of fullness to the brain.
Stress triggers the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which initially decrease the appetite as part of the bodys fight or flight response.
However, when people are under constant stress, cortisol can remain in the bloodstream for longer, which will
Cortisol signals the need to replenish the bodys nutritional stores from the preferred source of fuel, carbohydrate.
Insulin then transports the sugar from carbohydrates from the blood to the muscles and brain. If the individual does not use this sugar in fight or flight, the body will store it as fat.
Insulin allows sugar from the blood to enter the bodys cells, where it can provide energy. If an individual does not immediately use this sugar, the body will
Some methods of managing stress include:
- yoga, meditation, or tai chi
- breathing and relaxation techniques
- spending some time outdoors, for example walking or gardening
Below are some frequently asked questions about how to lose weight fast.
Can someone lose 10 pounds in 3 days?
Losing 10 pounds in 3 days is an unrealistic goal for most people and
Rapid weight loss like this may also make it
How can someone lose 20 pounds in a month?
To lose 20 pounds in a month, people must burn more calories than they take in, either through dietary changes or increased physical activity.
However, rapid weight loss like this
What happens if someone loses weight too fast?
Losing weight too quickly may also
People who experience rapid weight loss may be more likely to put weight back on in the future. The
It is important to remember that there are no quick fixes when it comes to weight loss.
The best way to manage weight is to eat a nutritious, balanced diet.
This should include 10 portions of fruit and vegetables, good quality protein, and whole grains. It is also beneficial to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day.
