Losing weight isn't easy, and it's even harder to do it quickly. We often hear from men who want to learn how to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks.
But before we get into that, is it even possible to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks? More importantly, SHOULD you lose that much weight that quickly?
The generally accepted approach is to lose between 1-2 pounds per week. This is a safe and relatively easy way to sustain weight loss for the long term.
Losing a lot more than that, for example, 5 pounds a week, means a lot of intense activity and understanding the calorie deficit system.
With that said, the first 10 pounds are the easiest to lose!
Anecdotally, we have found that some men lose most of their weight in the first few weeks of starting a weight loss regime. The theory is that your body quickly adjusts to the new routine, making weight loss much more difficult after the initial phases. So, you're going to need a plan for getting over the plateau, or you could end up gaining the weight back.
Slow and steady wins the race, and there's a good reason everyone gives this advice. Small changes are much easier to maintain for the long haul. But if you're still convinced that you need to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, keep reading and we'll teach you:
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- How to set and maintain YOUR daily calorie goals.
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- Example workouts for quick weight loss.
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- Sample weight loss meal plans.
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- Top tips to help you stick to the plan.
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- And more!
Welcome To The Fit Father Project – Your New Nutrition and Workout Resource!
At the Fit Father Project, we specifically help busy men over 40 get back in shape by offering free information and resources on our website, backed up with our Fit Father 30X (FF30X) Program.
This article will teach you how to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, but we want to help you make healthy and sustainable life changes that will last.
The goal of everything we do here at the Fit Father Project is to simplify eating and exercise for you, so you can get in great shape and stay strong and healthy for your family — without any unnecessary complications.
Sound good? Good. Let's dive in!
How To Lose 10 Pounds In 2 Weeks
First, let's look at caloric intake. The average man needs to consume around 2,000-2,500 calories a day.
Reducing your caloric intake by 500 will allow you to burn 3,500 fewer calories a week, which will equate to losing 1 pound of fat.
In order to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, you'll first need to lose 5 pounds in one week. That's 17,500 calories less than your maintenance amount per week!
This would likely mean you would need to cut your food intake by more than half. It shouldn't take too much effort for you to visualize this and realize how difficult that will be.
Eating less will reduce the calories you consume, but that's not enough. The secret is to eat fewer calories than your maintenance amount.
How many calories should you eat each day to lose weight? Learn how to calculate your EXACT number!
Example Meal Plan
Really think about what you're eating. Remember, every calorie counts in your rapid weight loss journey.
You'll want to avoid processed foods and focus on whole-grain foods, vegetables, fruits, and lean meats. Try to limit sugar intake to a maximum of 100g per day and eat tons of fiber. Fiber is great for your digestive system and helps you to feel fuller, extending the time between meals.
Focus on fruits and vegetables — they are usually virtually calorie-free and will help you with your weight loss mission — and drink plenty of water to hydrate and boost weight loss.
Exercise is important (and we'll get to that in a minute), but all the exercise in the world means nothing if you're not going to reduce your calorie intake.
You can't out-exercise a bad diet!
The real trick to eating fewer calories is to reduce the size of your plate. At meal times, keep our Perfect Plate Method in mind:
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- Half of each plate should be vegetables, particularly lower-calorie non-starchy ones.
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- One-fourth of each plate should be nutritious, protein-rich foods.
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- One-fourth of each plate should be fiber-rich carbohydrates and/or heart-healthy fats.
Here's another example of what you could eat, assuming your maintenance calories are 2,500 and you're trying to consume just 2,000 a day:
- Breakfast: Oatmeal with blueberries – 230 calories
- Snack: 10 seeded crackers with 2 chopped carrots and some avocado yogurt dip – 259 calories
- Lunch: 2 slices of tomato and cheddar cheese on toast with mixed greens, carrots, cucumber, and a hard-boiled egg – 464 calories.
- Snack: 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt, add chopped walnuts and apricots – 206 calories
- Dinner: Chicken Tikka Masala, homemade with brown rice and a little spinach – 612 calories
- Evening snack: Sliced apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter – 200 calories
Total calories: 1,971
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Example Workouts for Quick Weight Loss
If you want to know how to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, then you'll realize that you can't do it just by eating less. You also need to start exercising.
The good news is that it's easier to lose weight at the start of your journey than it is at the end!
Work out your maintenance calorie figure, set yourself a new calorie goal with a deficit of 500 calories, and then add in exercise to burn another 2,000 calories a day!
Anything that gets your heart racing will help, but you're still going to need to do a lot of exercises to burn an additional 2,000 calories, assuming your body can manage it.
Try These Calorie-Burning Activities
- Cycling for 1 hour burns 850 calories
- Rope jumping for 1 hour burns 700-800 calories
- Swimming for 1 hour is 700 calories
- Running for 1 hour burns 500-600 calories
- A HIIT workout burns 250-400 calories in 30 minutes
- Strength training for 1 hour burns 200-250 calories
As you can see, burning an additional 2,000 calories per day is nearly impossible. To lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, you're going to need more than a good plan. You're going to need an unstoppable mindset.
The exercises you choose to do will depend on your current fitness level and the amount of time and space available. The best exercises to lose weight generally require intense bursts of energy. Don't forget; you should only work to your body's current limits.
To lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, you would need to do the following every day.
- 30 minutes of running in the morning, preferably before breakfast. Burn 300 calories
- 15 minutes of rope jumping mid-morning. Burn 200 calories
- 30 minutes of HIIT training at lunchtime. Burn 400 calories
- 30 minutes of swimming after work. Burn 350 calories
- 1 hour of cycling in the evening. Burn 850 calories
Total calories burned – 2,100.
Mix these up and add in some strength training exercises, such as the following, and you'll be taking giant strides towards achieving your goal of burning 10 pounds in 2 weeks.
You should aim for 3 sets of 10-12 reps on each exercise since this is the best range for weight loss. The weight you choose should be easy enough to finish each set, but you are unable to do any more.
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Top Tips To Help You Stick To The Plan
If you need any help losing weight, FF30X will give you the motivation and inspiration you need. The following tips should also help:
Drink Lots of Water
Water hydrates your body, helping to ensure all your cells and organs are working properly. It is also a great way to check whether you are really hungry or not.
Many people confuse hunger with thirst. Before you decide to have a healthy snack, simply drink a glass of water and wait 10 minutes. Most of the time, you're not really hungry. Even if you do decide to eat, you have still added a bunch of water to your stomach, which means you'll eat less.
Don't Burn Out
When you sleep, your body repairs muscle damage, but it also balances your hormones. This is why you need to get between 6-8 hours of sleep a night. Getting less than this is likely to make it harder to achieve your fat loss goals.
But you should also be aware that your muscles need to rest and recover between exercises. It is generally best to do the same exercise for two days and then have a 24-48 hour rest before working the same muscles.
This means you'll need to mix the different exercises in order to maximize repair time and calorie burn. But you also need to maintain this level of exercise in order to burn enough calories. This can be difficult, especially if you haven't exercised properly for a long time.
Carbohydrates
Not all food is created equal. While fiber will help you to feel fuller for longer, carbs are more likely to decrease your fat-burning capabilities.
Research suggests you can lose 2-3 times more body fat when you adopt a low-carb diet. This may not be something you want to do for the long term, but it can certainly help when discovering how to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks.
Don't forget low-carb, high-protein meals before workouts will encourage fat burning.
Buddy Up
Your body will be going through some dramatic changes, especially if you're trying to lose 10 pounds in such a short space of time.
It's a good idea to find a partner, preferably someone else who has a similar goal. Not only will you be able to inspire and motivate each other, but you'll also have someone to look out for you if you start to feel faint or feel any other signs associated with dramatic weight loss.
Drink
Water is great for you, but caffeine can give you an energy boost. Green tea is thermogenic, increasing your body temperature and forcing your body to burn calories to keep itself cool. Leave the milk out of these drinks, and you can enjoy as many as you want.
Food Journal
A food journal does more than just track your food and make sure you're not eating things you shouldn't be. It also makes you accountable. Temptation can be strong. But when you know you're going to have to write it in a journal, the desire to eat something unhealthy will fade quicker than you realize.
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The Takeaway
Just because you know how to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks doesn't mean you SHOULD.
What this guide should illustrate is that changing your eating habits, combined with some exercise, can help you to lose weight.
You don't need to take it to the extreme.
Adopting a slower approach to weight loss will allow you to change your lifestyle habits for the long term. That's the real secret to any weight loss plan. Taking it slow allows you to create new sustainable lifestyle habits, dramatically reducing the risk of the weight returning.
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*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on how to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks.
