How To Lose 10 Pounds In A Month? – Tips, Exercises, and Meal Plan

  • Evidence based
  • Fact checked
Dumbbells, oranges, grapefruit, and water
gettyimages/oleksajewicz

Are you wondering how to lose 10 pounds in a month? Check out the healthy ways to lose weight in a month. This includes meal and exercise plans for you!

Reaching your body’s weight loss isn’t something you should act drastic about. The truth is, losing weight can be more challenging than you think. You may even have tried doing it your way but could not get the desired result. If you’re wondering how to lose 10 pounds in a month, many things are involved, and you should know about them.

Well, how can you? 

11 ways – How to lose 10 pounds in a month

You could use some useful tips before starting your 1-month weight loss journey. These will help in promoting better and healthier weight loss. Besides, how could you lose all that weight if you don’t know what you’re doing? If you want to know how to shed 10 pounds off your current body weight in a month, try the following:

1. Count calories

You may want to start monitoring what you eat by counting calories if you want to lose weight in a month. To lose weight, you need to lose more calories than you eat. This involves cutting calories, creating a calorie deficit, and increasing physical activity.

Monitoring what you eat helps you to be more responsible with your diet and will positively impact your weight loss. You can start by journaling your food intake manually or using an app. You must also couple your calorie counting with diet and lifestyle modifications for more effective results.

2. Eat a high-protein breakfast

Your eating habits have a significant impact on your weight loss. Changing how much you eat alone will not work if you don’t make modifications in the quality of your diet.

Incorporate lean protein in your diet to promote muscle development, which in  turn will stimulate faster fat burning. Eat a breakfast that is high in protein to manage your weight. Eating a high-protein meal in the morning can help you control your appetite, reduce your food intake, and ultimately reduce your calorie intake.

3. Include fiber in your diet

Fiber is an extremely important part of the diet of anyone looking to lose 10 pounds in a month. Fiber stabilizes your blood sugar, slowly emptying your stomach and helping you stay full for longer. Consequently, your body doesn’t crave food as often as it used to, which aids in weight loss. 

It also helps with bowel regularity, essential for detoxification and weight loss. You will need 25 to 38 grams of fiber daily to enhance weight loss. This involves eating fruits, veggies, whole grains, and legumes.

4. Cut down on carbs

You should also eat fewer carbs if you want to lose weight. You need to reduce your intake of refined carbs (carbs that have lost their nutrient and fiber content due to processing). While they lack nutrients and fibers, they also penetrate your bloodstream quickly, causing blood sugar spikes, increased hunger, and weight gain.

Instead of refined carbs, you should eat whole grains like oats, brown rice, quinoa, and barley. Consuming whole foods is a healthy diet practice because these foods are more filling and have fewer calories.

5. Eat more vegetables

Also, vegetables help to decrease your calorie intake and body weight, thereby aiding your weight loss efforts. Vegetables supply your body with minerals, antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber necessary for weight loss. You should eat extra vegetables such as salads, side dishes, snacks, and sandwiches.

Vegetables are rich in micro and macronutrients that are essential to keep the body in a state of optimum health. These nutrients also simultaneously aid the processes by which the body burns fat, thus leading to weight loss. 

If you have set yourself a weight loss goal, then swapping your favorite comfort foods with healthier, nutritious, and low-calorie alternatives like fresh, home-cooked veggies is a great way to go about it.

6. Drink healthy beverages

Liquid calories make up a big part of the average person’s diet. Unhealthy beverages that you may be consuming might be one of the reasons you are overweight or repeatedly failing at your weight loss attempts. Soda, juice, and energy drinks are the sugar and empty calories you don’t need.

Instead, replace them with drinking more water which is a zero-calorie drink. Take between 34 to 68 fluid ounces daily. More so, drinking enough water keeps you full, boosts your metabolism, and reduces calorie intake.

Alternatively, you can drink healthy, unsweetened beverages with fewer calories like herbal tea, decaffeinated coffee, and seltzer water. Also, avoid consuming alcohol as it has lots of empty calories that will lead to weight gain, particularly in the form of stored belly fat.

7. Eat slowly

Try to slow down when eating. This helps you to focus more on enjoying the meal, decreasing your food intake, lowering your chance for a refill, and giving your body more time to process and digest your food. Try to practice mindful eating for a better and healthier eating experience and to help you reach that goal of losing 10 pounds in a month.

8. Practice intermittent fasting

Fasting helps you cut down your calorie consumption, which is the first thumb rule of any weight loss effort. Intermittent fasting, in particular, is effective for calorie restrictions and ultimately losing weight. During intermittent fasting, your eating period is controlled by a cycle of eating and fasting, usually between 16 to 24 hours.

There are different cycles, but the most popular one is the 16/8 method. You can restrict your eating window to an 8-hour timeframe and fast for the remaining 16 hours. If you club your fasting period with your night’s sleep, then you don’t have to forego any meals. This way, you will not have to struggle to  control your hunger pangs during the day.

9. Exercise regularly

Finally, you need to combine exercise with your diet. For example, cardio helps increase your heart rate, burning calories in your body and strengthening your heart and lungs. Incorporating 40 minutes of cardio time into your daily routine will promote healthy weight loss. Walking, jogging, biking, swimming, and boxing can help.

You can try HIIT (high-intensity interval training) for a faster fat burn. HIIT exercises will help you lose 10 pounds in a month. 

Incorporate strength training or resistance training exercises into your fitness regimen. Both strength training and resistance training exercises help to build muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism and REE(Resting energy expenditure). This way, you will not just lose weight safely, but your body will also develop the capacity to keep itself within a healthy weight range.

Make sure to consult a fitness expert or hire a personal trainer to help you design a workout routine that will incorporate the above exercises and tailor it to fit your needs and promote healthy weight loss.

10. Be active throughout the day

Every weight loss plan will require you to be physically active. This doesn’t require a full-blown workout routine, especially if you have a tight schedule.

You only need to do basic activities like typing, walking, gardening, working, or even fidgeting to burn some calories. This refers to the NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) term, which involves burning calories doing non-exercise activities.

Research [1]PubMed: Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): a component of total daily energy expenditure says that NEAT accounts for 50% of your daily calories, so you can burn calories with minimal effort. So, you may want to start taking short walks during your lunch breaks or evenings.

11. Get enough sleep

You also need to get enough sleep to lose weight quickly in a month. You need to set up a sleep routine and stick to it to prevent you from over-exhaustion, stress, and overeating.

Sleep deprivation [2]PubMed: A single night of sleep deprivation increases ghrelin levels and feelings of hunger in normal-weight healthy men causes an increase in the levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin, stimulating your appetite to overeat and load on carbs. You need at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night to keep yourself healthy, well-rested, and balanced.

One sample exercise plan

The fastest way to lose weight in a month is to have an exercise routine and stick to it. If you don’t know what exercises to do, you can follow the 7-day exercise sample below:

DaysExercises
Monday40 minutes brisk walk
Tuesday8 dumbbell exercises over two sessions or at once. Do 3 sets of 12 repetitions for each exercise. 30 to 40 minutes brisk walk
WednesdayAt least three circuit training workouts
Thursday40 minutes walk
FridayRepeat dumbbell exercises from day two Walk for 30 to 40 minutes
SaturdayRest 
Sunday40 minutes walk or rest day

One sample diet plan

Many people wonder about what food to eat to lose weight. But with a sample diet plan, you don’t have to worry anymore. Try this: 

DaysBreakfastLunchDinnerSnack
MondayScrambled eggs, spinach, and tomatoLettuce, cucumber, tomato, and tuna saladBean chilli with cauliflower rice1 fruit serving
TuesdayOatmeal, blueberries, milk, and nutsVegetable wrap and hummusSesame salmon, sweet potato mash, and purple broccoli1 tub of low fat, zero sugar yogurt + 10 unsalted dry/raw, roasted nuts
WednesdayCrushed avocado, fried eggs on rye toastChicken salad, corn, and lettuceSoba noodles and chicken stir-fry40g low-fat cheese + 4 wholegrain crackers
ThursdayProtein powder berries and oat milk smoothieTwo oatcakes and vegetable soupRoasted Mediterranean veggies, puy lentils, and tahini dressing1 fruit serving and 20g low-fat cheese
FridayBuckwheat pancakes, raspberries, and Greek yogurtBroccoli quinoa and toasted almondsFish tacos and coleslaw1 tub of low fat, zero sugar yogurt + 10 unsalted dry/raw, roasted nuts
SaturdayApple slices and peanut butterFeta omelet and minted peaGreens, baked sweet potato, and chicken breasts1 piece of small fruit and 20g cheese
SundayMuffin, eggs, and vegetablesCrispy tofuZucchini noodles and lentil Bolognese1 tub low-fat, zero sugar yogurt

How much weight can you actually lose in a month?

Of course, before you jump into your weight loss plan of action, you want to know how possible it is to reach your goal in a month. Can you lose 10 pounds in a month? How long does it take to lose 10 pounds? These and several other questions are probably crossing your mind. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [3]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Losing Weight estimates that you can lose between 1 to 2 pounds weekly and between 4 to 8 monthly. This is a healthy goal to aim for. Depending on their lifestyles, physical conditions, age, gender, and weight loss goals, some people may lose more.

While losing as much as 10 pounds is possible, you should stay within the healthy range instead of losing too much weight and putting your health at risk.

Lose weight, not health – Some precautionary measures

Losing too much weight is a thing. However, not losing weight but gaining more despite all efforts is also something to worry about. Staying healthy while losing weight is very important. You have to be cautious of your health throughout. Here’s how:

  • Plan your breakfasts, lunch, and dinner while sticking to your calorie allowance.
  • Track your BMI and maintain a food and weight diary to record the meals you eat and the weight you lose every week.
  • Drink plenty of water to prevent overeating and stay hydrated. 
  • Exercise regularly and use an app to track your workout, calorie balance, and food intake for physical and mental health.
  • Measure servings and slowly eat so you don’t end up overeating or undereating.
  • Practice mindful eating to help you be more in tune with your food and be more motivated towards your goal.
  • Stay positive, especially when you don’t get instant results as you anticipated.
  • Get social support for motivation by joining a fitness club, a partner, a positive social network, or any program that can help you with your goal.
  • Avoid junk and eat healthier snacks, like fruits, nuts, rice cakes, oat cakes, or unsweetened popcorn.
  • Cut on your alcohol intake.

Conclusion

A 10-pound weight loss over one month is definitely an achievable goal. You only need to follow everything you’ve read in the article. Be attentive to the signals your body gives you. If you think you’re going too hard on your weight loss plan, consider talking to a health professional.

The most important thing is to lose weight while staying healthy. Eating healthy, exercising regularly, and other healthy lifestyle habits are how you can lose 10 pounds in a month. And it’s a commitment. Good luck!

Similar Posts