It seems like everywhere we look, we see people whose extra pounds rapidly melt off thanks to weight loss drugs or surgery. In the age of rapid weight loss, why would anyone make it their goal to lose weight slowly?
Three good reasons to lose weight slowly over time
1. “People who lose weight at a gradual, steady pace—about 1 to 2 pounds a week—are more likely to keep the weight off than people who lose weight quickly,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
2. “Setting unrealistic goals, such as losing 20 pounds in 2 weeks, can leave you feeling defeated and frustrated,” cdc.gov also warns.
3. Number three has to do with the loose skin that rapid, significant weight loss can leave behind. According to WebMD, “slow, gradual weight loss gives that all-important collagen and elastin in the epidermis time to retract.” That’s especially critical if we’ve been carrying around those extra pounds since our 30s, 40s or even earlier. “Older skin has less collagen than younger skin and tends to be looser following weight loss,” according to healthline.com; and “the longer someone has had overweight or obesity, the looser their skin will be after weight loss due to elastin and collagen loss.
So, if losing 10 pounds in 10 weeks sounds like boarding the local train to Slim City, consider how those pounds likely crept up slowly over many months or years. In comparison, the return trip is actually an express!
Here are the 10 simple things that can help you lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks
Many of these approaches can help you maintain a calorie deficit, which is necessary for weight loss. Using more energy than you consume forces your body to consume fat for fuel.
- Drink More Water: Staying hydrated can help control hunger and boost metabolism.
- Eat More Protein: The Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. That’s about 0.36 grams per pound. So, a 170-pound woman would need around 60 grams of protein a day, depending on her height, age and activity level. Andrea Mathis, the body-positive registered dietician behind the wildly popular @beautifuleatsandthings platform on Instagram, told Sisters that protein can help you feel fuller. “And if you’re eating it with your snack, it can also help to keep you satisfied so that you're not grabbing chips and cookies,” she says.
- Cut Back on Sugary Drinks: Soda and other calorie bombs such as juice drinks and specialty coffees (we’re looking at you double Frappuccino with extra whipped cream!) don’t love us back. And, according to aarp.org, “sipping sugary drinks may be more harmful to your health than chowing down on a candy bar.” Even one a day can raise the risk of weight gain, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Replace sodas and sugary drinks with water, herbal tea, or black coffee.
- Increase Fiber Intake: According to Harvard Health, “high-fiber foods such as vegetables and whole grains can help with weight control and lower levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and promote a healthy gut microbiome—which ultimately may help reduce inflammation linked to increased risk of developing chronic conditions including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.”
- Exercise Regularly: “You want regular exercise. I usually love recommending cardio, but I also… really love recommending strength training because it helps to burn calories and it reduces stress,” Shari Andrews, M.D., a board-certified emergency physician, certified personal trainer, and certified nutritionist based in Glen Cove, New York, told Sisters. “If you’re trying to reduce fat, then you need to be in a calorie deficit. I’m not saying to starve yourself, but you want to make sure you’re burning a lot of energy. Aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes for most days of the week.”
- Get Enough Sleep: Poor sleep can disrupt your metabolism and increase cravings for unhealthy foods. For adults, getting less than seven to eight hours of restful sleep suppresses the regulating hormones leptin, which tells us when to stop eating, and the fast-acting ghrelin, which tells us when to eat. “They’re tied to our sense of feeling hungry and feeling satisfied,” Dayna Johnson, an Emory University sleep researcher and professor, told Sisters .
- Practice Portion Control: Use smaller plates and be mindful of portion sizes to avoid overeating. And while you’re at it, remember that we eat with our eyes also. Pro tip from Sisters contributor Robin D. Stone, LMHC: “How your food is plated can make you feel good about what you’re eating. Be mindful of colors and positioning foods just so. Take a picture if you want to capture your creativity!”
- Limit Processed Foods: Processed foods often contain added sugars, unhealthy fats, and empty calories. A lot of things we consider “healthy” like packaged granola bars with added sugars and stabilizers, as well as cereals and margarine, technically fall under the ultra-processed food banner. (Nearly 60 percent of calories consumed by adults in the United States come from these foods.) Follow these tips to help detox a trash diet.
- Stay Consistent: Stick to your healthy eating and exercise habits, even on weekends. Fitness and nutrition coach Caprice O’Bryant of Excuse Free Fitness told Sisters, “drinking water, eating balanced meals to control cravings and prioritizing sleep—everything you did to [achieve weight loss], you just maintain to keep it off. She advocates maintain habits “at a level that works for your peace and lifestyle. Not quitting is the cheat code.”
- Track Your Progress: Keep a food diary or use an app to monitor your eating habits and physical activity. Consider adding a note about your moods, too. “We might seek food’s comfort or company when we’re feeling lonely, scared, uncertain, bored or stressed, which are understandable given all that we’re dealing with,” health coach and therapist Stone writes. “…a food and mood log helps you become more aware of your habits and what drives them. Research shows that tracking what they ate helped obese dieters lose up to twice as much weight as those who didn’t keep records.”
Good luck building healthier habits over the next 10 weeks! Which of these tips do you think will be the easiest for you to start with?
