How to Lose 10 Pounds Fast?

Well, if you want to lose 10 pounds fast, you can always consider running 7 consecutive marathons without any food (Sarcasm intended). Seems absurd doesn’t it; but that’s how absurd most weight loss programs are these days. A typical weight loss program will tell you a dozen different things that are to be done starting from NOW. So you take a deep breath, make life altering changes within a day, eat unrealistically, workout like a super-athlete and after a week you’re toast! That’s the summary of a program that doesn’t promise long term affects. To lose weight and attain your ideal body composition and weight, you need to make a gradual change to your eating trends and physical activities.

Start gradually!

Don’t go for abrupt changes that alter your daily routine. Instead, make one change at a time. This is especially important if you’re the kind of person who has problems sustaining your weight loss – you start on a diet, stick to it, lose some weight and as soon as you’re off it, you gain the lost weight back (The classic ‘Yoyo’ dieter). So starting from today, you may want to cut on your soft drinks by 50%. Then, once you get used to this change, after 3 – 4 days, you may want to start snacking on air-popped popcorns instead of crisps. The changes can vary from person to person but the basic idea is to make one change at a time. On the other hand, starting from today, you can consider brisk walking 15 minutes each day. That’s not much to ask for and if you stick to it for a week; you can go ahead and do it for 30 minutes instead or switch to something more strenuous.

The broader perspective and short term goals

It’s important what your broader perspective is. The bigger picture is (or should be) that you want to get healthy, eat healthy and stay healthy while maintaining you ideal body weight. This is what your long term goal should be. This long term goal can be broken down into short term goals like ‘losing 1 lb in the first week’ or ‘getting into your old pair of jeans in 2 months’. Short term goals like these keep you motivated and you can set milestones for yourself. Once you’re done with one, go for the next one until you get to your long term goal.

Be patient and never lose hope

I can’t stress enough how important this point is. The weighing machine will play tricks on you; one day you’re 175 lb, the next day it may tell you that you’ve gained another pound! Be patient and re-evaluate your diet and exercise pattern. The second possibility could be that its just your body re-adjusting (E.g. Water retention) and it’s actually gearing up to lose the fab. I’ve often seen people who report that they have not lost any weight in the initial month regardless of the fact that they are following a strict diet and workout program. But once they start to lose weight, it’s actually quite impressive how much they lose in the following month’s time. In short, patience is the virtue. Give your body time to adjust to your new habits.

Eat closer to natural

Everyday countless number of people ask me for a good diet plan. Good diet plans do exist, no doubt in that but here’s a diet plan that is for everyone; ‘eat closer to natural’. Don’t eat anything whose ingredients you can’t recognize! So there goes all the packaged junk, processed boxes of ready-made flab and preserved poison we are so fond of! What are we left with? Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and meat; anything that is cooked fresh with minimal processing, can be a good option. Another tip is to ‘Avoid things that shine’. So, there goes everything fried. By following these simple 2 tips you can actually end up eating much healthier than what you eat at the moment.

The advice given so far isn’t hard to follow. The good thing about keeping it simple is that not only you’ll be able to lose 10 pounds fast; you’ll be able to sustain your weight loss in an attempt to stay healthy and fit.