Remember, this quick weight loss approach can only help you cut down on your water weight but not fat. Here, we have listed a few simple tips to shed some pounds as quickly as in a week. Take a look!
How To Lose Weight In A Week
Following a few healthy practices can help you lose weight in one week at home easily (1).
A. Change Your Lifestyle Habits
Our habits go a long way in determining the quality of our life and health. Embrace the good ones and chuck the bad ones, and you will see yourself opening the doors to healthfulness.
1. Set A Realistic Goal
Yes, goals are necessary to motivate yourself to lose weight. But while setting goals, you must be realistic. Unrealistic goals can only be deterrents in your quest for weight loss (2).
2. Set A Time
Reinvent yourself as a slow eater. Cherish the food you are eating. Set a timer for 20 minutes, and ensure you are spending each minute savoring the dish before you. Mindful eating and chewing well can help in losing weight (3). Hogging on your food can only lead to overeating, as your stomach doesn’t have the time to tell your brain that it is full.
3. Reduce Your Portions
It is always important to check what is there on your plate – quality as well as quantity. Portion control is not only a good practice to lose weight, but it also reduces excessive energy intake (4). Cut the portions in half and ensure you are choosing smaller portions. A study conducted at The Pennsylvania State University shows the link between large portions and obesity. It also says that for weight management, you can eat larger portions of low-energy-dense foods (5).
4. Don’t Eat In Front Of The Television
Merging television time with your dining time can lead to mindless eating. You tend to focus on what is happening on the television screen and become unaware of what is going on inside your mouth and stomach. Ultimately, you end up overeating. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that watching television and snacking could have a negative impact on health status and increase energy intake (6). Eat at the dining table and concentrate on what you are eating.
5. Eat Cautiously
You must start eating before you feel too hungry and stop before you are full. This is because when we starve, we tend to eat more than we actually should. This is the reason people who starve themselves to lose weight only end up gaining more. Remember to eat slowly and not when you are starving. Also, remember to end your meal just before you are about to be satisfied.
6. Get Good Sleep
Your sleeping patterns have a lot to do with your weight. Lack of adequate sleep can eventually lead to weight gain. A study showed that people who slept less than 5.5 hours tended to consume more carbohydrate-rich snacks than people who slept for 7 hours (7). Practice deep breathing exercises and get good sleep to regulate your hunger-satiety hormone.
7. Follow The 80/20 Rule
This rule is very interesting to follow to lose weight. This rule allows you to eat nutritious food 80% of the time, leaving 20% of the time to indulge in your favorite foods. This way, you can binge less and control yourself when you feel like binging.
8. Maintain A Positive Attitude
Maintain a positive outlook throughout, and always say to yourself that you are healthy and active. Most don’t understand, but what you do to yourself can have a dramatic impact on your mind, and ultimately, on your life. Reduce stress and learn not to take everything too seriously.
B. Change Your Food Habits
As the popular saying goes, you are what you eat. You are also what you don’t eat! What you keep consuming plays the most important role in keeping you fit and healthy and helping you lose weight in a week. [Read: How Does The Milk Diet Work For Weight Loss]
1. Eat Plenty Of Fruits And Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables play a vital role in weight management and health. They are low in calories and contain water and fiber (8). The abundance of water and fiber can make you feel full, thereby discouraging overeating or binging on junk food (9). In an American study, it was established that there was a link between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased weight and fat loss (10).
2. Drink Soup Regularly
Having a soup at the beginning of a meal can curb your appetite, and you will end up eating less. Also, soups can be highly nutritious but low in calories – precisely something every person who wants to lose weight needs. In a study conducted at The Pennsylvania State University, it was found that consuming low-energy-dense soup can help decrease your calorie intake and enhance weight loss (11). You can ideally go for vegetable-based soups, soups made of chicken or beef broth, and tomato soups without cream – these will fill you up with fewer calories (12). Make sure you prepare soups without using thickeners or fats.
3. Consume Whole Grains
Whole grains are one of the healthiest foods you will find in your kitchen. These grains get digested slowly, ensuring you feel full for long. Eating whole grains decreases body weight and visceral fat, which is important to improve insulin resistance (13).
4. Eliminate Sugar Intake
Sugar can be worse than fat when it comes to harmful health effects (14). Sugar-sweetened beverages and carbonated soft drinks are major contributors to weight gain (15). In a study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, it was found that consumption of beverages sweetened with sugar can cause weight gain in women (16).
5. Avoid Bacon
Bacon contains a lot of fat – 68% of the total calories you get from bacon actually come from fat, and about half of that is saturated fat (17). According to a Canadian study, a diet rich in saturated fat can contribute to the development of obesity (18). It can have severe repercussions, and the best way to avoid them is by avoiding bacon. You can, instead, replace it with some veggies or eggs.
6. Drink Green Tea
Health experts across the world vouch for green tea for a reason – it is amazingly healthy. Green tea is known to boost the calorie-burning mechanism in our body. According to a study, green tea can help you lose weight (you might have to drink about seven decaf cups a day). Green tea contains loads of antioxidants, the most potent of them being the catechins that have been found to boost metabolism and reduce body fat (19).
7. Eat Healthy Snacks
Choosing a healthy snack is challenging when you are trying to lose weight. According to multiple studies, snacks that are high in protein and fiber are beneficial to curb hunger, impart satiety, and aid weight loss (20). Fruits, granola bars, or a packet of plain popcorn, oatmeal, fruits with yogurt – anything similar can serve the purpose. These contain fewer calories and are far better than high-calorie snacks.
8. Say No To Anything Crispy, Creamy, And Cheesy
A big no to sauces, fried foods, and high-calorie eats. You can skip the cheese while having sandwiches. Refrain from adding mayonnaise or butter while you are cooking something at home. Lemon and pepper make a great combination for zest. Ditch the creamy soups and embrace the broth-based ones. Creamy and cheesy foods are possibly one of the best sources of saturated fats, and hence, carry the recipe for self-destruction. They increase bad cholesterol and make you vulnerable to weight gain and heart disease (21).
9. Consume Good Fats
Consuming good fats helps nourish the cells and keeps the body functioning at optimum levels. Sources of good fats include foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, avocados, walnuts, a mixture of seeds, etc. They are found to help in losing weight by improving satiety and curbing hunger pangs (22).
10. Take Vitamin C
It is not unwise to consider vitamin C as one of the ideal nutrients for weight loss. The fruits that are replete with vitamin C, like oranges, grapes, kiwis, etc., maintain your health and stop you from binging. They make you feel full without adding too many calories. Vitamin C helps to burn more fat and is inversely related to body mass (23). Hence, consuming vitamin C-rich foods can aid in weight loss.
11. Drink Plenty Of Water
Make it a habit of drinking a glass of water before (to prevent overeating) and after (to aid digestion) a meal. People who drank more water and less soda or other high-calorie beverages were more successful in losing weight (24). Numerous American studies have also backed the efficacy of water in aiding healthy weight loss (25), (26), (27).
C. Change Your Exercise Habits
How you shape your body more or less determines how you shape your life. No wonder people who wake up and run in the morning end up being healthier and happier. Do you also want to be like them? Then, better keep your body moving.
1. Do Yoga
Yoga benefits all the parts of your body. If done regularly, it can also aid weight loss and get you back in shape. Yoga forges a strong mind-body connection. You will be aware of what you are eating, and you will know when you are full. This encourages mindful eating, a practice that can go a long way in keeping you fit and healthy. A study in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine stated that practicing yoga could help lower weight gain and improve cardiovascular fitness and flexibility (28), (29).
2. Burn Extra Calories
You can burn a few extra calories every day by doing a few quick and easy exercises. Simply walk a mile within 20 minutes or clean your house for 30 minutes. All such activities can help burn calories.
3. Exercise In The Morning
Morning exercise helps to control appetite and prevent excess calorie intake and is more effective in helping you lose weight compared to evening exercise (29). It also improves the quality of sleep at night. This, eventually, could also promote weight loss.
4. Lift More Weights
If there is any smart way of losing body fat, it is lifting weights. Weightlifting burns body fat and helps build lean muscles (30). It is also effective in reducing belly fat. More muscles means quicker metabolism – something that every individual who wants to lose weight must aim for.
How much weight can you lose in a week? Check out the infographic below to learn how to reduce a few calories from this soup without compromising its taste. Weight loss depends on your body type and medical conditions. You can lose up to 6 to 10 pounds, which would be water weight and not fat. Is it possible to lose 10 pounds in 1 week? Yes. It is possible to lose 10 pounds in 1 week if you follow healthy practices. However, this is a drastic weight loss and is not advocated by experts. You can lose a maximum of 2 -3 pounds per week in a healthy way. Else, it can have adverse effects and also rebound after some time. Is it possible to lose 5 kg in a week? Yes, but it is not a healthy way of weight loss. You can instead follow a balanced diet and do the right physical activities consistently to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. Consult a doctor to get a diet plan suitable for you. How can I lose my belly fat in a week? You cannot totally lose belly fat in a week. To lose belly fat in a reasonable time, you can engage in exercises like Russian twists, side planks, push-ups, and sit-ups. Additionally, avoid consuming alcohol as it can make you feel bloated and lead to weight gain around the abdomen.
