Registered Dietitian Reveals How to Lose 5 Pounds Safely—No Gimmicks
If you're trying to lose weight, your research has probably led you to an array of crash diets and weight-loss pills promising to melt your love handles. But any qualified nutritionist and personal trainer will tell you the key to losing weight (and keeping it off) is a solid weight-loss plan comprising lifting, cardio workouts, eating in a calorie deficit, and consistency.
Once you have a good routine down, the weight should start to fall off. The difficult part comes when you've reached the end of your weight-loss journey and just have five pounds to go. Losing five pounds isn't like losing two pounds a week at the beginning of your journey, it requires a focused approach and dedication to reduced calorie intake and increased physical activity.
Whether your goal is to lose this weight in a couple weeks or one month, the key is understanding the importance of calories in vs. calories out, the ideal way to adjust your training, and how to do this safely—no weight loss pills or fat burners required.
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Where to Start on Your Weight-Loss Journey
Before creating a plan to lose five pounds in a week, we must first discuss where this weight will come from and what it takes to lose one pound of fat. In most cases, body weight is made up of bone, fat, muscle, and water. While all of these components are necessary for our health, when it comes to losing weight you'll want to focus on the amount of fat you have on your body. While healthy body fat will depend on your age and gender, if you're a man between the ages of 20 and 69, Medical News Today says you should sit somewhere between the 8- to 25-percent range.
If you want to lose weight quickly, your best bet is to cut water weight. However, if you want to lose weight and keep it off, you'll have to focus on fat loss. According to medical research, you need to burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat. So if you're hoping for a quick fix, (like losing five pounds for your friend's wedding next week), you'd technically have to burn 17,500 calories in seven days or 2,500 calories per day.
Not only will you have to adjust your calorie intake and diet to lose weight, but physical activity is also key. Incorporating high-intensity interval training (HIIT), running, cycling, StairMaster workouts, and jump roping are great ways to burn a lot of calories in a short span of time.
All of these activities burn anywhere between 250 to 500 calories in 30 minutes. Combining cardio workouts with lifting weights can help create a larger calorie deficit while also increasing metabolism and calories burned.
Related: How Much Muscle Can You Really Gain in One Week? A Strength Coach Tells All
How to Lose 5 Pounds in a Week
How easy it is for you to lose weight is based partially on genetics. “I’ve seen guys lose 1 percent in a week, but I’ve also seen guys take a month to lose 1 percent,” says Jim White, R.D., owner of Jim White Fitness and Nutrition Studios in Virginia Beach.
The majority of weight you can drop fast is not from fat, but water. “Carbohydrates hold onto about three times the amount of water, so if you want to dump weight quickly, you cut down on carbs and that eliminates water storage in the muscle tissues,” McCall explains.
This is 100 percent a short-term approach—as soon as you touch beer or bread, you’ll gain it back. But a carb-cutting strategy can reduce bloating, carving out your muscles more and helping you feign a body fat percentage in the immediate future.
“If you’re already healthy and need to be a little more cut, you can do it no problem—just stop doing what you don’t need to do, do what you do need to do, especially considering it’s a temporarily restricted lifestyle,” McCall adds.
Scroll down to find out what that lifestyle entails, so you can cut a percentage point of body fat in a week.
Related: 15 Best Exercises for Love Handles That Burn Belly and Back Fat
How to Lose 5 Pounds in a Month
Losing five pounds in one month is much more manageable (and safer) than trying to lose five pounds in a week. Instead of cutting out carbs to reduce water weight, you'll want to focus on your calorie intake, stick to a strict workout regimen, and make sure you're getting enough protein and sleep to recover properly. The goal here is to retain muscle mass while burning as much body fat as you can.
Creating a calorie deficit of 625 calories a day will lead to five pounds lost in four weeks. This can be achieved with decreased intake of calories, increased activity, or both. You want to strive for whole foods that are nutrient-dense yet low in calories while also eating enough protein to mitigate muscle loss or even build muscle while burning fat.
You'll also want to limit empty calories that leave you feeling full yet unsatisfied. This means cutting out processed foods, sugary foods and beverages, and fried food. Lastly, hydration and sleep are key factors in regulating weight with proper hydration contributing to metabolism and sleep-regulating hormones.
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10 Healthy Ways to Lose Five Pounds
Determine Your BMR and Estimated Energy Needs
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is a measure of your metabolism or how many calories your body burns naturally with no level of activity factored in. Using a website such as TDEE calculator will help you determine how many calories you need to maintain your weight, which will allow you to establish a calorie deficit. One popular way to calculate BMR is through the Harris-Benedict formula, which utilizes your weight, height, age, and sex to determine your calorie needs.
It's important to note that while the Harris-Benedict formula is a good place to start it's not always 100 percent accurate. Studies show that an overestimation of 10 to 15 percent is normally found, so take that into account before utilizing this method.
The Harris-Benedict Formula
66.5 + (13.75 x weight in kilos) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.75 x age in years)
Create a Calorie Deficit
To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Aim for a moderate calorie deficit of around 500 calories daily, achieved through a combination of diet and exercise. This approach helps you lose about 1 to 2 pounds per week, which is both safe and manageable. While tracking your food isn't always necessary, using tools like My Fitness Pal is useful when you're trying to lose a certain amount of weight.
To figure out how many calories you're eating, track everything you eat (sauces and oils included) for a few days. Once you've figured out how many calories you eat per day, deduct 500 calories going forward to reach your desired weight-loss goal.
Jay Sullivan
Incorporate Strength Training
Lifting weights or doing resistance exercises can help you build lean muscle, which increases your resting metabolic rate. More muscle means your body burns more calories throughout the day, even at rest.
“Resistance training is essential to ensure your muscle mass is retained and not used as an energy source to pay off some of the calorie deficit,” says Christopher Jordan, CSCS, director of exercise physiology at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute and creator of the 7-Minute Workout.
Eat High-Protein Foods
Protein promotes satiety, helping you feel fuller for longer. It also supports muscle preservation during weight loss, which is important for maintaining a healthy metabolism. Aim to include lean protein sources like chicken, turkey fish, tofu, or Greek yogurt with each meal. Research shows that a high-protein diet (consuming more protein than the recommended dietary allowance) can not only reduce body weight, but may also decrease fat while preserving fat-free mass. This combination is better known as body composition.
William and Susan Brinson
Prioritize Fiber-Rich Foods
Fiber, found in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, slows digestion and helps control hunger. High-fiber foods can improve satiety and help you maintain a calorie deficit more easily by naturally reducing your food intake.
Limit Sugary Drinks and Processed Foods
Sugary beverages, like sodas and energy drinks, provide empty calories without filling you up. Replace these with water or unsweetened tea to reduce your calorie intake. Processed foods such as pasta, wraps, cereals, and most of those 100-calorie ‘snack packs’ often contain added sugars and unhealthy fats, making it easier to overeat.
Substituting junk with real whole food that don't need to be modified or excessively processed for human consumption can help your health beyond the confines of losing weight. Not only do whole foods usually have a higher amount of fiber which can leave you feeling full longer, but they also contain the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy outside of your weight loss journey.
James Ryang
Increase Cardio
According to the American Heart Association, adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, like brisk walking or cycling, each week. If you work long hours or have a packed schedule, getting in cardio on top of your already scheduled workout can feel daunting. While not every person out there has to walk the popular 10,000 steps a day, fitting in walks in the morning, during lunch, or in the evening can be a good place to start. Not only will added cardio help with weight loss, but it can also support your heart health as well.
Up Your Sleep Game
Sleep is essential for regulating hormones that control hunger and stress. Insufficient sleep can lead to higher levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin and reduced levels of leptin, which can increase cravings and make it harder to stick to your calorie goals.
“Getting an extra half hour or 45 minutes of sleep can really make a difference,” McCall says. A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that missing your bedtime too often affects how your body responds to insulin, a hormone that regulates your appetite and metabolism. The cells of folks who slept only 4.5 hours a night were 30 percent less sensitive to insulin—comparable to the cells of someone who is obese or diabetic.
Plus, too many late nights activate a sabotaging cycle: “Studies have shown that poor sleep can result in overeating, and overeating can result in poor sleep,” White says. What’s more, logging five hours or less is directly related to gaining abdominal fat, according to a study in SLEEP. The last thing you need is lower willpower or unnecessary fat gain, so shoot for 7 to 8 hours a night. Not only will this help stabilize your hormones to avoid the pounds piling on, but you’ll have more energy to slay your workouts, too. You know to skip caffeine after 2 or 3 p.m. but also try not to exercise too late because it raises your body temperature which can sometimes affect your sleep, White adds.
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Drink Water Before Meals
Drinking water before meals can help fill you up to help with weight loss is a trick as old as time. Research claims that by drinking water before you eat, you'll reduce the likelihood of overeating. In a 2014 study, 50 overweight females drank roughly 16 ounces of water 30 minutes before breakfast, lunch, and dinner, in addition to their regular water consumption. At the end of the eight weeks, the participants experienced increased appetite suppression and a reduction in body weight, body fat, and body mass index (BMI). Staying hydrated also supports metabolism and digestion, helping your body efficiently process nutrients and burn calories
Practice Portion Control
Instead of drastically cutting foods out, focus on controlling portion sizes. Use smaller plates, read serving sizes, and eat mindfully to avoid overeating while still enjoying a balanced diet. If you struggle with going over your allotted portions, it might be best to count the calories you're consuming (at least at first). Once you start to recognize roughly how many calories you're eating per day and can stick to them, you can drop the calorie counting act.
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