You're reading a guide on losing weight in two weeks. If this goal is something you find yourself struggling with, then congratulations. You've come to the right place. In the following article, we will discuss how to lose weight in two weeks, eating healthy and exercise included.
First of all, let's look at exactly what that entails.
"Ok, I'm sold. How much weight can I lose in two weeks?"
There is no easy answer to this question because everyone has different goals and will lose weight at a different pace depending on their starting point. If you are new to working out or eating healthily, expect to see bigger results than someone who is starting from a point of already eating healthily and exercising regularly.
It's recommended that you aim to lose about 10% of your current body weight to start with while keeping the average rate at 1-2 pounds a week. Once you have managed to lose the 10% optimal weight, you have to keep that weight off for about six months before trying to continue shedding more pounds.
"What if I want to lose 5 pounds in two weeks?"
A realistic goal to aim for is about 1-2lbs of weight lost per week - which equates to about 5lbs in 2 weeks. Therefore, you are looking at 5lbs in 14 days or 7lbs in 21 days. To lose that amount of weight you must aim to eat about 500 calories less than your body needs each day. This will put it into a slight caloric deficit and will help speed up the process of losing weight.
You could also try increasing your exercise levels which, of course, will increase your weight loss. This could mean taking up a new fitness class or starting some form of recreational sports (even if it's just joining the local football club). Adding something new to your life will help you lose weight because you're challenging yourself in ways that you haven't before hence you'll burn more calories.
Now, let's have a look at the top 20 best ways to cut your weight in two weeks
As you can imagine, losing up to 4-5 pounds in just a period of two weeks will require you to put in a lot of effort and dedication. The good thing, however, is that your goal is achievable, despite not being an easy undertaking. So, here are the best 20 tips to get you started on your two-week weight loss journey:
1. Drink green tea
Taking green tea several times a day is one of the best dietary tricks to boost your metabolism. That could be one of the reasons why it is quite popular nowadays amongst both men and women.
Not only does this beverage come with numerous health benefits, but it also has impressive weight loss properties. That's in consideration that green tea contains antioxidants known as catechins that enhance fat burning (link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6944347_Diepvens_K_Westerterp_KR_Westerterp-Plantenga_MS_Obesity_and_thermogenesis_related_to_the_consumption_of_caffeine_ephedrine_capsaicin_and_green_tea_Am_J_Physiol_Regul_Integr_Comp_Physiol_292_R77-R85), according to Dr Margriet Westerterp-Plantenga of Maastricht University.
So, for all of you looking into ways on how to lose weight in two weeks, then you will be glad to know that green tea is one of the best choices you could make right now.
2. Avoid sugary drinks
If you often like to treat yourself with sugary drinks whenever your sweet tooth kicks in, you probably should bring to end this addiction. Doctors from the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health have proven that sugary beverages are linked to obesity and overweight issues (link: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/sugary-drinks/#:~:text=A%20groundbreaking%20study%20of%2033%2C097,than%20those%20who%20did%20not.).
With your new goal of losing weight, it would make a lot of sense to greatly reduce or even completely break off your intake of sugary drinks. You can trick your brain with an alternative like all-natural sweet blended juice from the fruits that you like a lot whenever you feel the urge to sneak some sugar into your system.
3. Hide healthy foods
This rule is based on the "out of sight, out of mind" concept. A study done by scientists based at the Ohio State University suggested that you are more likely to crave unhealthy snacks when you know that you can access them easily.
Doctors at both the VTT technical research centre as well as Cornell University have supported the results of the study and recommended keeping unhealthy foods in cupboards as opposed to placing them on tables. If you have to place something that you can eat on the table, the best option to go with would be a bowl of fruit.
4. Brush your teeth regularly
By brushing your teeth more often, you are not only cleaning your teeth to ensure the health of your mouth, but you could also be making it easier to shed the excess pounds. This was demonstrated in a study involving 15,000 people done by the Korean University in conjunction with the Korean Catholic University.
The main link between brushing and weight loss lies in sending a signal to your brain that your meal is over. By removing the leftovers in your mouth your mouth should stop contacting your receptors which will, in turn, get the idea that your meal is over hence your appetite goes down.
5. Laugh more
Laughter is not only fun, but it also comes with impressive health benefits. By laughing, you are engaging different muscle groups, and especially your abs. According to data presented by the medical department at Vanderbilt University, laughing for 10-15 minutes every other day can help you burn up to 40 calories.
One of the most effective yet easy ways to get a good laugh is to watch more comedy shows whenever you have the time. If that does not work well for you, consider joining a Laughter Yoga club as an alternative. With more than 6,000 groups worldwide, you can see that there indeed is some seriousness in laughter.
And weight loss is not the only potential benefit that you can gain from joining a Laughter Yoga club. There are lots of other benefits such as reducing stress, replacing your body, having a healthier heart, making new friends, and even increasing your chances of getting pregnant according to a 2011 study!
6. Drink more water
Did you know that drinking more water can enhance your metabolism and speed up the fat-burning process in your body? Well, if you didn't, now you do. A study done by a team of scientists based in the Humboldt University and the German Institute of Human Nutrition has proven this.
In the research, the team of scientists had the participants of the study drink two large glasses of water. The results were intriguing since their metabolism became faster by 30% and became more efficient.
Scientists have claimed that drinking 50 FL OZ (1.5 ltrs) of water every day can allow you to burn about 17,400 calories in one year. By burning that amount of calories, you should have lost about 4lb (1.8kg) just by drinking water.
7. Use the 2.5-minute rule to your advantage
Working out is the lifeblood of losing weight, but the secret lies in doing it right. Scientists at the Univerisity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the Colorado State University came up with a workout rule known as the "Sprint Interval Training".
This rule requires that you have an intense workout for 2.5-minutes every day. The objective of this rule is simple: by exercising heavily for 5-30 seconds with 4-minutes rest periods, you have a better chance of increasing your metabolism.
This workout trick can allow you to burn as much as 400 extra calories more than if you were just relying on regular workout programs.
8. Eat less, more often
The way this tip works is easy: by eating little meals more often, you are basically sending a signal to your body that there is no need to store fat since you have enough food.
Whenever you skip meals, however, your body will interpret this as a scarcity of food. In the end, it will push you to eat more whenever you have your meals so that it can store more fat to keep your energy reserves ready.
Research done by the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto showed that eating little and more often can reduce your insulin levels by about 28% and your cholesterol levels by about 15%. Since insulin controls the blood sugar level, a reduction in the amount of insulin means that glucose will not reach either your muscles or your fat cells.
9. Avoid the bright blue light from displays
Did you know that blue light has an effect on your metabolism? That's why it is advisable to eliminate the blue light from your phone's display if you use it before sleeping. Experts, however, recommended avoiding the light completely before going to bed.
Scientists at the departments of Physiological Anthropology at Kyushu University performed a study that proved that blue light is not good for sleep. According to them, the bright light produced by screens confuses the brain, limiting its ability to produce melatonin.
"How is this supposed to affect my weight?" you might ask. Well, your metabolism is directly linked to your sleep patterns as well as the amount and quality of your sleep. By adjusting the light tones produced by your screen, you should see some improvement in your sleep patterns and the quality of your sleep.
10. Focus on high-quality calories
Counting calories is considered a foolproof way of keeping track of what you eat versus what you need, but that's not where it ends. There are lots of factors that you have to consider when it comes to your calorie intake
One of the most important factors is the type of food that you eat since different foods have different qualities of calories. For example, a high-calorie burger cannot be compared to high-calorie nuts. That's in consideration that nuts, unlike a burger, are natural and minimally processed.
That's not where it ends: nuts, seeds, and veggies contain more healthy elements even at high-calorie levels compared to processed foods. As such, they would be the better choice for enriching your body with vitamins and minerals while keeping you satiated so that you don't have to give in to your cravings.
Rather than just counting your calories, experts advise consuming foods that contain more high-quality calories. Nuts, vegetables, and seeds are the best choice if you are looking to lose weight in the shortest time possible.
11. Give intermittent fasting a thought
While this is not the easiest way to shed some extra pounds, it has a higher success rate. The main objective of intermittent fasting is to allow the digestive system of your body to catch up and burn calories. When using intermittent fasting to encourage faster weight loss, you are teaching your body to use the fat it has stored as a source of energy.
One thing that you have to keep in mind before trying out this weight loss tip is that everyone's body is different, and thus the effects and results of this technique will differ from one person to the other. As such, it is highly recommended that you check with your physician before using any kind of fasting for weight loss.
Among the greatest positives of intermittent fasting is that even though it's never so easy to start, it gets easier with time.
12. Go with whole foods
This point is closely related to the one discussed above on consuming the best quality of calories rather than focusing on the numbers. Making sure that as many of your meals are composed of whole foods is always a great idea since such foods are not stripped of their nutrients like the processed ones.
As such, making sure that more of your meals are composed of seafood, vegetables, fruits, meat, and poultry is a good idea as your body will have the best tools it can get for its metabolism to function optimally.
13. Consume more healthy fat
Experts are convinced that one of the best dietary tricks to burn more fat is to be fat-adapted. What this basically means for you is that your body will switch the main energy source that it uses to keep you going.
As such, the recommended thing to do is to ensure that your meals contain more healthy fats with fewer carbs, which makes fat the more preferable fuel as opposed to sugar. As if that is not enough, you should feel less hungry when you include more healthy fats in every meal.
14. Decrease your overall calorie intake
As mentioned earlier, it's always a good idea to focus on the quality of calories that you include in your food. Keep in mind, however, that while you do so, your basic goal should be to ensure that you only consume the number of calories that your body needs so that you won't have an excess.
How this works is so simple: you essentially want to consume fewer calories than your body needs, so that you can lose even more weight in the long run. Keep in mind that you don't even have to throw in a snack in between meals. Your body should find a way of taking care of itself so as to burn the excess fat and use the stored energy in between meals.
15. Allow cool air into your bedroom
This seems in all ways unrelated to weight loss and burning of fats, but the research done on this topic tells a different story. A study that was done by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in conjunction with the National Institute of Health showed that having cool temperatures in a room is good for influencing brown fat.
Brown fat is simply a layer of fat that is supposed to protect your body from freezing. The result of the entire process is that your body will split white fat and use the process of chemical energy to create heat. This study involved subjecting the participants to different sleeping temperatures, which were cool, neutral, and warm.
According to the study results, men who slept in the cool rooms were able to burn a considerable amount of white fat from their abdomen. These findings have since allowed experts to confidently suggest that sleeping in cooler rooms, can help you lose abdomen fat faster. You can, therefore, use the most efficient way - even if it means turning on your AC at night - to ensure that your bedroom remains cool through the night.
16. Don't underestimate cardio
Even though interval training is important, you should not do away with regular-paced cardio completely. This kind of cardio is important when you want to build endurance while still serving as a way of giving your body a break.
It doesn't even matter whether you are leisure-cycling or walking on an incline on a treadmill. This form of training will help to maintain a moderate heart rate while allowing you to burn a few more calories without having to stress your body a lot.
Regular-paced cardio is the best option if you want to be able to still go hard at the gym the next day. It's more like a way of making sure that your body does not shut down fully so that you remain ready to train hard while not revving yourself up so much that you are unable to have a restful night.
17. Forget about sleeping during the day
Did you know that scientific proof has shown that people burn less fat when they are more active during the night and switch to sleeping during the day? This is proven by a study done by a group of researchers from the University of Colorado.
The study involved 14 healthy participants and was carried out for a period of 6 days. For the first two days, the participants were directed to sleep enough during the night and were not supposed to take daytime naps.
For the remaining 4 days, the participants were required to change their sleeping patterns to imitate the sleeping schedules of owls. According to the results, it was clear that taking more naps during the day affected one's metabolism. The main reason for this was a failure of the biological clock to flip so as to fit the participant's schedules.
While it's not entirely possible for everyone to sleep at night since there are some people who take night shifts, experts recommend lowering the number of calories that one consumes by about 50-60. That way, you should be in a better position to achieve your weight loss goals with much ease or even maintain your current weight without having to try too hard.
18. Break your diet once a week
You can use cheat meals once a week to keep yourself focused on the main goal, which is to keep yourself fit by maintaining a healthy weight or losing the extra pounds to reach a healthier weight.
Cheat meals should contain the foods that you so much desire even if they are not supposed to be in your diet. Breaking your diet is more about tricking your mind into interpreting the cheat meals as a reward for maintaining a healthy diet for 6 days.
Since we all love rewards for accomplishments or putting a considerable amount of effort into making something possible, it will be easier for you to avoid bad foods while focusing on the reward.
19. Make stress your enemy
Enemies are to be avoided in the majority of cases, and one such enemy is stress. A study conducted at the Ohio State University, College of Medicine, made it clear that stress is one of the top factors that slow down our metabolism.
As if that is not trouble enough, being stressed out increases one's likelihood of bingeing on greasy, sweet, and salty snacks. According to experts, being in stressful situations and consuming high-calorie foods is a direct ticket to gaining more weight, since stress affects metabolism.
20. Get enough sleep
As mentioned before, sleep is directly linked to your metabolism. As such, you should aim to achieve an average of 8 hours of sleep, preferably from 10 PM /11 PM to 6 AM/ 7 AM. You will not only benefit from an improved metabolism, but it will be easier for you to get rid of belly fat.
A study conducted by assistant professor IRA Schechter of Columbia University Medical Centre and assistant professor Murray Pierre st. Onge at Columbia University showed that it was more likely for individuals who slept less than 5 hours to gain more weight and be obese as opposed to those who were sleeping enough.
To sum up,
The above are the 20 best tips that you should take into consideration when looking to shed a few extra pounds. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it will certainly help you be closer to your weight loss goals. And while losing weight is not always a walk in the park, it is always a good idea to stay focused and dedicated as you are more likely to achieve your goals that way.
Which tips did you like the most? Be sure to leave a comment below, and recommend other tips that may have worked wonders for you or someone you know.
