Often people are not really overweight but instead are just looking at how to lose 10 pounds that have been hanging around for a few weeks or even a few years that they do not know how to get rid of.
Well, I have a few ideas on how to lose 10 pounds now and fast that should get you on the right track.
How to Lose 10 Pounds
1. When trying to lose weight it comes down to energy in and energy out.
There is no real way around this. To lose 10 pounds you need to burn 35000 calories
more than you take in.
The math doesn’t lie and you can’t lie to a scale either.
2. Most of our body is water and because of this, there is water retention.
Your body combats what is throwing off electrolytes or stress or other factors and it will naturally retain water.
3. Fat is high in calories. High water foods are low in calories. In order to change that input-output ratio, you need to raise the amount of low-calorie density foods and lower the amount of high caloric density foods.
So eat less red meat and fatty deep fried food and eat more fruits and veggies which are high in water content and nutrients.
4. All Weight loss comes with a reason. What is the reason that you want to lose the weight?
When you are hungry and drive by a McDonalds or KFC and just want to do drive-thru what is going to stop you? Certainly not losing weight.
Pulling this all together
So how do you pull all of this together? how can you lose 10 pounds?
- When you want to know how to lose weight it comes down to planning.
- Plan to drink a lot more water, it will make you pee more often but will also clean you out and give you move energy.
- You also have to get more exercise and by exercise, I mean try to get one hour of exercise of any kind in a day.
- This needs to be an exercise that you like and not exercise that just feels like work as that will not be sustainable.
- As far as eating goes you will need to get back to those core eating habits of eating fruit and vegetables and reducing the amount of heavy carbs like rice and potatoes and make sure to eat often.
- Eating smaller meals more often will keep that metabolism up for you.
Here Are More Tips To Help Lose 10 Pounds
- Eat all your food in 5 or 6 meals a day instead of three
- Cut back on your White carbs (rice, potatoes, pasta) and substitute with vegetables, which are higher in water and nutrients anyway
- Exercise first thing in the morning by walking or light jogging or even biking for 30 to 45 minutes
- Drink water from morning until night to stave off those urges to eat more food and to keep your metabolism up
- Eat all your food in those 5 or 6 meals before 7:30 at night so that you are not going to sleep on a full stomach
Why Do you Want to Lose 10 Pounds?
Finally, if you want to know the real secret of how to lose 10 pounds you need to worry about why you are trying to lose weight. On those days where it is really tough to diet or exercise or make good decisions then you need to be very clear what the heck this weight loss sacrifice is for.
- Is it going to make you more healthy, losing 10 pounds will make you a lot healthier
- Or do you want to fit into smaller clothes?
- Or is it a goal to prove that you are in control of yourself?
All of these reasons and more are important. Write you reasons down and post them up everywhere. Make sure that you never forget the WHY of how to lose 10 pounds.
So now you know what I know about how to lose 10 pounds the rest is up to you to plan, eat, drink, exercise and follow through on your goal.
I completely agree with you that “The math doesn’t lie”. Every time you create a calorie deficit of 3500 calories you will lose one pound. That happens every single time with no exception. That’s why I always find it disturbing when people say that they are not losing despite not eating anything all day. This is completely impossible! The only possible explanation is that they are not actually creating a calorie deficit. Maybe they eat more calories or maybe they burn less calories than they think.
There is one very plausible reason for this – hypothyroidism, where your thyroid does not produce enough of the hormone you need to keep your metabolism functioning. It’s actually quite common, especially among women.
Also, if people are creating too big a calorie deficit (i.e. eating less than 1200 calories) their bodies will go into starvation mode and hang on to everything. It will pull energy from your body’s fat stores, but only the bare minimum to keep your body functioning, and this can only for a few days without causing permanent damage to organs and metabolism.
Hypothyroidism simply reduces your metabolic rate by up to 40%. You still burn calories and you still can lose . The only way to completely stop burning calories is to die. The same thing applies to “the starvation mode”. If your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism will be reduced, but it will not stop. It can’t stop. Even if you don’t eat anything, your brain, kidneys, liver and heart will still consume energy. If the starvation mode stopped loss, you would see anorexic people or starving people in Africa that were still fat. If you are not losing , the most probable cause is that you are consuming more calories than you should.
Hypothyroidism may be common but in reality it can be controlled medically – my daughter takes medication every day, is 4’11 and weighs 90lbs. She also exercises regularly and eats a healthy diet high in fibre, protein, fruits and vegetables and low in fat. Less than 5% of over and obese people suffer from an endocrine or enzyme disorder. Most people simply eat too much and exercise too little.
@ katecotros- I am not sure why either but I calculate everything I eat, I work out 1 to 1.5 hours 6 days a week and I just cant drop the 10lbs. I have had my thyroid checked and it is over active- yet another reason that I should be able to take of the pounds. I am 50 years old of which people are telling me that is a big part of my problem but it cant just be age . I use the Lose It calculator to calculate my food and my exercise so I know that I am vey close to actual in and out calories. If anyone has any suggestions I am willing to try.
I’m 5’3, 117lbs… I feel gross. I just want to lose it all (10 pounds of it at least) as quickly as possible without going back to my “regular diet” of just not eating anything for many days..
Are you serious? 5’3 and 117 and you feel gross? Im 5’4 and wiegh 134 right now and I look great BUT I need to lose 5 pounds or so to lean up. I would KILL to weigh 117 but never will. Soooo, not to discount your wt issues because most women have them, BUT you are thin and should be pretty content with that number, in my opinion. 🙂
im about 129 and want to lose 10 of it if i only weighed 117 id be happy
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Your target should be 128 pounds. Look if you really want to lose I wouldn’t if I were you but if you do here is a routine.
1. Get 8 hours of sleep. (if you are 5’4 you lose 500 calories when you sleep 8 hours yours might be a little less:
2. When you eat, eat the healthiest part of the meal first so if you get full you won’t get the fatty stuff
3. burn at least 100 calories a day
a. jog for 25 minutes or hulla hoop for 15 minutes
4. drink a lot of water (if your hungry but you’ve had all your meals drink water instead so you will feel full)
Hope this helps.
I’d kill to weigh that! 117!
Hey, Sara,
I’m also 5’3″ and 117 and I get it. Most of my life I’ve never weighed more than 110 and I’d love to get back there. I’m pretty small boned, so anything over 110 just feels gross. My personal ideal – where I feel the best – is 108 but as I’m turning 50 this fall, it is really hard to lose the , no matter what I do.
I know there are others out there who would love to get to 117, but there are also others who would love to get to 129, 134 etc. We all have our personal (and, hopefully, they are realistic) goals, so let’s be supportive of each other!
im 5’3″ahalf i always been 105 / even after i had 4 kids /i went back to 120/ but when i moved to the country it sucked there is nothing to do / iv gained 40 pounds .i be happy if icould get back 120.
How far apart do you/someone suggest I space my 5-6 meals. Currently I am a student and my day starts around 6am. I am in school 735-205. I walk from school to home which takes me 25 minutes, so I get home always around 230. Somedays I work as a cashier, my work schedule is variable and unpredictable, but other than that I am not in a position where I cannot plan accordingly. On days I do not have work I go to the gym between 5-7pm on the weeknights and between 10-1 on Saturdays where I do an hour of cardio and about 20 minutes of s. I go to the gym/workout at LEAST 3 days a week, 6 max (because by gym is closed on Sundays). I usually go to bed around 11pm-12. Sorry this is so long, I just have a HUGE isssue with meal planning and I don’t know what is right/works and I’ve tried multiple things and they all seem to fail so if someone could just tell me what to do, I’d be much better off than just “by myself” as I am much more obliged to adhere to a plan if it set forth or directed by another. So please, your suggestions are much appreciated! Thanks in advance! (P.S. I get most hungry when I get home from school around 3pm and I get really hungry again late at night, which I know is really bad because I tend to just eat whatever and in large quantities, even though eating healthfully isn’t much of an issue as I am a vegetarian as is).
The whole 6 meal a day thing was created by supplement companys to help sell there protien shakes, 3 meals 3 shakes makes it easy for us to get in 6 meals a day, however they are expensive and dont taste that great! when it comes to loss the most important thing is a calorie deficite eat under your maintenance and you will loose you can do this by eating 2 3 4 5 or 6 times a day say for instance if your plan allowes 1400 calories a day spread that over your meals for the day and you will loose it really dosent matter how often you eat i like big meals not snacks so i eat 2 – 3 meals a day and i have lost 35 lbs!!! exercise also as much as possable outside the gym….walk, take the stairs, clean your home, it all burns calories if you have cravings have it once a week or incorporate into your calories for the day hope this helps 🙂
How far apart do you/someone suggest I space my 5-6 meals. Currently I am a student and my day starts around 6am. I am in school 735-205. I walk from school to home which takes me 25 minutes, so I get home always around 230. Somedays I work as a cashier, my work schedule is variable and unpredictable, but other than that I am not in a position where I cannot plan accordingly. On days I do not have work I go to the gym between 5-7pm on the weeknights and between 10-1 on Saturdays where I do an hour of cardio and about 20 minutes of s. I go to the gym/workout at LEAST 3 days a week, 6 max (because by gym is closed on Sundays). I usually go to bed around 11pm-12. Sorry this is so long, I just have a HUGE isssue with meal planning and I don’t know what is right/works and I’ve tried multiple things and they all seem to fail so if someone could just tell me what to do, I’d be much better off than just “by myself” as I am much more obliged to adhere to a plan if it set forth or directed by another. So please, your suggestions are much appreciated! Thanks in advance! (P.S. I get most hungry when I get home from school around 3pm and I get really hungry again late at night, which I know is really bad because I tend to just eat whatever and in large quantities, even though eating healthfully isn’t much of an issue as I am a vegetarian as is).
im 5’3 and 120 lbs..i used to b 105 and i looked fine..i just dont seem to loose no matter how hard i try..what to do :(i want to loose 15 lbs so whats the best combination of diet and exercise for me to loose all this in 3 months or so?
I should say that is very important to be consistent. Every day, every week, if you do everything right, you will lose the . My mother of 67 was 275 pounds and 4’10”, she is now 110 pounds! She did it in less than a year. How she did it? Once she started, she didn’t stop. No bread or sugart, her diet consisted mostly of Fish and vegetable and specially consistency.
I have been where you are. I was 110 pounds before having my children and I am 5’2″. I have been trying to lose and am stuck. I can say that sometimes your body finds a where it is happy and does its own thing.
It’s easy to shed off those pounds that you are carrying with you… If you just stick with a diet plan and serious on losing …
nice article, all pretty basic stuff. i have 10 extra pounds or so i’d like to lose, so i recently started exercising a lot more. i do high intensity aerobics for about an hour three times a week, and lift s and do some moderate cardio for about a half an hour twice a week with two days to rest. doing this for about 5 weeks and drinking a lot more water, i’ve lost about 3.5 pounds. not a huge loss, but i don’t have a whole lot to lose. at first i was discouraged that the loss was so slow, but i know muscle weighs more than fat, so it’s probably not the best measure of my efforts. i think it helps to not be so obsessed with the number on the scale, and focus more on how your body feels and how your clothing fits. i’ve only lost a few pounds, but i’ve almost shed a whole pants size… so something is working!
Great point on your article. Actually there is a lot of way to lose belly fat, as long as you have a strong motivation on yourself you will lose it. And one more things, stick on what you doing..
This was a great article. The information seems so basic but so many people who are trying to lose aren’t doing really the simple necessary steps it takes to get it done. For me, I was able to lose 10lbs in the last 9 weeks just by replacing my breakfast with a simple and delicious shake. I still eat the ice cream and pizza and everything else I love (although I’ve never been one to go overboard) and this loss has been without exercise. If you click my name u can find out more in my blog. The main thing is you need to take action cause the won’t come off on its own. Support is there too if you ask for it! I wish everyone success in their loss goals. You can do it!
Good article about how to lose the simple way. I would recommend increasing output as a more healthy way to do it! Great job!
Im 5’4 and at 100 pounds. Im pretty proportional but if you re dieting and not losing any , i suggest that you eat slowly. Research has shown that people who eat slowly tend to eat less. So for breakfast if you slowly eat half a grapefruit, youll probly lose 5 pounds in about 12 days. trust me, eating slowly really works!
im 5’4 and im always between 135 and 140…i never seem to loose no matter how hard i try..do u know any easy thing to do to loose …all of my cusin are skinny and have great body..im the one whos always called a pig and made fun of..all my family member tell me im fat…i just need to loose a few pounds so i can feel a liltle comfortanle with my self
i want to loose 10lb. how many calories i need to eat a day?
I started with a 1,300 and i lost 7 pounds in two weeks but i splured and regained it in two week so if you keep with it and exersicing it will work, once youve lost the and want to maintain your eat 1,500 calaories a day and if you exceed be sure to work it off.
I personally eat less than 1000 calories a day, but most of my diet is made up of vegetables, which are hardly any calories and tons of energy and vitamins if you eat the right one. If you really want to lose , I suggest that you eat lots of vegetables and fruits and drop some of the breads and heavy meats. It works 🙂 Also, exercise for half an hour at least 3-4 times a week. I lost 10 lbs that way and I am loving it.
Hope this helps!
Don’t eat under 1000 calories per day, for the love of god. Especially not if you’re young. I did that for almost a year, and it stunted my growth pretty thoroughly; now, I eat about 2000 per day for maitnenance, I’ve grown 3 inches and I haven’t gained a pound, oddly enough. You will flat-out need at least 1500 if you’re under 20 for growth, and any less will effect you negatively and make maintaining that amount very difficult. That whole “starvation mode” thing isn’t a myth, either–I went from 800 calories to 1600 calories and LOST .
Stay healthy. What works for one person won’t necessarily work for another.
The main key to losing 10 pounds or more is to change your eating habits. We all eat stuff that we know is not good for us…but you just have to find that balance.
One thing that helped me out in the beginning was to get rid of all of the bad food that I had stashed all around the house. Doing this “really changed my life around. I lost over 80 pounds and this was the most important thing that I did.
The longer I went without eating the junk foods the more they just didn’t taste right anymore. I would recommended anyone that is trying to lose to give this method a try.
Here is a list of all of the healthy food that I started eating that made a big difference.
Is it harder to go from 115 to 105? I know it already sounds light, but I’m 5 feet tall, and it’s dissproportionate. But like I asked, is it harder to loose when you don’t have alot to lose?
Im 15 years old and 189lb’s… bad, right? but sense the beginning of the year, ive stopped drinking soda and all i drink is water (tons of it) i have been trying so hard to stay away from bad food, at the beginning of the year i weighed 194 so ive only lost 6 pounds in 3 months. I hoping to atleast lose 30 pounds by the end of the year but at this rate, its not gonna happen, any suggestions?
First off, I advise believing in yourself completely. Confidence in yourself and belief that you can accomplish your goal is an invaluable step to the loss process.
Monitoring your caloric intake is also very important. 1200-1400 calories a day is a substantial amount and it will keep you going.
Exercise like 3 or 4 times a week, half an hour each time. Running, walking, aerobic dance, swimming, it doesn’t matter. If you like it, it will make it more fun and the pounds will be shed.
Finally, vegetables! They are superfoods. If you eat the right ones (my favorites are pea pods and tomatoes), then they take more calories to chew than they have in them. They are chock full of nutrients and vitamins, and taste very good when fresh. They keep that daily caloric intake down as well.
I wish you the best of luck!
Hope this helps.
Ohh…So simple I want to lose cuz i wanna look so pretty and i wanna look healthy =D So….Exercise is so IMP for losing am i right ?
I would suggest cutting your meals into 5 or 6 smaller meals spread through out the day if possible. Eating as much veggies and fruits with lean farm fed animal meats as possible. Cutting the calories as you already have is great but you should spread them out to boost the metabolism. This is what I did, I weighed in at 286 lbs. 15mnths ago and now I weigh in at 126 lbs. today. And the only exercise I get is walking through wal-mart and maybe some light stretching because I have fibromyalgia and to much exercise puts me down for days. lol I hope this helps you, Jessica. If you ever want to talk just let me know and I will be her for you.
Just curious how you got the last 20 off Im having a hard time….Trying to eat as you suggested as well and getting out to work out only 2 times a week (hard core one hour each)
okay..
i’m lost. i am about 160lbs, i work out about 4 times a week (s and cardio for about an hour each session), i work part time as a server where i walk constantly almost 8 hours per shift, and my meals are sitting at about 1200-1300 calories for the day. I haven’t lost pretty much at all and I’m starting to go nuts. i drink soooo much water and i feel like i’m doing all of the right things to lose but i’m at a standstill. if i need to change more it is eating more often (i usually just eat 3 meals a day). any other suggestions?? help!!
Jessica, have you considered a change, such as routine of exerecises, perhaps even exercising in the morning. I’m the same as you, with a few years of regular exercising cardio and s, I’ve certainly seen reduction in fat and have gained muscle mass, almost being constant. Try going lower s for a few weeks with higher reps, perhaps your body has gotten used to the routine you have.
If you want to lose 10 pounds quickly try to exercise in the morning and also in the evening. This will greatly increase your metabolism!
I need to loose 10 lb.. I am 4. 11 and big boned.. i have a question.. do i need to just run in a initial phase because I dont my arms and leg look like a stalk if I do strength tonign also.. i love workign out and I started 1.5 miles and 2 miles in a tread mill ( I jog).. please advice… i am eating right 6 meals a day .. veggies.. good fruits … good carbs and water
This question is for Rhonda. How are you measuring your results? Just keep in mind that if you are using a scale for measuring muscles weigh more than fat so if the scale is showing an increase then this could be a good thing. It would mean that you are burning fat and building muscles.
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