How Can I Lose 10 Pounds in Two Months?

Posted January 21, 2009 in Your Questions 25 Comments »
Your Questions
Your Questions

I get plenty of questions in various comments throughout the website, but I also get comments and questions via the Project Swole Contact Form.

Generally I address those questions through e-mail, but often I do not have the time to reply to each and every question personally.

From now on I want to take a more proactive approach to answering Your Health Questions by posting them separately in the blog. This way we can be sure that everyone benefits from the Q & A.

Paula wrote:

“I am looking to loose my belly (its a small one but there non the less) in the next 2 months. I want to drop about 10lbs and get tone. I’m not a huge meat eater, my protein usually comes from fish, chicken and tofu. Do you have any recommendations, besides eating fewer than 100g of carbs and hitting the treadmill everyday?”

Response:

Paula, let me start by saying that I do not recommend you to hit the treadmill everyday. You could probably hit the treadmill about 20 times in one day (with an axe) and never have to hit it again.

You won’t be using the treadmill much at all actually, as long as we can find suitable alternatives. In fact if you own and hate a treadmill I would recommend you start some sledgehammer training by bludgeoning the thing to pieces in the backyard. (I hate treadmills only slightly less than squatting in a smith machine.)

The only details I know about you are what you described above, so I’m limited in my ability to tell you what to do. I can assure you that I’ll do the best I can with what I have, which is inevitably not that much considering all I have is my own brain.

There will be 3 steps to this 2 month weight loss, and you have to follow all 3 in order to see the results you want.

Preparation

Before you start this program, you should weigh yourself either on Sunday night or Monday morning and take all the measurements you care about. Usually I take measurements at the mid upper arm, chest, waist, belly button, hips, and mid thigh. Record all these numbers and repeat once a week. Keep it consistent though; if you measure on Sunday night, always measure on Sunday night.

  1. Diet
    Since diet is responsible for 80% of your fat loss results, we should tackle diet first.

    What you need to do, is to eat 3 small meals and 3 snacks each day.
    The meals should consist of 4 oz of lean meat such as chicken, turkey, eggs (whites), and fish; a complex carb such as oatmeal, whole grain bread, brown rice, whole grain cereal, a sweet potato (or yam), or a small white potato; and a green vegetable such as asparagus, broccoli, bean, peas, or salad.

    Only one 4 oz serving of meat and one serving of your chosen carbohydrate is allowed, while multiple servings of vegetables are encouraged.

    For your snacks you will choose a piece of fruit, a serving of dry roasted unsalted nuts, more vegetables, a low sugar protein shake or protein bar, or another 4 oz of lean meat. Also consider dairy products such as yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, and cheese, but make sure those products have NO SUGAR in them.

    Most meals will add up to about 350 calories, while snacks will be roughly 150 calories, for a total of roughly 1500 calories. Since I don’t know anything about you, I am using 1500 as a baseline.

    A more accurate way to get a base caloric level would be to multiply your current weight by 13 to get a maintenance level and subtract about 200 calories to put you in a deficit. You would then add or subtract 100 calories each week depending on whether you lose too little, too much, or just the right amount of weight the previous week.

    Ideally you will lose 5 lbs in the first 10 days and 2 pounds each week thereafter. You can see how easy it is to lose 10 lbs in just 2 months.

    So what’s the catch? You have to really commit to this kind of diet in order to lose 10 lbs in 2 months. You have to get all your meals in as scheduled and you have to eliminate added sugar and junk food of any kind. This is a strict diet designed to lose weight quickly. A better representation will be presented when I publish Project Shred in the near future.

    Please do yourself a favor and commit to this diet entirely for one month. Do not cheat even once. This is the way you will lose 10 lbs in 2 months, not by just eating healthy.

    Besides this diet is just about the healthiest eating you can do, so imagine if you could convert to this type of eating full time for the rest of your life. I’ve seen no less than 4 people already decide to do this after trying the diet for a couple weeks.

  2. Exercise
    You really should exercise 5-6 times each week for maximal fat loss when following this plan, however I have seen people get good results with only 3, 1 hour long workouts in a week.

    This can be 2 cardio workouts and 3 weight training workouts, 5 cardio workouts, however you choose to split it up is fine with me. Cardio and weight lifting workouts must be at least 30 minutes in duration, but remember that if you only workout 3 times, and each workout is a low intensity 30 minute cardio workout on the treadmill, you will definitely NOT maximize your fat loss.

    For weight training, you should follow a 3 day total body workout routine, an example of which you can find here: total body workout routine.

    For cardio, you should follow an high intensity interval training (HIIT) sprint routine where you sprint for 30 seconds, slow down for 2 minutes, sprint for 30 seconds, slow down for 2 minutes, and keep repeating this for 20 minutes. HIIT training can be done with many exercises including machines, jogging, biking, rowing, stair sprints, etc…

    If you have a better solution for high intensity cardio, please do it. Some examples might be spinning, extreme kickboxing, jumping rope, or a plyometric circuit. Just please don’t walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and call it a ‘cardio workout’.

    Don’t forget to also stretch for 10 minutes after each workout session.

  3. Lifestyle
    You may not believe I’m about to say this, but this might not be the best time to make major lifestyle changes, with a couple exceptions. My reason being because this diet is going to be tough enough as it is, never mind making psychologically taxing changes like quitting cigarettes. That could be the sort of straw that can break a camel’s back.

    Instead focus on positive lifestyle changes that you can add to your life. Things like sleeping an extra hour or drinking an extra bottle of water. You should be drinking 8, 8 oz glasses each day. If you must drink coffee, limit it to one cup per day. NO SUGAR. Learn to drink it black or with 1/2 a shot of skim milk. Decaf would be even better.

    Be sure to take your multi-vitamin each day as well as any other supplements you might use, like calcium and possibly a fiber pill or powder. Trust me when I say the extra fiber will come in handy on this diet. Also pick up an Omega-3 fatty acid supplement such as Fish Oil or Flaxseed Oil.

    Attempt to stay de-stressed as much as possible. Meditate if that’s what you do. Watch a movie if that’s what you do. Whatever it is, try to relax whenever possible. Also, if possible try to do a bit of sex. Sex always obliterates stress completely… at least for an hour or so.

Afterward

On a positive note, you can relax a bit after the first month. Stay strict for 30 days, then allow foods to creep back in that you know are pretty healthy such as light flavored yogurt, cottage cheese with pineapple, lean ground beef, whole egg omelets, etc…

The important piece will be to keep your eating habits pretty healthy, maintain your workout routine, keep living healthy, and keep the calories monitored so that you don’t regular go above your maintenance level.

After the 2 months, I would highly suggest you don’t go back to eating junk food. Always keep your sugars, animal fats, trans fats, and starches low. Foods like pasta, lamb, nachos, and cake should be avoided 99% of the time. Staying strict on this diet will make your body feel awesome and I really don’t think you will enjoy eating garbage food again. And keep having sex.

Please let me know how it turns out (the weight loss, not the sex).

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25 Responses to “How Can I Lose 10 Pounds in Two Months?”

    • Shrimp is awesome as long as it’s not fried. Quinoa is pretty decent too. It is a good replacement for cereal and other not-so-healthy grains. Quinoa has essential amino acids, and other helpful nutrients. I approve.

  1. […] To watch part 2, click the link below bit.ly Video Rating: 0 / 5 bit.ly Do you think it's possible to lose ten pou…;ut don't have a lot of money to […]

  2. Hello,

    I am in a small rut!! I am currently 5’8 and i weight 129. That is an awesome weight. Right? well i was 125 and the more kickboxing i do and the more running i do, i have gained weight. I know that i may be creating more muscle mass bu geez! i eat very healthy with alot of veggies and fruit, hardly any sweets and good amount of protein. i run about 6-9 miles every other day. i am training for a marathon so i average about 30 miles per week. i also do kickboxing 3 nights aweek. my only set back is i have a desk job. i work 12 hours 7 days a week behind a desk. is there any suggestions on how i can tone back down and reduce my weight. i have runway fashion coming up in May and i dont want to return from my deployment and not be able to participate! thanks ya’ll

    • Consider keeping every other part of your diet the same, but decrease protein by 25 grams a day, for a total of 100 calories. The decreased protein will hopefully slow down the muscle gains, and the decreased calories will make it easier for you to lose fat and less likely to gain muscle.

  3. Steve,
    Great advice but I am on 10 mg of daily warfarin for a past pulmonary embolism. I have to restrict my eating of green leafy vegetables, greens and salads due to Vitamin K interactions. Do you think I could still do this diet and see results?

    • I am also on 7.5 mg daily of warfarin for a PE. If you mostly just avoid spinach and don’t eat too much green lettuce, you’ll be fine. Also, if you make it a habit to eat a salad everyday, then it doesn’t matter if you eat leafy greens. The only reason you’re supposed to avoid that stuff is because it throws off your PT INRs. So if you eat the same amount of it everyday, it will never throw off your levels. To be safe, just make substitutions where necessary.

  4. I would suggest cutting out dairy from your diet and increasing your intake of green, leafy vegetables for your calcium needs. I’d also get as far away from sugar as you can. Good luck!

  5. I am a 14 year old female and i think i am rather large and i know this isnt much of an excuse but i dont have time much time for hour long workouts at a gym is there any suggestions for at home training? Something that doesnt need weights?? Please comment!!

  6. I’m 22 and I’ve been trying to lose some of this extra weight for a while. So I am going to follow this routine step by step and come back around a month to tell you how it’s going. 😀

      • Hey! Back here for the update. My work schedule became pretty hectic so I could only go to the gym a few times a week but I did do plenty of cardio at home and changed my diet. So far I lost 5 pounds! 😀
        I’m going for another 5, I’ll come back again to let you guys know how it’s going.

  7. I’m 14 years old. I’m not fat, but i do have some extra flub on my stomach and thighs. I’m going to follow this plan EXACTLY as it says! Hopefully I will see some results! I’ll write again in a few weeks and keep you updated. Thank you so much, this is the first step-by-step plan I think I can actually stick with! 🙂

  8. Wow! Such awesome and much neeeded info.. this is exactly what ive been doing for just over two weeks and i’m already seeing results; lost two pounds! The only thing is… im only doing about a twenty minute cardio workouts 6 times a week.. and weight training for about 10 minutes twice a week… and on the weekends i tend to allow myself to eat more then usual.. BUT i’m still seein the results! Honestly, its not that hard, i’m changing my lifesyle gradually and im lovin it! Thanks for the inspiration!

  9. i am 13 years old,5’5 1/2 and 61 kgs.how can i reduce my weight to 55 in 2 months for someone of my age?i want myself to be 6feet,will it hamper my height growth?

    • You’re only 13, you’ve still got plenty to grow don’t worry about that at your age. If you want to lose weight just run around with your friends for an hour everyday, go play soccer or something.

    • thats easy!
      1.The most important thing to do is make sure you drink 8 ounces of water before ANYTHING you eat! because you wont be as hunger and water boosts your metabolism!

      2. eat 5 or 6 small meals a day instead of eating 3 big meals. Make sure you eat plenty of fiber

      3. check your calories and lose 20 calories more than you gained.

      • Eating 5 or 6 small meals is one way to do it, but intermittent fasting is also an option. IF is a pretty new dieting strategy for me and I’ll be featuring it on Project Swole often in 2011.

  10. Hello, i have read your How to lose 10 pounds in 2 months article, and i was wondering what would you consider pilates, cardio, weight training or both? How can you benift from that?

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