How I Lost 16 Pounds in 13 Days

Last Updated on May 14, 2016 by Michael Brockbank

I was surprised at my scale this morning. I knew I was losing weight, but I had no idea I was losing that much. Yes, everyone, I’ve lost 16 pounds in 13 days without using drugs or surgeries. In fact, it was quite simple and only took a few minor adjustments throughout my day. Don’t worry, this isn’t some commercial that tries to convince you to buy a product to slim your waist. I’ll show you exactly what I did to lose it all.

Losing More than a Pound Per Day

Losing weight doesn’t have to be a difficult process or feel like a mundane chore. While it does require you to change a bit of your daily routine, it can be quite easy for an overweight individual to quickly melt away the excess baggage. The two most important aspects to consider are: eating habits and physical activity. Mastering these two can help you drop those extra pounds.

Changing Eating Habits
I don’t believe in starving yourself or denying some of the tastier things at your local market. However, you do need to change how you view food in general. It’s all about making better choices when it comes to meals and snacks. You can still have the occasional cookie or frosting-covered cupcake, as long as you don’t eat the entire package in one day. I keep a close eye on my intake with MyFitnessPal and make sure that I have the calories to “pay” for anything I eat. For the majority of the last two weeks, I had kept my calories in the green by almost 1,000! Here is how my typical routine goes throughout the day:

• Breakfast:
  A bowl of Cream of Wheat, usually with a 1/2 cup of berries. This gives me nearly everything I need to start the day and I feel great throughout the mornings. Sometimes, I’ll toss in a v8 or have some Emerge afterwards to give me a boost.
• Lunch:
  One can of Progresso soup. I like to mix it up throughout the week and will buy several different flavors. I am partial to Tomato Rotini, but the Light Beef and Barley is incredibly low in calories and high in nutritional value. If I don’t have any soup left while I’m working, I tend to fall back on Nissan cup of noodles. I would much rather have the Progresso, though.
• Dinner:
  Salads and meat. Because my wife and mother-in-law are doing “Lean for Life,” we’ll be eating a lot of salads for the next few months. Which is great, because I love mixing lettuce and raw spinach with cubes of grilled chicken. Two cups of lettuce, two cups of spinach and three ounces of chicken make one hell of a dinner and consists of less calories than most soups. The biggest thing to take from this is the lower carb intake. By dinner, I consume far less carbs and increase my activity to burn what carbs I do have.
• Snacks:
  Here is where I have a weakness. I love to snack throughout the day. However, I stick to proper portion sizes while keeping an eye on my caloric intake. For example, there’s nothing wrong with a serving of Family Gourmet Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies at 110 calories. This is only two cookies. As long as you can refrain from eating all of them, you’ll be fine. I also snack more on lunch meat, string cheese, fruits and sometimes a serving of Pringles if I need something salty.

To boil this all down, it’s proper portion sizes, less carbs and more vitamins from veggies and fruits. By keeping my calories in the green according to MyFitnessPal, I have been able to quickly shave off the pounds.

Increasing Physical Activity
Although improving the way you eat can make a vast improvement for your health, increasing your physical activity can amplify this aspect. Essentially, you need to burn off the calories and carbs you’re currently eating as well as the fat that has accumulated. This is done any time you commit to physical movement. Simply being alive will cause you to burn calories. It’s the exercise or any other movement beyond your regular routine that will burn the most. Here is what a typical day has looked like for me over the past two weeks:

• Increased Walking
  My wife and I entered in the Runkeeper 5K that starts in a couple of weeks. There is no way in hell we’ll be able to run it, but we like the idea of being able to walk it. It’s all about achieving small victories in order to build confidence to achieve the bigger ones. Lately, we’ve been heading out to the local park and walking laps in order to prepare for the 3+ miles on the 29th. We try to go out every night, but some days it’s simply too cold or we were busy with other family things. In either case, it has been beneficial for us both as we lost the pounds just from a 30-minute walk most nights.
• Getting Up and Moving About
  I try to get up at least once every hour from my desk and move around. These short little five to ten minute breaks are great for tacking on the steps recorded by my Fitbit. The point is, getting up and moving about will burn far more calories than simply sitting stationary. It’s also helpful to keep my knees fromgetting sore as I can only sit for so long before they begin to ache.
• Periodic Exercise
  I haven’t been exercising like I want, but I have been able to squeeze in a few sessions here and there. Usually, it’s been locking my bedroom door and dancing to my favorite music like an idiot. You’d be amazed by how quickly I can work up a sweat and how badly I dance. I’m going to start developing routines in the next couple of days just so I can lose a few more pounds before we visit my family in Utah. I would love to be back in the 240s.

Increasing your physical activity can be done in a myriad of ways. Technically, anything above your daily lifestyle is beneficial. Even if it’s something as simple as getting things yourself without asking other people to get them for you can make an impact. Since we do our walks after dinner every night, we burn off any of the extras consumed at our last meal of the day.

The point of this post is to demonstrate you should never underestimate your abilities to lose weight quickly without hurting yourself. Keep in mind that everyone has a unique physiology, and what works for me may not work for you. But, this is essentially what I’ve done in the past 13 days to lose 16 pounds. Have faith in your abilities and take each day one at a time for health.

About Author

Michael Brockbank

Since 2015, Michael has put in the effort to lose more than 80 pounds by gamifying fitness and eating proper portion sizes. He conducts extensive research into various health and fitness products to provide the best answers possible according to his own experience and knowledge.

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