Can I Lose 10 Pounds in 14 Days? Micro Challenge Accepted

Last Updated on February 25, 2026 by Michael Brockbank

During last night’s podcast episode of Crossing Colorado on YouTube, I made a two-week challenge to lose 10 pounds. Actually, the deal was that I weigh 235 by the time we come back to the show.

Is it possible for a 50-year-old desk jockey to slim down at such a quick pace without causing damage? I believe so. In reality, I’ve done it before…10 years ago.

Despite my age and the fact that everything is starting to slow down, I think it’s possible for someone who is obese to drop that much weight without starvation diets or burning oneself out. In my case, it often comes down to the amount of carbs eaten throughout the day.

In any case, if I don’t succeed, my daughter is going to do my makeup for the next live stream. And I’m not looking forward to looking like a fat version of Jeffree Star.

I’m not partial to makeup or shaving. So, this is quite a pressing challenge for me to succeed. I’m relatively confident I will. Well, maybe about 80% likely, anyway.

The Plan to Drop 10 Pounds in 14 Days

For some, losing 10 pounds in 14 days is impossible. For others, it may be a walk in the park. For someone like me, who is aging and spends a great deal of time in front of the computer or in a classroom, it’s difficult, but not improbable.

For me, all it takes is focus and determination. Those are two things that I’ve been lacking for the past five years. So, let’s see if the threat of putting on makeup kickstarts my motivation. I’m often driven by consequence rather than reward. And I am deathly afraid of eye shadow.

To complete this challenge, I plan to…

Dial Back Procrastination

I have been slacking during the Spring Cleaning Fitness Challenge. A big part of that is how procrastination causes a domino effect.

For instance, let’s say that I decide to waste 20 minutes watching something on YouTube with the thought of “I’ll get to work after this video.” What often happens is an emergency or two after that video. Then, everything else gets shifted to the point where I don’t get a few things done.

This includes my walking breaks, or the time I wanted to set aside for the Oculus.

So, if I get rid of procrastination, I can make a lot of headway in my day. Blogs, videos, books, and exercises will get a lot of quality time.

Take today, for instance. I haven’t looked at a single YouTube video, and I’ve gotten so much more done already, including hitting the gym for the first time in months. And I’m feeling pretty good about it thus far.

Prioritize Myself

By getting rid of procrastination and various online diversions, I’ll have the time to prioritize myself. In reality, I should be putting my health as number one during my daily routines anyway, and I will be scheduling that time in Asana after this blog post.

At the end of the day, you’re no good to anyone if you’re sick or dead. Personally, the idea of continuing to help others drives motivation to do more. Prioritizing health keeps that ideal front and center.

That includes people who read the blogs, watch the YouTube videos, or enjoy reading my books. If I’m not healthy enough to create content, no one is going to appreciate it.

What all this means is that you should consider yourself number one, top priority over everything. Your physical and mental health will play a role in how your life unfolds. And if they are both in the negative, it’ll be more difficult to succeed at anything.

Get 10,000 Steps Per Day, Minimum

You can rack up steps in a variety of ways while using a fitness tracker. In my case, the Fitbit Charge 6 does a great job of recording the data. And if I can hit a minimum of 10,000 steps per day, I’ll be on my way to losing 10 pounds in 14 days.

Obviously, taking a 15 to 20-minute walk a few times in the day will increase the step count. But virtually any physical activity will help. For instance, I know I can get around 2500 steps by playing Beat Saber on the Oculus for 30 minutes. Plus, I wind up burning a lot of calories.

I don’t want to merely lose fat. I want to be more physical, increasing my stamina and strength. And the closer I get to 50, the more pressing it becomes. At the time of this post, I have about five months before my birthday. That’s not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things, but it’s enough to hit some fitness goals.

Anyway, I am going to focus on hitting 10k every day at the very minimum. As long as I limit the distractions and put an end to procrastinating, I am confident that I can do this.

Get Back to the Gym

I am finally getting back to the gym, and I feel pretty good. I dialed the weights back quite a bit, as it’s been more than two months since I’ve gone. Part of the motivation this time is how my daughter is interested in joining me every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Usually, my workouts run about 50 minutes and include an 8-minute walk at 3.8 MPH on the treadmill, then using five different weight machines. Each machine, I’ll work on three sets of 20. The amount of weight differs depending on the part of my body on which I’m working.

If I burn out during the sets, which happens too often thanks to having issues with hypoglycemia, I’ll walk for 8 minutes for each machine I have to skip. Today, I was feeling a bit winded after the fourth machine, so I jumped on the treadmill for the remaining 8 minutes.

The goal is to make this the first day of getting back into a routine of going to the gym. I really miss it, as it’s often my sanctuary and a way for me to relax. I notice that I am far more personable on days when I work out.

Keep the Carbs at or Below 150g Per Day

I don’t believe in cutting out all of the goodies that one likes from a diet plan. It often comes down to moderation and viewing things logically as a per-serving snack. For example, two Oreos is a serving, not two rows of cookies.

However, I want to burn more fat in the next two weeks, which means dropping the carb intake a bit more than normal. Now, I’m not doing the keto diet or anything like that. I’m simply reducing my processed sugar intake and mixing in healthier alternatives.

I find that if I can keep the carbs down to less than 150g per day, I wind up dropping more than half a pound. But with Easter coming up and Cadbury Eggs calling to me from Walmart, it’s going to be a challenge in and of itself not to dive headfirst into chocolate goodness.

I’m also focusing on my Net 600 Calorie diet, meaning I burn twice as many calories as I consume. So, keeping the carbs low means I’ll be burning a lot of fat for energy to lose those 10 pounds in two weeks.

Blog Update At the End

Once this challenge is done, I’ll work on posting an update, complete with pictures, should I have to wear some makeup for the podcast. In fact, I’m scheduling it in Asana right now so that I don’t forget.

In reality, I would love to do more with the blog. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of time on my hands. So, I can only squeak out a blog post here and there when I have time available. On the upside, getting rid of the procrastination for working out will also help free up a lot of time I tend to waste instead of working on other projects…including this blog and its YouTube channel.

Anyway, I’ll update this post on the 11th of March. So, if you see a picture of me in drag on this post, know that I failed in my mission. It’ll be interesting, regardless of whether I succeed or fail.

It’s Gonna Be a Long Two Weeks!

It’s not outside the realm of possibility for me to lose 10 pounds in 14 days. I’ve done it before during other challenges. But as I said earlier, I was so much younger then. It’s getting far more difficult to muster up the energy to stay active.

I still use Ryan Reynolds as a yardstick, though. I mean, he’s far more active than I, and we’re only a month apart in age. Then again, he’s been far more active than I throughout his entire career. I’m a desk jockey who spends a great deal of time working and playing at the computer.

I guess that’s part of why I want to accomplish so much from the perspective of health. I want to prove and demonstrate how an aging desk jockey/gamer can balance hobbies and work with physical activity. It’s never too late to focus on health and fitness, whether you want to lose 10 pounds in 14 days or just want to get out of bed in the morning without sounding like a strip of bubble wrap being stepped upon.

If I don’t want to wear makeup during the show on the 11th, I’ll need to dial up the idea of maximum effort!

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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