Last Updated on October 3, 2024 by Michael Brockbank
The Internet is full of information about losing a certain amount of weight over any length of time. But what if you wanted to lose 10 pounds safely over the course of a month? It’s actually not that difficult, in the grand scheme of things.
However, there are a few things that will contribute greatly to weight loss in general – not to mention being able to keep it off.
After all, that’s the goal, right? To lose the fat and maintain a healthy lifestyle for the long term?
How Hard Is it to Drop 10 Pounds in a Month?
In reality, losing 10 pounds in a month means you only have to lose 2.5 pounds per week. And according to the CDC, people who lose weight slowly tend to keep it off.
This is why a gradual weight loss regimen is ideal. Instead of the “instant fix,” it becomes more of a way you adjust your behaviors and habits for the better.
Simply cutting your calorie and carb intake can help you lose a third of a pound per day. You won’t even need a grueling workout routine to lose the weight.
What makes losing weight so difficult for so many is the mental aspect of health and fitness. A lot of people will view dieting as some rigorous, restrictive routine that denies them the pleasures of tasty foods. Others will have eating disorders, such as stress eating.
Your mental health will play a massive role in how you lose weight or get fit. And if you can’t address the issues that caused you to gain weight in the first place, the odds are more likely that you’ll gain it back once your diet or fitness challenge is complete.
Losing weight isn’t overly difficult from a physical standpoint. It’s the mentality that needs to change that causes so many people to fail at weight loss.
What Can Affect Losing Weight in General?
Basically, keeping yourself in a caloric deficit will make you lose weight. The amount you’ll lose will depend on a variety of factors.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all type of thing. Some of us will drop weight rapidly while others will have a much harder time. There are simply too many variables at play to guarantee that you’ll lose 10 pounds in a month. And those who say otherwise are simply trying to sell you something.
So, what kinds of things will affect your weight loss journey?
Your Physiology
Your genetics will play a role in weight loss. Some people are simply more apt to lose weight and develop muscle mass than others because of their DNA makeup.
Does this mean you should get a DNA test and get a DNA-relevant diet plan? Not necessarily. Though, I’m sure the companies that provide those diet plans would disagree. In fact, you know your body better than anyone and already know what foods you need to reduce or cut and which you need to increase.
Seriously, what were you eating to gain all of the weight in the first place? For me, it was Little Debbie Snacks and Taco Bell.
In any case, genetics does contribute to losing or gaining weight.
Your Commitment to Yourself
Losing weight and keeping it off relies on a huge commitment to yourself. It’s a learning process where you’ll have to make lifestyle and habitual changes. Otherwise, you’ll gain the weight back in short order.
This is why a lot of fad or social media diet plans often don’t work. Sure, you might drop the weight wicked fast and hit weight goals. But the majority of people who do these diets don’t keep the weight from coming back.
Your weight loss journey will rely heavily on your commitment to yourself for eating and/or exercising.
Your Physical Activity
The more active you are, the more fat you can potentially burn. Contrary to the belief of some “influencers,” cardio of any kind is one of the best ways to melt fat. This is aside from the fact that it improves your “cardiovascular” system, such as the heart and veins.
However, there is a caveat.
You’ll burn carbs you consume before burning fat. This means that if you rely on a diet of pasta, cookies, and cakes, you won’t shed the fat nearly as fast. Then again, what diet focuses purely on pasta, cookies, and cakes?
My point is that a carb-rich diet will impact burning fat while working out.
Something else to consider is that technically, any activity that raises your heart rate can be considered “exercise.” In fact, I’ve lost the majority of the first 80 pounds by playing the Xbox Kinect.
Your Current Weight
People who have more to lose will burn fat at a much faster rate. This is why you can drop 20 pounds relatively quickly if you weigh 400 lbs as opposed to someone who weighs 250.
This is a common complaint with many who are dieting and exercising. How often have you heard that the last 20 pounds is the hardest to lose? While it may take longer, it will still rely on the same principles that helped you lose all of the weight before.
It’s not that the last 20 pounds are harder. It’s that people often get impatient with themselves. It’s all about winning the long game.
How Much Sleep You Get
The amount of sleep you get will impact your goal to lose 10 pounds in a month. Between increasing cortisol and reducing your capacity to make good eating decisions, a lack of sleep is detrimental to weight loss.
In reality, a lack of sleep can cause all kinds of problems for your body. Ideally, most adults would want between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to having a comfortable bed in the future.
Types of Medication You’re On
Sure, medications can help you overcome physical and mental ailments. But medications can also impact both losing and gaining weight. Certain drugs can ramp up your appetite or affect how your body stores glucose when you eat.
An example of this is how some doctors prescribe marijuana to help boost appetites of those suffering from certain medical conditions.
In any case, consult your physician about your medications beforehand if you want to lose 10 pounds in a month. It may be more difficult simply because of what you’re taking.
Your Gender
When it comes to biology, men lose weight faster than women. There are a lot of contributing factors that differentiate how the sexes handle weight loss. But the bottom line is that the male gender of our species is built differently to handle fat and develop muscle.
Also, consider how women will hold onto 6-11% more body fat than men because of how their bodies are wired. This is why ideal body fat percentages vary greatly between the two genders.
The bottom line is that men will biologically utilize fat stores more efficiently and put on greater muscle mass quicker than most women. This isn’t to say that women cannot be lean or fit. It just means men have a much easier time reaching certain weight loss goals in a specific time frame.
7 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds in a Month
Although everyone is different in a physiological sense, there are some things that are virtually universal when it comes to losing weight. Yes, there will be underlying things that will affect your weight loss journey, but for the most part, these work for just about everyone.
So, what can increase the likelihood of losing weight over the next four weeks?
1. Stay in a Caloric Deficit
Keeping yourself in a caloric deficit is the cornerstone of losing weight. The more of a deficit you’re in, the more fat you’ll burn – generally speaking.
This is why diets like fasting work exceptionally well. But remember, you want a new way of eating that you can sustain for the next decade. That is unless you plan on putting the weight back on.
For most humans, it’s literally that simple. The hardest part is getting out of your own head. Stress eating, comfort foods, poor dining decisions…it all starts with your mental state.
2. Monitor Your Intake with Apps
One of the best ways I lost more than 10 pounds in a single month was by using MyFitnessPal. By keeping track of everything, I was able to see how those foods were impacting my body and put an end to the sheer volume of calories I was eating in a day.
This kind of goes along with the previous point of being in a caloric deficit. This free app lets you set calorie goals for the day while keeping track of everything you eat.
In fact, MyFitnessPal is one of the primary components behind my Net 600 Calorie Diet.
My point is that there are all kinds of apps for both Android and iOS that can be monumental for helping you lose any amount of weight in a month. Try a few out and see what works best for you.
3. Find Healthier Alternatives to Snacking
Perhaps one of the most obvious things that will help you drop 10 pounds in a month is finding healthier alternatives to snacking. Of course, you’ve probably heard this many, many times before.
However, speaking from experience, turning to things like almonds, carrots, and other fruits or vegetables that I like has made a massive difference overall. This is coming from a man who would eat 12 Walmart cupcakes over two days…sometimes sooner.
The moral of the story is that changing my snacking habits made a massive difference in how much I weigh. Not to mention that I feel far better physically and mentally than I did back when I weighed 300+ pounds.
4. Increase Water Intake
Drinking water does a lot of things for your body. It helps with everything from increasing your metabolism to processing foods faster in your digestive system.
Usually, I’ll drink water as a way to curb the urge to snack. Instead of filling my stomach with junk food, I use water to take the edge off. It reduces the appetite while consisting of 0 calories or carbs.
5. Find Physical Activities You Enjoy
Now, you don’t necessarily have to jump into aerobics in order to burn fat. However, physical activity will force your body to burn fat stores as fuel, when the carbohydrates are gone, that is.
There are plenty of practical reasons to be fit. And when I say “fit,” I’m not necessarily talking about being an underwear model. Fitness can come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
By adding weight training, I’ve added more than 20 yards to my drive in golf. I’m also able to lug around two, 5-gallon jugs of water around, and have greater stamina when cleaning the house or working in the garden.
My point is that you don’t have to focus purely on “looking good” when it comes to fitness. Everyday activities are affected when you put in the effort to keep physical.
Find activities you enjoy. It’ll increase the likelihood that you’ll keep doing them over the long term. The point is to get off your butt and do something physical for fun.
6. Spend Time Understanding Yourself
Do you know your triggers? How do you fare when eating certain foods? Do you have an idea of how you’ll maintain yourself for the long term?
Knowing yourself is crucial for permanent weight loss. It’ll help you come up with plans and strategies that are catered to you. And no, this doesn’t mean you need to take some survey or submit your DNA to find a diet plan.
I’m talking about learning more about yourself on a personal level, especially when it comes to eating disorders. For instance, I know my triggers for snacking at night as well as binge eating when stressed. No one pointed it out to me as I was able to determine them by being realistic with myself.
Just remember that there is a difference between being realistic with yourself and being derogatory. In other words, you don’t need to put yourself down to discover things about yourself. Take a few moments and really contemplate your existence from an objective viewpoint. It’s difficult, but it’ll help you see all kinds of things, both good and bad, about who you are as a person.
7. Don’t Stress Yourself Out
Lastly, don’t stress yourself out with diets or exercises you hate. Remember, stress leads to gaining weight, which is counterproductive to losing 10 pounds in a month.
This is one of the reasons why I like my diet. It’s non-restrictive and centers mostly on keeping physically active to burn twice what I eat. And yes, I do add healthy alternatives to eating simply because I know that my body needs certain nutrients to keep functioning properly.
My point is that you don’t want to drive yourself batty or be too hard on yourself for not following certain diet plans or exercise routines.
Don’t get me wrong, you’ll still need to do more than what you’re doing now. You’ll need to make a few sacrifices and push yourself to succeed, but not to the point where it makes you miserable.
Remember, Proper Weight Loss is a Lifestyle Change
Losing weight and keeping it off is more than just dropping so many pounds within a certain time frame. It involves a lifestyle change from yourself in order to keep at a healthy weight. If you don’t learn what caused you to gain weight in the first place, you’ll be doomed to repeat the circumstances.
As I said earlier, this is why fad and quick-fix diet plans don’t work for most people over the long term. The ones who gain the weight back didn’t learn how to adapt and change their mindsets when it came to food or exercise.
One of the biggest contributors for me was reducing high-sugar snacks, getting rid of soda, and not bingeing on junk at night. Plus, I’ve vastly increased my physical movement over the past decade.
Today, when I get stressed out, I often go for a walk or do some other strenuous physical activity instead of wiping out an entire jar of peanut butter. I also prefer to make my food at home rather than using the drive-thru window. Unfortunately, this is a huge issue for many people, especially when apps like Door Dash bring food to you without you actually leaving the house.
Don’t get me started on how technology has made us more lethargic and lazy over the years.
At the end of the day, if you want to lose 10 pounds in a month and keep it off, you’ll have to make a few lifestyle changes.
How Much Have You Lost in a Month?
I’ve been able to lose slightly less than 10 pounds in a week while on Keto. But as I’ve said before, you need to find something that you’ll continue to do over the long term. For me, Keto just isn’t it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an exceptionally effective diet. However, I don’t like the restrictions.
I love sugar and pasta.
On average, though, I can usually lose around 15 pounds or so in a single month. It all comes down to smart food choices, a caloric deficit, and keeping myself active.
What works best for you when it comes to losing weight?
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