Do you wish to lose 20 pounds? It might not seem a lot, but for many people losing 20 pounds can make a huge difference in their overall health.
Losing weight is extremely important, especially if you’re overweight because if you do not, you have a high risk of getting weight-linked chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
When you have a goal, you understand that it takes time to achieve it. It’s the same when it comes to weight loss. Now, the question is; how long does it take to lose 20 pounds?
It’s natural for you to want to lose the 20 pounds as fast as you can, and mostly you would turn to quick solutions like fad diets, magic pills, and other solutions that seem short but are not effective or healthy.
In this blog, we clear out the realistic goal time for you to set to lose 20 pounds and the top tips to lose weight healthily.
How to Lose 20 Pounds By Working Out?
One could lose 20 pounds in less than a month, but it is hard and unlikely. How?
You can do this by working out and burning more calories than you obtain. It can be complicated as it will require a lot of energy, and you can only get that by consuming calories. A vicious cycle.
You could quicken the weight loss process by fasting. However, fasting reduces energy, making it hard for you to exercise.
If you lose 20 pounds with this approach, the results it will have on your health will be extremely devastating. You could lose 20 pounds in a month, but it could mess up your metabolism and cause you to lose muscle mass.
Lose 20 Pounds Healthily?
Setting a goal to lose weight in a healthier approach would mean you should not lose more than 2 pounds every week.
So, it will take around 10 weeks to lose 20 pounds healthily, as you would lose 2 each week.
It will take you 20 weeks if you lose a pound every week.
Moreover, everyone works at their own pace. You should sleep well, follow a healthy diet, reduce stress, and follow a good exercise routine to help you achieve this goal. You should use this approach and lose 1-2 pounds weekly to reach your 20-pound goal healthily and sustainably.
How to Lose 20 Pounds By Walking?
The human body is quite complicated. The truth s there is no accurate way to determine how much or how fast you can lose weight.
Many factors apart from walking help to estimate how fast one can lose 20 pounds.
Nonetheless, the best way to determine how long it will take you to lose 20 pounds is simply by walking every day for a week. You measure how much you weigh on the first day and again measure it on day 7 to calculate the difference. You divide the difference by 20 pounds, and you get the answer of how many weeks it will take for you to hit your 20 pounds goal.
It would be best to remember that as you lose weight, you must increase the time and distance you cover by walking to maintain the same weight loss rate.
Does It Take The Same Amount Of Time For A Woman As It Does For A Man To Lose 20 Pounds?
Many people believe that men have more advantages in weight loss. Women may struggle to lose a pound or more. On the other hand, men can hit the gum and see their pounds melt away from them.
Why is that?
Men have leaner muscles compared to women. Moreover, they burn more calories, even if they are resting.
Men and women can consume the same calorie amount, but men will still lose more weight.
Therefore, if both men and women were to do the same diet and exercise, the men would lose 20 pounds faster.
Tips to Lose Weight, Fast
Losing weight, no matter if it’s 2 pounds or 10, is an incredibly difficult challenge. It requires a lot of patience, and you have to change your overall lifestyle.
However, there are some proven methods you can implement into your weight loss journey to help you.
Below are the ten tips to help you lose 20 pounds safely and healthily.
Be Ready Before you start anything, you need patience and long-term commitment. Similarly, weight loss requires a lot of effort and time in the long term.
Therefore, before losing weight, ensure you can make permanent lifestyle changes. When you have the right mindset and are ready, it will be easy to follow and stay committed.
So, how are you ready?
- You’re motivated to shed the pounds.
- You are not doing it under any pressure.
- You do not eat food as a way to manage stress.
- You are ready to change your daily habits, whether eating or exercising.
- Ensure you have or can set sufficient time to exercise.
- You have the support or help you need from family, friends, or professionals.
1. Set Achievable Goals
The obvious thing is to set realistic objectives. However, what does practical mean?
So, a realistic goal would be to lose 1-2 pounds each week and to do so, you have to burn around 500-1000 calories daily.
Once you understand that, you establish the weight amount you wish to lose in a certain time. A realistic goal would be to lose 5% of your weight.
Let us say you are 200 pounds. Set the initial goal of losing 10 pounds and see what happens.
It helps you build stamina and stay motivated as you lose weight and aim for more.
2. Keep a Count on Your Calories
As indelicate as it might sound, counting calories is one of the effective ways to lose weight quickly.
You lose weight only when you use more calories in your activities each day than you consume.
One of the ways is to reduce the calories you consume and increase your physical activity to burn more calories. There are more sustainable ways than this but an effective tool.
37 studies reviewed showed how the weight plan with calorie counting helped to lose more weight than those without.
3. Water, Water, Water, Drink A Lot Of It
Increasing your water amount is the best way to boost your weight loss without putting in too much effort.
According to one study, those that followed a low-calorie diet and increased their water amount before eating helped lose 44% more weight in just 12 weeks.
Many studies say that water boosts your metabolism and temporarily raises the calories your body burns, enhancing weight loss.
A study involving 14 subjects shows how the ones that drank 500ml water enhanced their metabolism by 30% for the next 30-40 minutes.
Drinking water before you eat makes you feel full. It reduces your appetite and the food amount you consume. It is recommended you drink at least 2 litres of water every day.
4. Reduce Carbs Consumption
Another way to lose weight faster is by reducing your refined carbohydrates.
The fiber content in refined cards gets stripped away during its process, resulting in the product getting lesser nutrients.
Moreover, refined carbohydrates have an increased glycemic index, which digests and absorbs into the blood much faster. You may get a spike in your blood sugar and feel hungry with instantaneous digestion.
Furthermore, if you consume extra refined carbs, you gain weight and increase your body fat content.
A study with 2834 people showed that people who consumed refined carbs increased their belly fat, and those who consumed whole grains and unrefined carbs had less belly fat.
You should consume refined foods with whole grains like brown rice, barley, whole-grain bread, quinoa, and whole-wheat pasta.
5. More Proteins
Your diet should contain more proteins when you aim to lose weight.
It is important to consume more proteins to preserve your muscle mass, reduce belly fat, and effective metabolism.
Moreover, it can decrease your appetite and reduces calorie intake daily.
According to research, consuming a rich protein breakfast decreases ghrelin levels, the hormone that helps stimulate hunger, by a higher margin than a breakfast high in carbs.
You can eat fish, poultry, low-fat dairy products, eggs, nuts, and seeds for the necessary proteins.
6. Eat More Fiber
Your body can not digest fiber as it moves slowly through your digestive system. Overall it slows down the rate at which your stomach empties and keeps you full for longer.
Foods made using whole wheat and vegetables have insoluble fiber to help you control your weight.
According to NCBI reports, increasing your fiber intake, even by 14 grams daily, can help you reduce 10% of the calories you take. It leads to you losing 4.2 pounds in four months, even if you do not change your lifestyle or diet.
To enjoy these benefits, eat fruits, whole grains, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
7. Weight Lifting
Lifting weights is the best exercise to lose weight. It is also known as resistance training.
It involves working your muscles against a specific force to build strength and endurance.
Moreover, adding it to your exercise routine will increase the rate and capacity of your fat-burning and metabolism.
A study including 94 women shows your resistance exercises preserve muscle mass and metabolism and burn calories even in their resting state.
You can begin by purchasing weights, going to a gym, or training at home with a professional.
8. Get Sufficient Sleep
Exercising and changing diets are the most important elements in your weight loss journey. Also, sleep plays an important role.
When you get sufficient sleep, you lose weight; when you don’t, you gain weight.
Even a night of sleep deprivation will increase your hunger hormones, appetite, and weight gain.
Therefore, ensure you get 7 or more hours of sleep to lose weight faster.
9. Cardio
Ensure you have added cardio into your weight loss journey, as it will faster your weight loss journey.
Cardio or aerobic exercises increase the heart rate, strengthening your heart and lungs.
Moreover, it helps to burn calories, causing fasts and increasing weight loss.
In 40-60 minutes of aerobic exercise, you will burn around 400 to 600 calories. If you were to do it five times every week for 10 months, you would lower the average weight of 8.6 to 11.5 pounds.
A study reported that obese people who did cardio for 6 months reduced 9% of their body weight.
Do cardio exercises for 20-40 minutes daily for fast weight loss.
What are the Risks of Losing Weight Too Fast?
It can be hard to wait a few months to lose the 20 pounds you want. But taking it slow and steady will ensure you stay like that. Consuming the minimum calories you require and sticking to our weight loss plan will help you ensure that most of the weight you lose comes from fat and not muscle.
If you want to lose weight fast and cut too many calories or starve yourself, you will lose muscle with fat and cause havoc to your metabolism. Losing muscle will mean you get loose skin and “flabby” looking skin instead of a healthy and toned body.
Expect High and Lows When You Lose Weight
When you go on your 20-pound weight loss journey, you will see your weight fluctuate, which you should not worry about.
Like a strict cycle, your body will not lose a pound or two every week. You will sometimes see highs and lows in your weight as your body adjusts to your new routine, lifestyle, and diet. At times, in a week, you might see you lost more weight than the week before. If that does happen, you should stay motivated and encouraged, as it’s part of the process.
Moreover, it is normal for your body to stop losing weight for a few weeks. During this time, you must step back and recalculate your calorie requirement, considering your new body weight, shaking, and modifying your whole plan to “shock your body” to lose weight again.
Conclusion
It can take 10 to 20 weeks to lose 20 pounds healthily. However, once you reach that goal, the next step would be to ensure you keep it off by sticking to a healthy routine and lifestyle.
Ensure you keep your calories within a limit and exercise accordingly regularly. You would not want to lose weight and gain it all back.
What do you think about the time it would take to lose weight?
Would you take a healthy route or a faster and less effective route?
