How To Lose 30 Pounds In 30 Days

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Interested in learning how to lose 30 pounds in 30 days? This post gives you the exact steps to follow to make that happen. So, hang in right there.

In today’s busy world where fast food and several unhealthy lifestyles are judged fashionable, the consequence in most cases is undesired weight gain. This accounts for why most people, including you, are seeking ways to shave off some pounds to look smart and fit.

Whether your goal is to lose 3 pounds or 30, losing weight and keeping it off over the long term has never been a walk in the park. Nevertheless, it can be done, especially when you are armed with the right strategies and are willing to take action. 

Why Many Weight Loss Plans Fail

Many people get frustrated midway into their weight loss journey. They wanted a magical diet that would cause them to shed unwanted weight overnight. They invested so much in buying weight loss pills and several dietary supplements without seeing any significant results. In cases where the weight loss actually happened, they soon realized that it wasn’t sustainable.

Most times, people fail in their efforts to lose weight because they’re busy applying wrong strategies. For example, it’s a general belief that more calories have to leave your body than enter it. So, most dieters try to implement this by starving themselves. Not only that, they spend hours in the gym doing rigorous body exercises.

As far as sustainable weight loss is concerned, this isn’t an appropriate approach. Denying your body the nutrients it requires will only endanger your health. It’s inadvisable to lower your calorie intake by more than 1000 calories per day.

If for any reason, you lose 1000 calories daily for a week straight, it means that you would end up losing about 7000 calories. This technically amounts to losing 2 pounds per week which can have an overall negative impact on your health. The possible implications include a significant reduction in your metabolism, muscle loss and decline in BMR (basal metabolic rate). 

P.S. 3,500 calories is equivalent to 1 pound (approximately 0.45kg).

Using starvation as a tool to lose weight isn’t a sustainable approach. While your effort may yield some success at the initial stage. Such success can’t be permanent. 

Why? There’s no way you can be consistent with this method. The body needs the energy to function effectively, and denying it foods can render you tired or miserable. Before you know it, you’re back to your previous life of high calories consumption and you continue to gain more pounds.

Lose 30 Pounds In 30 Days With Ease

You shouldn’t go on hunger strike in your attempt to maintain a calorie deficit. Several reliable studies have shown that proper diet and physical activity are effective ways to achieve your weight loss goal.

As you’d soon discover in this post, an effective weight loss plan requires making a few permanent changes in your diet and exercise habits. This safe and healthy approach will help you to shed weight quickly without harming your body.

What do I need to do to lose 30 pounds in just 30 days?

One of the biggest ways to lose 30 pounds fast is to be strategic and consistent. One reason many people failed to achieve their weight loss goal was that they found it difficult to follow through with their goal.

The effective way to achieve consistency is by being honest with yourself. Right from the onset, choose an eating regimen and exercise routine that you can keep up with for a long time. You have to harmonize your goal and strategy. This way, you’re more likely going to reach your goal fast, and without hassle.

Practical Steps To Lose 30 Pounds In a Month

Here are some effective tips that will help you lose up to 30 pounds in a month. They’re a mix of proven strategies that will help you to shed weight fast and have fun doing it:

1. Count your daily calories

This may sound like a pie, but it forms the core of your weight loss strategy. If you don’t have a clear knowledge of your current situation, it will be hard to analyze and make plans for the future. Calorie counters like MyFitnessPal, FatSecret, and others help you gain valuable insight into what you’re consuming and their overall impacts on your weight status.

Calorie counting is an effective way to shed weight. It allows you to track what you’re eating. A calorie counter enables you to input the food you’re eating alongside your portion size. Counting your daily calories helps you understand how each type of food you eat impacts your diet effort. In case you’re overeating, you can easily detect it and limit your intake to prevent unwanted weight gain.

A particular review found that people that did calorie counting experienced an average of around7 lbs (3.3 kg) more weight loss than those that didn’t.

Meanwhile, it’s important for you to have an idea of the number of calories you should be eating on a daily basis. The number of calories you require depends on a variety of factors such as your gender, age, height, your daily activity, and so on. Using a calorie calculator can help you figure out the number of calories you should aim for per day.

The calculator asks for relevant personal information like your age and gender. It also asks about your daily activity. It then uses the data to determine your daily calorie allotment. Once that’s determined, you can start cutting 500-700 calories from your daily allotment to lose weight.

Remember that you need to release more calories than you retain. Therefore, complementing your calorie deficit with aerobic exercise will speed up your weight loss.

2. Cut your intake of refined carbs

Refined carbs are carbohydrates that usually include sugar and grains that have been stripped of useful nutrients such as fiber. They are called “comfort foods” as they’re quite common to find around. Examples of refined carbs include pasta, fries, pizza, white bread, sugary deserts, and so on.

This category of carbs digests quickly as they have a high glycemic index. Their accelerated absorption into the bloodstream causes unhealthy spikes in blood sugar levels. Refined carbs can also cause fluctuations in energy and build-up of fat especially around your waistline. Not only that, refined carbs can increase your risk of many diseases like obesity, heart diseases and type 2 diabetes.

Excessive consumption of refined carbs triggers a surge in the level of insulin which makes you feel hungry soon after meal.Refined carbs contain empty calories that leave you unsatisfied and tend to make you gain weight.

Reducing the amount of refined carbs you consume is a vital plan you need to integrate into your diet regimen. Reduction in processed carb intake tends to suppress your appetite and lead to faster weight loss.

Cutting back on sugary treats may look like a daunting task at first. That’s normal. You would learn to live with it with time. Instead of these processed foods, you should go for the right carbs. Complex carbs like vegetables, whole grains, and fruits (not fruit juice) digest slower, resulting in stable blood sugar and less fat deposit.

3. Reduce the quantity of your fat intake

Of course, one can’t deny the obvious importance of fat in human diet. Fat, alongside carbohydrate and protein constitute the macronutrients that give your body the required energy to function optimally. For example, good fat enhances the ability of your brain to function well. It also helps to absorb fat-soluble vitamins and minerals for proper digestion.

But as good as this may sound, you need to be cautious of the amount of fat you consume in your diet. Although it’s quite tricky to determine the amount of fat you should consume daily. Yet, becoming selective with the kind of foods you eat can help reduce the harm of over-consumption of fat.

Fats can be categorized into three types:

  • Unsaturated fats (good fats): These fats are high in foods like vegetable oils (such as olive, canola, sunflower, soy, and corn), seeds, nuts, and fish.
  • Saturated fats (not really good fats): These fats are not as good as unsaturated fats, but less harmful compared with trans fats. They are commonly found foods like red meat, butter, and ice cream. They can also be found in plant-based fats like coconut oil, and palm oil.
  • Trans fat (bad fats): These fats contain high cholesterol. As such, they increase the risk of heart diseases, some types of cancer and fat accumulation. They’re commonly found in processed foods made with trans fat from partially hydrogenated oil.

How To Reduce The Amount Of Fat In Your Diet

Making the following changes in your diet will help you reduce your fat intake, lose 30 pounds in 30 days and stay healthy:

  • Replace red meat with lean protein sources such as chicken breast (no skin), and white fish.
  • Avoid frying your meat. The better alternative is to have them steamed in the ovem.
  • Consume more vegetables.
  • Switch to low-fat milk.
  • Switch to low-fat cheese like cottage cheese with high protein content.
  • You can up your intake of avocado as a healthy alternative to butter and margarine.
  • Always check for the fat content of any nutrition product you’re buying. Avoid products with trans fat and high saturated fat.
  • Make cutting fat intake a habit.

4. Consume more fruits and vegetables

Veggies and fruits are very rich in health vitamins, minerals and fiber. They nourish your body by providing the necessary vitality you need to stay up and running. Also, vegetables, especially,are a better alternative to high-carbs like bread, pasta, sugary deserts, and others. 

The truth is most people find veggies less desirable when compared with potatoes or meat. If you share the same sentiment, then you’ve got to have a rethink if you’re truly serious about losing weight. Veggies and fruits ensure that you consume less calories. Also, the water and fiber in veggies and fruits add volume to your dishes, making you stay filled and satisfied for long after meal.

Veggies are typically low in fat and calories. Filling your plates with veggies will make you lose weight easier and faster. You can start by adding more spinach, onions or mushrooms, and reduce eggs in your morning omelet. Also, cut back on the amount of cereal in your bowl to make room for some cut-up peaches, strawberries or banana.

Fill your diet with the following fruits and vegetables:

  • Lettuce
  • Tomatoes
  • Cucumber
  • Carrot
  • Broccoli
  • Red Pepper

5. Reduce your meal portion

Instead of going on hunger strike, reducing the size of your meals is an effective way to cut down calories, bad fat, and high-glycemic carbs.

This looks pretty difficult especially if you like to be served in large portions. But this is the time you have to choose between eating big portions and losing weight. Nothing good ever comes easily. So, you have to discipline yourself to intentionally reduce the quantity of food you eat, and the frequency.

Set aside a small plate for yourself for the next 30 days. At first, you may find it difficult to stick with your plan looking at the size of your new plate. The concern that you feel hungry soon after eating will naturally creep in. But a small portion can be truly filling if you fill your plate with rich food, appetite suppressants can help!

Another trick that experts recommend is eating slowly and mindfully. Make sure that you chew your food thoroughly, and that you have nothing left in your mouth before refilling it. This method is effective for weight loss as it makes you stay full and satisfied for long.

6. Avoid sugary drinks

Who doesn’t like sweet things? The temptation to long for sweetened coffee, soda, alcohol mixers and fruits is general. These drinks taste sweet. But for the sake of your weight, you have to start avoiding them.

Sugar-containing beverages contain empty calories that make you unsatisfied no matter how many you take. As a result, you end up consuming more calories than it’s required for you to lose weight. Things can get worse if you engage in no or less bodily exercise.

Calorie counters can reveal how much of calories you’re consuming by adding a couple of sugars to your tea or coffee. The hot beverages you drink throughout the day are depositing incredibly high calories to your body, making it difficult for you to lose weight.

The earlier you start doing away with sweets, the better for your weight loss goal. Apart from impeding weight loss, excess sugar makes you susceptible to health risks like type 2 diabetes. Experts recommend that you replace them with calorie-free water, unsweetened coffee and tea, seltzer and diet soda.

It’s good if you can cut out sweets entirely. But if you can’t, there’s a score of low and even no-calorie sweeteners that come in tablet and powdered forms. You can sprinkle them on plain cereal to make your meal tastier and sweeter. 

7. Engage more in aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise is any form of bodily activity that brings sweat out of your body and raises your heart rate. Aerobic exercise includes jogging, running, dancing, and swimming.

Engaging in any form of aerobic exercise can make your dieting effort more effective. It speeds up your weight loss by helping you to burn more calories. This complements your effort to reduce calories in your body.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to spend hours in the gym, subjecting yourself to rigorous exercises. The physical activity needed to shed weight requires only a slight change in lifestyle.

If you live a sedentary life, you can introduce a simple, daily exercise routine that keeps you on the move more than ever. You can get off the bus a few stops earlier, take a lone walk in the neighborhood or a group evening walk, dance, swim or do other fun things. The bottom line is to engage more in physical activity that helps you sweat and burn more calories to reach your weight loss goal.

Conclusion

There you have it, the simple steps to follow to lose 30 pounds in the next 30 days. Summarily, make sure your diet contains more whole foods, nuts, and seeds, water, vegetables, fruits, lean protein sources, and water. And avoid bad fat, sugar, white bread, cheese, pasta, and pastries.

And remember, losing weight requires consistency and strong determination.

Good luck!