Eager to know how to lose 20 pounds in just a month? You’re in the right spot.
Losing weight is hard sometimes. Logging hours at the gym won’t help you if you’re not doing anything that helps your body burn more calories than it takes in.
The truth is, there’s no quick fix to shed those unwanted fats.
But if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that you want to look good. More importantly, you want to be healthy and at the same time lose your extra pounds.
And to do that, you need to start with transforming your diet and then later on if you want, move on with taking a walk in the gym.
You don’t have time for two routines though, but what if there was a way you could combine the best of both worlds?
Let’s dive in, shall we?
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Is It Possible To Lose 20 Pounds In One Month?
Short Answer: Yes!
Long Answer: There are a few ways to do this, but if you get started with the basics, like:
???? cutting out sugar and processed foods from your diet.
???? Start by walking 20 minutes a day, then slowly work your way up to 40 minutes gradually over the course of 1-2 months.
Remember to not go too fast with your weight loss goals and maintain an active lifestyle throughout!
???? Stay positive throughout the process and celebrate every success you make along the way!
With a good combination of a positive mindset, good habits, and a healthy eating lifestyle, getting rid of your extra pounds can be achieved pretty fast.
It is however important to note that each person’s metabolism is different.
While I may have been able to shed 20 pounds in 30 days, it doesn’t mean everybody will have the same results.
So keep in mind that results aren’t typical.
But what I can tell you is with the information in this post and by putting it into practice, there is no way you won’t get visible results.
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How Long Does It Take to Lose 20 Pounds?
You’re now wondering “how long will it take to lose 20 pounds”.
It will definitely depend on a few factors.
As I said earlier, not every person reacts the same way to a diet or to a workout program. With that said, you can easily lose 20 pounds in two weeks, in a month or a few months.
As a matter of fact, steady weight loss is much more beneficial than a rapid one.
The CDC recommends a person to lose between 1-2 pounds per week and that would mean a maximum of 8 pounds per month.
While that may seem reasonable, I know you’re looking for faster results. That’s why you’re on this post, right?
So, if you’re ready to know the methods that worked for my sister and I and so many other people, keep reading!
How To Lose 20 Pounds In A Month (Without Exercise)
First of all, if you’ve been following my weight loss journey, you probably know that I do not necessarily exercise on a regular basis but I rather focus on my diet.
On the other hand, my sister followed the same plan but she incorporated a light exercising routine as she was chubbier than me and had other goals for her body.
She wanted abs, biceps and all these stuff 😉
First, I will talk about how you can go about losing 20 pounds without being on the treadmill or going at the gym.
#1 Decrease The Carbs
The amount of carbs you consume for each meal is the most important factor in weight loss.
Low-carb diets have been shown to be more effective than low-fat diets.
The best way to decrease carbs is to eat more vegetables, which is associated with lower rates of obesity and better long-term health.
The best weight loss strategy is a low-carb diet that emphasizes quality food sources of nutritional value such as vegetables and proteins.
Low-carb diets have been shown to improve insulin levels, decrease hunger, and help with weight loss.
It’s important to remember that these foods can be healthy in moderation when eaten responsibly without reducing your caloric intake too much.
Eating too few calories can result in failure to lose weight or even regain the pounds you’ve lost if you go back to your old habits.
It is also important to remember that your body has an optimal weight set point.
If you are underweight, your body will try to regain the lost pounds, and if you’re overweight, your body will try to lose extra pounds. This cycle of weight loss and gain can be unhealthy if it lasts too long or occurs frequently.
The best way to decrease carbs is to eat more vegetables without adding too many calories from sauces or toppings such as cheese.
When trying out this approach for weight loss, it’s almost essential to follow a low-carb diet because carb cravings are one of the most common reasons people struggle with their diets.
Carbs consumption has an essential role to play in nutrition, in our body.
You should not underrate it but only reduce your intake.
It’s the main source of energy for our body.
Well, you know that already: our system draws its energy from the carbs we consume and it’s vital for the simple yet essential functions our body has to perform.
What you need to know is that once carbs are digested, they are turned into glucose.
After digestion, the body works together to consume this glucose storage, burns it, and receives its energy.
Now, to be able to lose weight fast without exercise, you need to change your body’s main source of energy.
The idea is not to turn away from carbs. But rather reduce your intake and when you do this, you’re actually doing two things:
- You’re allowing your body to seek its energy elsewhere than the glycogen (sugar storage)
- You’re preventing your body from storing fats
What Carbs Should You Decrease
There are two types of carbs: refined and complex carbohydrates.
Your focus should be to decrease or even eliminate the refined carbohydrates. As the name tells you, these carbohydrates are refined and have been stripped of their original and full nutritious values.
What they do is they simply provide a quick boost of energy as they are digested more easily by the body. But apart from that, you won’t benefit from essential minerals, vitamins and other nutrients.
Refined carbs include:
- White flour, bread & rice
- Candy
- Table sugar
- Soft drinks
- Baked pastries
- White Pasta
So the first thing you want to tick off of your weight loss list is: decrease your intake of carbohydrates altogether and avoid, by all means, the refined ones.
Add In Complex Carbohydrates
Now that we’ve seen the not-so-useful role of refined carbs, let’s review the role of complex carbohydrates in weight loss.
According to research, complex carbs need to be broken down first, then are digested by the body which takes more time for the digestive system, unlike with refined carbs.
This longer period of digestion means they provide us with energy for a longer period of time and they prevent blood sugar spikes.
Sounds amazing right?
The benefit you get when eating complex carbs is simply unmatched.
Henceforth, complex carbs are what you need to include in your diet to be able to see amazing weight loss results.
Complex carbs include:
- Whole-wheat flour
- Whole-wheat bread
- Brown pasta
- Brown rice
- Quinoa
- Barley
- Oats
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Buckwheat
There are many more types of complex carbs you can include in your diet depending on the availability of the products in your area.
For my part, I always choose to go for whole-wheat bread, brown rice, and whole-wheat pasta to complete my plate for lunch or dinner.
I also like to switch it up with sweet potatoes and yams as they are easily found and are relatively cheap.
Most of the time, I opt for old-fashioned oats from Bob’s Red Mill with skimmed milk and some berries for breakfast.
Brown rice with loads of veggies and protein for lunch and usually a mixed salad or whole-wheat pasta with a delicious sauce for dinner.
#2 Decrease The Sugar
The key to losing weight is to reduce the amount of calories you eat.
Without cutting your sugar consumption by at least 25% you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.
You’ll also need to cut out snacking on unhealthy foods (spend 10-20 minutes prepping your food ahead of time in order to avoid messes) and limit alcohol intake (which tends to add on the pounds).
All in all, it’s not as difficult as it seems.
With your primary goal being to lose weight, you’ll need to cut out all the junk food and processed food in your diet.
This is easy enough; you can eliminate white sugar entirely, as well as high-fructose corn syrup (which is now considered a no-no) and other unhealthy ingredients.
If you find yourself missing a potato chip or craving something sweet, then make sure it’s not filled with sugar (such as a “lite” version).
It’s much easier to see just how much sugar you’ve consumed if you take a glance at the nutrition panel on your foods.
#3 Sleep Well To Boost Weight Loss
While sleeping alone won’t make you slimmer anytime soon, you however need to get a good amount of sleep every day.
It may sound odd but think about it. The more you’re awake, you’re more likely to search for something to put under your teeth. It’s human!
It’s also proven that not getting enough sleep will decrease your energy level for the day.
To make up for that lack of energy, your body will send signals of hunger so that you eat more than usual because the body needs more energy to help you stay awake.
In the long run, it can definitely make you gain weight. And the goal here is the complete opposite.
#4 Count Your Calories
What Are Calories?
Simply put, a calorie is a measure of energy found in foods and drinks.
What you eat and drink is your calorie-in and your calorie-out is what you burn by moving, for instance, climbing the stairs, walking, exercising or when you are breathing and even thinking.
Did you know that during a typical day, the brain uses about 320 calories just to think? Pretty impressive uh?
The first thing you need to know before you start is the number of calories you should consume each day. This will be your starting point.
Basically, you need to determine the number of calories to consume to maintain your desired/current weight which is referred to as your weight-maintenance calories.
Once this is determined, you eat less than your weight-maintenance calories to create the famous calorie-deficit we often hear about.
How to calculate your weight-maintenance calorie.
While doing my research, I found a very easy way to calculate the number of calories I should eat per day and it is pretty accurate.
It is no simpler than to multiply your current weight in pounds by 15.
Let’s assume you weigh 148 lbs. You multiply it by 15 and it gives you 2,220.
In other words, if you eat 2,220 calories every single day, you should keep your actual weight.
Calorie-Deficit
Now the next step is to determine your calorie-deficit.
For your health and safety, experts recommend that you eat 500-1000 calories less than your weight-maintenance calories if you want to lose 1 pound per week.
But since we are talking about faster results, you may increase that number up to 1,200 calories.
Third step would be to plan your meals around your target calories.
Living in this tech-savvy world where you have apps for almost anything, why not take advantage of a handy app for the purpose of tracking your calories.
Below are some helpful apps that will help you track your calorie intake, determine the calorie content of each food and menu, and log in each meal every day:
In addition, you also want to plan your grocery shopping. Plan you meal first and shop accordingly to save time and money.
You will also note that every pre-packaged food comes with a label. Please read the labels to get the calorie count of the food you are buying.
Although it may seem like a lot of work to put in but I assure you it won’t be, once you get the hang of it.
However, if you feel like not tracking every single meal or food you put in your mouth, there is a way out.
You can make small changes in your diet which will give you good results over time.
For instance, you can opt for meals which are low in calorie; restrict the quantity and how often you eat; or even swapping your usual high-fat meat for a lean grass-fed beef.
By bringing these changes to your diet, you can definitely cut out dozens if not hundreds of calories.
#5 Eat More Protein-Rich Foods
I started this article with tip #1: to decrease the carbs. In parallel, you want to up your protein intake.
Protein is your best friend when you need to lose weight.
The key to a healthy lifestyle is not just about eating less and exercising more, but also about protein.
Include plenty of lean protein in your diet, like chicken breast or turkey sausage.
Protein can boost your metabolism and help keep you satisfied for longer periods of time, which can result in weight loss.
You can also use protein shakes to help you lose weight.
It is known to boost your metabolism, give you a feeling of satiety for much longer which will prevent you from overeating.
You can wave good-bye to those hunger pangs when you incorporate the right amount of protein in your daily meals.
More importantly, your body actually needs more energy (than carbs and fats) to process and digest the protein in the food you’ve consumed.
Consequently, more calories are getting burned.
How amazing is this?
Therefore, you want to increase your amount of protein intake to be able to shed those 20 pounds as fast as possible.
#6 Start Exercising
Another important step in losing weight is exercise.
Exercise helps you burn more calories and increase your metabolism so that you can continue to burn off those extra pounds.
However, you must slow down when you work out and increase your activity levels gradually.
Otherwise, your body may give up before achieving success and you will only feel frustrated.
Try to increase your activity level by 15 minutes each week. This can be achieved by walking more or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, for instance.
Be patient and remember that it takes time to lose weight.
Cardio
Now that I’ve detailed what I did to lose those 20 pounds in a month by just focusing on diet, I also understand you might want a quick boost.
So for those who want to speed up their weight loss, exercising is the way to go.
The first one that comes to mind and the most efficient exercise is of course Cardio.
Cardio is an exercise that raises your heart rate which in turn burn calories and fats faster, especially those located near the liver, intestines and stomach.
Luckily, you don’t need a gym membership to get your daily dose of cardio.
There are tons of amazing and efficient cardio workouts on youtube that you can do right at home.
Some examples of simple cardio workouts are steady-pace walking, running, biking, swimming, rope jumping and last but not least, climbing the stairs.
Yes, the stairs can be the place to get your cardio done:) Little tip: choose the stairs instead of the elevator and thank me later!
Weight Lifting
What comes to mind when you hear the word weight lifting? Do you think of John Cena or The Rock?
Then let me tell you that weight lifting is not only about adding extra bulk to your body.
Some of the benefits of weight lifting are:
- It helps boost your metabolic rate.
- It improves posture.
- It helps keep off your weight loss.
While dieting and lifting weights, your body is actually burning fat and building your muscle tissue.
Another great thing to note is that these muscle tissues have the power to continue burning more calories while you are resting.
So if you want a piece of advice, put on these sports shoes and grab your dumbells and barbells cause it’s a ride to burn-fat land.
Walking
Walking is probably the easiest exercise that you can include in your weight loss journey.
It does not cost anything. Well, only your time!
You can make small changes, for example, take a few minutes out of your lunch break to step out of the office and go for a walk.
In fact, you can easily trim your waistline and improve your overall health by doing a regular brisk-walking for at least 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week.
Ready to lose weight by just walking? So put on your walking gear, plan your daily walk, work your way up and keep the motivation.
#7 Increase Your Water Intake
Drinking plenty of water each day can help to reduce your appetite and speed up your metabolism.
Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day.
Although, it is not a bad idea to have more than this, because you will be less hungry and get more calories burned by drinking more water than you would if you only had eight 8-ounce glasses.
Water is life! And we can’t survive a few days without it.
Every sip of water you are swallowing is allowing your body to mainly flush toxins out of your system and controlling your calories.
Experts recommend a daily intake of 91 ounces for women.
When you drink more water, it keeps you full.
This is a daily and healthy habit you should adopt as it will prevent you from snacking.
As a result, you get more control over your calorie intake and burn more calories as well.
I know so many people who find it difficult to meet the daily intake requirement. If it is your case too, then you want to start slow.
If you find it too difficult to drink water only, then I recommend you go for fruit infused water, that’ll add in a little ounce of taste to the water.
A tip is to always keep a bottle of water with you.
As soon as you feel a little craving, go for water instead of snacks.
How To Lose Your 20 Pounds & Keep It Off For Good
Now that you know how to lose these 20 pounds in just a month, you may be left with another important question.
How do I keep off the pounds I lost for good?
It still boils down to adopting what you learned in this article, day by day.
In essence, embrace a healthy eating lifestyle, always value the quality of your food over quantity, get moving and stay consistent.
The results to a thinner waistline, flatter tummy or better health is just a few steps away. Are you ready to put these into practice?
Final Thoughts on How To Lose 20 Pounds in a Month
I hope that this blog post will help you achieve your desired weight loss goals.
Now that you know how to lose 20 pounds quickly and safely, it’s time to get prepared.
As I said earlier, the results you can get can be different from mine but I am sure by following these guidelines, you will only step up your health by losing weight and finally maintaining it.
But if If you are committed to following these 7 guidelines, you can definitely lose 20 pounds in a month.
