How to Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days

Co-authored by Kristi Major

Last Updated: June 9, 2021 References Approved

Losing ten pounds in ten days is not an easy endeavor. However, there are changes you can make, tips you can follow, and exercises that you can do to help you lose weight more quickly. Always be careful with any weight loss regimen; consult your doctor before you begin any diet or exercise program.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Following a Diet

1
Cut carbohydrates. To lose weight quickly, you should eliminate the sugars found in most carbohydrates. Simple, or bad, carbohydrates include foods like bread, pasta, and potatoes. All carbohydrates break down into glucose which provides your body with energy. In a weight loss study, people who cut out carbohydrates were more likely to lose weight than going on a low-fat diet.^{[1]
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- Cutting out carbs will help suppress your appetite and lower your blood sugar.
- Complex carbohydrates, or 'healthier' carbohydrates, are found in whole wheat, vegetables, fruits, and beans. These do not have to be completely eliminated from your diet but should be eaten in moderation.^{[2]
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2
Eliminate junk food. Junk food will stop you from losing weight. Eliminate it totally from your diet and from your home. You should remove junk food from temptation; clean out your pantry, fridge, and freezer.^{[3]
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Research source} Avoid eating out at restaurants where these temptations are present. Some junk food to avoid include:
- Sugary drinks - This includes any drink that has sugar as an ingredient. The most common of these is pop/soda. However, some fruit juices have added sugar.
- Pizza
- White bread and pasta
- Butter or margarine
- Pastry, cookies, and cakes
- French fries and potato chips
- Ice cream
- Processed meats and cheeses
- High calorie coffee drinks
- Most fast food
- Most processed foods
- Foods high in sugar
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3
Eliminate sugar from your diet. The American Heart Association recommends an adult woman only eating six teaspoons of (about 100 calories) of sugar per day. To lose weight rapidly, you may need to eliminate even this much.
- Just because you cut junk food from your diet does not meet you have cut all sugars. Sugars can be hidden in foods such as breads, condiments, and sauces. Always check your nutrition label for the sugar content in food.^{[4]
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4
Increase protein intake. When trying to lose weight, upping your protein intake may be the key. Protein will help you lose weight but keep muscle mass and help you burn calories more quickly. Consider doubling or even tripling your recommended daily amount (RDA) of protein to lose weight.
- Your RDA will depend on your gender and height. For example, a 5’5” (165 cm) woman should eat around 90g of protein a day.
- The average protein intake, for weight maintenance, for the average adult is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. To calculate individual need, multiple your body weight, in pounds, by .36. This will give your RDA of protein in grams.^{[5]
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- Healthy proteins include greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, steak, ground beef, chicken breasts, yellowfin tuna, halibut, salmon, anchovies, navy beans, lentils, peanut butter.^{[6]
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5
Increase water intake. Studies show that drinking 16oz of water before a meal will help you lose weight.^{[7]
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Research source} It makes you feel more full and helps keep you hydrated.
- You should drink around 8, 8oz glasses of water a day to stay hydrated. However, you need to drink more if you are exercising more. Drink enough that your urine is light in color.^{[8]
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  Trustworthy Source
  Mayo Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
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6
Limit salt. Studies have shown that the reduction of sodium in diets can help rapid weight loss.^{[9]
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Harvard Medical School
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- Avoid eating salty foods to reduce salt. Further, many pops/sodas have a high salt content. Always check the nutrient label for salt content in foods.
- Limiting salt can also help reduce your blood pressure.^{[10]
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- Doctors recommend a salt consumption of around 1,500-2,300mg of salt per day.
- Processed foods can be high in salt. If you did not freshly prepare a meal, always check for nutritional information. There may be more sodium in what you are eating than you realize.
7
Eat a 500 calorie deficit. To lose weight, you should calculate how much calories you're burning per day and eat around 300-500 calories less than that. However, be careful not to restrict yourself too much. On average women should eat no less than 1500 calories a day and men no less than 1700.^{[11]
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Research source} You must be careful with this! You should not starve yourself; that will make you sick and feel miserable.
- To calculate your daily calories, you should consider how many calories you are burning at rest and how many calories you are burning during exercise.
- There are a number of helpful guides online to tell you how many calories specific exercises burn.
- There are even online programs that will do the math for you. Do an internet search for “calorie calculator” or “calorie tracker.”^{[12]
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- The number of calories you will need to consume depends on your weight loss goals, age, gender, fitness level, and height. If you are a 5’5” (165cm), 150lb (68kg) woman who does light exercise, you will want to eat around 1,100-1,500 calories to lose 1-2lbs per week.
8
Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Eating smaller, healthier meals, more frequently will make you feel better and give you more energy. It will also stop you from feeling hungry which will eliminate your temptation to eat more. ^{[13]
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Research source}There are a number of diets out there you can try, but you should always try and hit your calorie limit each day. Consider a diet similar to this one:
- Breakfast -- 1 cup (8 oz) of fruit, 1 cup (8 oz) yogurt.
- Snack on 4 oz cup of sharp cheddar cheese (90 calories) or 3 tablespoons of humus (90 calories)^{[14]
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- Lunch -- Large salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and small amount of low calorie dressing. 1 cup (8 oz) of vegetables or fruit.
- Snack on 3 tablespoons of dried cherries (75 calories) or 2 kiwis (90 calories). ^{[15]
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- Dinner -- 6 oz baked chicken breast, 1 cup (8 oz) broccoli, 1 cup (8 oz) fruit.
- Snack on 1 cup of unsalted nuts or 1 cup of raw vegetables.
- Try to eat every three hours to keep your metabolism moving.
9
Pay attention to nutrition labels. Keep a food calorie of your typical daily intake, include beverages and snacks. You can add up calories and other helpful nutritional information just by reading these labels. A nutrition label contains many useful facts.
- Recommended serving size
- Calories and calories from fat
- Percentage of nutrients (and daily value percentage)
- Footnote - This will list the recommended daily value (DV) of nutrients.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Working Out and Exercising

1
Concentrate on cardio workouts. Cardiovascular workouts gets your heart pumping and will help you burn fat and lose weight. Concentrate on these types of workout for quick weight loss. Follow this cardio workout every day to lose weight quickly.^{[17]
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- Cross jacks -- You will want to do this in between each of the following moves. To do a cross jack, stand with your feet hip-width apart with your arms at your side. Jump your feet wide as you cross your arms overhead. Then, jump feet together crossing one foot in front of the other as you cross your arms in front of your hips. Do this for 30 second to a minute, switching positions on each jump.
- Single leg balance -- Balance on one leg, with other leg bent with foot slightly off the ground in front of you. Place your hands on your hips and lower into a squat, keeping foot off the floor. Maintain your squat throughout. Do 10 reps on each side.
- Crawl -- Lower yourself into a push-up form. Step your foot forward, bringing your knee toward the elbow and reach forward with opposite hand. Switch sides and repeat. Stay in crouched position throughout and crawl for 30 seconds and then reverse movement.
- Wall slide -- With your back facing the wall, lie on your left side and rest your head on your left hand. Put your right hand on the floor for balance. Placing your right heel on the wall behind you, slide foot as far up the wall as you can. Lower slowly. Do this for 10 reps and then switch sides.
- Lunge to push-up -- With your feet hip-width apart, put your hands on your hip. Step forward with your right leg and lunge. Lean forward over your thigh and place your hands on the floor, over your right foot. Step foot backward so you are in a push-up position. After counting to ten, press up and return to lunge form. Switch legs and repeat for 10 reps.
- Pendulum - Balance on your right leg and bend your left leg behind you. Place your right hand on your hip and lower into a squat on your right leg. Reach your left arm above your head and lean back slightly as you extend your left leg forward. Hold for ten seconds. Switch legs and repeat for 10 reps.
2
Walk more. To reduce risk of heart disease and help you lose weight, try and get get 10,000 steps in each day.^{[18]
X
Trustworthy Source
Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
Go to source} You can track this with a pedometer or a fitness tracker. To get these steps try the following:
- Walk to work if you can. If you can't, try getting off the bus at an earlier stop or park at the end of the parking lot.
- Take the stairs. Avoid taking the elevator.
- Take a two or three minute break every hour and walk.
3
Push yourself. It is easy to just go through the motions with these workouts. However, you have to push yourself to feel the burn. Do not just do move through the steps; try and engage your muscles when you work out.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Keeping Healthy Habits

1
Make plans to change your lifestyle for 10 days to 2 weeks. If possible, commit several months to changing your lifestyle. Short term commitment to weight loss may result in a failure to maintain your weight. You cannot simply change your diet and exercise habits for 10 days and return to old habits.^{[19]
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Trustworthy Source
Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
Go to source}
2
Visit your doctor if you have any health concerns. Fast weight loss requires a commitment to health, or you can find yourself becoming ill, malnourished and tired. You can even cause long term damage if you approach weight loss without all of the proper knowledge.
3
Start taking a multivitamin. You will be making rapid changes to your body, and you should make sure you are maintaining your health. Taking a multivitamin may help enhance your diet.^{[20]
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4
Get a weight loss partner for 10 days. Studies have shown that people are more successful at losing weight, and keeping weight off, if they work out with a partner. Consider working with a friend, colleague, husband/wife or family member.
5
Do not starve yourself. You have to eat! Your body needs to be strong and full of energy so you can burn fat the healthy way. Do not think you can cut corners by not eating at all. Be sure to eat a healthy diet and try and maintain a consistent calorie count.
6
Keep yourself busy. You will be tempted to give in, to eat more, or to do less. Keep yourself busy throughout the day to avoid these temptations. If you can, break up your workout throughout the day at times that you know will be tempted (for example, around lunch time or dinner time).
7
Stick with it! Losing 10lbs in 10 days will be very difficult. You are making rapid changes to your body and it will change how you will feel. Stick with your goals and routine and push through it. You will thank yourself at the end!

Foods to Eat and Avoid and Exercises for Weight Loss

Foods to Eat to Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days

Foods to Avoid to Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days

Exercise Schedule to Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days

Expert Q&A

Question

How long should it take me to lose 10 lbs?

Kristi Major
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Kristi Major is an ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified Personal Trainer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kristi has over 18 years of personal training experience and more than 90 hours of recertification study in fitness, health, nutrition, and supplementation. She is CPR and AED certified from the American Heart Association and she has a BA in Television Broadcasting.

Kristi Major

ACE Certified Personal Trainer

Expert Answer

It depends. Try not to get discouraged if you're not able to lose all of the weight in 10 days. Losing weight at a slower pace is normal, and taking a slower approach will make it easier to keep the weight off.