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The amount of weight one can lose in a month depends on multiple individual factors, but nothing spells success like a solid plan. Here is your go-to guide for understanding what type of weight loss results you can expect in 30 days and weekly guidance on how you can maximize your results.
The Best Approach to Fast Weight Loss
The number one thing you can do to start losing weight now is to change your nutrition. Getting exercise, avoiding sleep deprivation, and proper stress management all can play a role but nothing comes close to the impact of your food choices. You can only increase your calorie burn so much, whereas your calorie intake has a much bigger impact on weight gain and weight loss.
Focus nearly all of your energy on diet when you are just starting out and you will see results more quickly.
Can You Reach Your Weight Loss Goals in a Month?
How much weight can you lose in a month? Most people can realistically lose about 0.5% to 1% of their body weight per week, confirms the CDC. This works out to be an average of 1 to 2 pounds per week or 5 to 10 pounds in a month.
The amount of weight you can truly lose in 30 days is a matter of physics. While it is fairly easy to see immediate changes in water weight, true fat loss takes some time. The speed at which you can lose fat depends on your starting weight, unique metabolism, and various lifestyle factors.
Typically a higher starting weight means you are able to lose weight more quickly in the beginning. If you have been on and off diets for a while now, this may slow down your ability - you might want to consider giving your metabolism a break by eating closer to your maintenance needs every now and then to reset.
Results will not always come right away. Oftentimes your current weight is a reflection of what you have done the past couple of weeks. So if you’re feeling stuck, be patient and keep at it. Reaching a healthy weight will not happen overnight, so give yourself time to be successful.
30 Day Healthy Weight Loss Program
Start your month long program to reach a healthy weight now.
How This Plan Works
Each week provides a focus area and goal to strive for. Once you master your weekly goal, aim to keep it up for the remaining weeks.
Additionally, outlined is what to expect in terms of results at each phase. Use this as a check in to see whether or not you are on track or need to make some adjustments.
Pro Tip to Set Yourself Up for Success
Before you get started, learn how to track your intake and practice portion control. The easiest way to do this is using a written food journal or nutrition tracking app for a few days or even a full week. This is the first thing I tell every single client to do, and it is by far the most powerful form of self awareness when it comes to your nutrition.
Healthy eating can be hard if you don’t know exactly what you are eating on a regular basis. Even if you think you know everything you are eating, you likely don’t. Portion sizing is not inherently ingrained in most of us, unless we weigh our food or use measuring cups and spoons on a regular basis.
Getting familiar with holding yourself accountable and reaching your calorie and weight loss goals will be that much easier in the weeks to come.
Ready to get started?
Week 1: Master Consistent Calorie Control
Figure out your daily calorie needs and get good at staying within range on most days. The goal is to be within a 10% to 25% calorie deficit - eating fewer calories than your body burns each day. You can learn exactly how many calories you need to lose weight using an online calculator or any nutrition tracking app.
The goal is not to hit your calories perfectly every day. It is to fine tune your intake over time to match where you should be. It can be helpful to focus on your weekly calorie average versus daily calorie intake. Or just aim to stay within range at least four out of the seven days; this puts you in the bucket of most days of the week.
Forgive the off days and just keep chugging along. There is no need to cut calories lower one day to make up for a surplus another.
End of Week Check-in
You may or not see the scale budge. You are just getting started. Take a deep breath and keep going.
Week 2: Establish a Routine
Our success lives and dies by the strength of the systems we build. Don’t underestimate the power of repetition and a good routine.
Figure out an eating schedule that works for you - everyone is different! If you enjoy intermittent fasting, use that. If three meals a day and no snacks feels right, go with that. It does not matter what you choose, as long as you stick with it and use it as a framework for managing your calories and nutrition moving forward.
End of Week Check-in
You should start to feel like things are working now and the scale is starting to go in the right direction. Now is the time to remove any unnecessary obstacles and tweak your routine if needed.
Week 3: Tackle Hunger with Protein and Fiber
Now is the time to step up your nutrition game and get ahead of hunger. Protein and fiber are the two things you are going to want to increase in your weekly meal plan to keep you feeling fuller longer - making cutting calories a bit easier.
Aim to eat 100 grams of protein and 30 grams of fiber per day by eating more of these high protein options and these high fiber foods. If you are finding your current intake is far away from this goal, start slow and increase as best you can over time. Any increase in either of these nutrients will have a positive impact.
End of Week Check-in
Feeling hangry? If you are feeling too drained or overly hungry, adding a small amount of healthy fats to your diet can help. But a little bit of hunger is typically a good sign you are losing weight. Hang in there and adjust to your comfort level.
Week 4: Start Fine Tuning Your Food Choices
Now that you’ve got a good handle on calorie control and building healthier habits, making small changes in your nutrition will lead to huge results down the road.
Oftentimes we know where we should start - the little things we don’t want to give up. But if you need some guidance here are a few ideas to try:
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Cut out processed foods and snacks. Switch to mostly whole foods.
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Stop drinking alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages. Drink more water, tea, and black coffee.
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Reduce the calorie toppings and dressing like cheese, mayo, and ranch. Add flavor with herbs and citrus instead.
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Cut back on sugar with fewer desserts, packaged foods, and added sweeteners. Switch to fruit for something sweet.
End of Week Check-in
Congrats on making it through 30 days! All of your hard work has paid off - whether you reached your expected weight loss goal or not, you have likely gained more than you’ve lost. Keep up the habits you’ve built and adjust where needed to make them stick for the long-haul. Welcome to your new healthy lifestyle.
Reaching a Sustainable Weight After Your First Month
The trick to sustainable weight loss is building sustainable habits. Anyone can go to extreme measures for short periods of time, but continuing this approach for more than a few weeks is not only unsustainable, but can do a real number on your mental and physical wellbeing.
Instead, look at reaching your weight loss goals as a lifestyle shift and lifetime approach to getting a little better each day. There will be bumps along the way and some days or weeks will be harder than others. Choosing habits that are easy to maintain and make you feel good from the inside out are crucial for long-term success.
Small changes lead to massive results if you are consistent and patient. Over time you will look back at your weight loss journey and realize just how far you’ve come.
Make eating healthier even easier by outsourcing some or all of your nutrition to the experts. Trifecta has six weight loss meals plans designed to improve your health and simplify your life.