Congratulations on finally deciding to stick to a healthy diet plan to shred some weight this month. Regardless if your goal is to lose five or eight pounds, losing that amount of weight can be extremely challenging.
Not only does it necessitate lifestyle and diet changes, but you’ll also need to be a bit patient. Fortunately, with the correct diet plan that uses tried and tested strategies, you can expedite and simplify the weight loss process.
An ideal weight loss diet plan begins by reducing the amount of sugar and carbs you consume while eating the proper amounts of calories.
When you follow the information provided in this read, you may be able to lose 20 pounds…it’s important to keep in mind that most diet plans shoot for 1 to 2 pounds per week as that’s a number that has been reported to self and healthy for most people.
So, keep your expectations in check as losing 2o pounds in one month isn’t always a realistic or healthy goal.
You’ll find out how you can cutback on your calorie consumption to shred weight and also include movement into your daily routine so that you can quickly digest and burn carbs, instead of increasing additional weight.
We’ll also provide a sample diet plan that one could follow to lose 20 pounds in a month, as well as shave off belly fat and body fat as a whole.
Cutting Calories To Lose 20 Pounds
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Most individuals will begin a 20-pound weight loss strategy by thinking they’ll need to curb their calories considerably.
Although reducing your processed carbs and calories is part of the process, you don’t need to count the calories. The fastest method to cutback on your calorie intake is to consume more plant-based and nutrient-dense foodstuffs.
RELATED: Is it Safe to Lose 20 Pounds in a Month?
There are people who try to shed weight on 500 calories per day, however, that can be harmful to your health. When you consume a severely low number of calories, you are at risk of developing gallstones, getting dehydrated, and being malnourished. Aside from that, your energy levels will be extremely low and the likelihood of you indulging in unhealthy eating habits would increase.
With this 20-pound weight loss monthly diet plan, the focus will be on nutritious foods that generally contain low calories.
For individuals over the 200-pound mark, a keto diet is something to take up for a couple of weeks due to its quick weight-loss advantages. After you being the weight loss plan, you can safely get-off keto and still achieve your weight loss goals.
Number of Calories One Should Consume To Lose Weight
If your objective is to shred 20 pounds in a month, then you should ideally shave 5 pounds a week. For a healthy woman, this implies consuming around 1200 to 1500 calories every day and drink not less than 24 oz of water.
Nevertheless, the average individual can consume about 1000-1200 calories of nutrient-rich foods per day to accelerate weight loss and shred 20 pounds fast.
Sample Meal Plan to Help You Lose 20 Pounds
Below is an example of a healthy 1000-1200 calorie per day sample diet plan:
- Breakfast: Tomato omelet (2 eggs) & spinach with a single slice of whole-wheat toast (Calorie amount= 275)
- Lunch: 1 chicken breast (baked) with 2 tbsp hummus and 2 cups of salad greens (Calorie amount= 235)
- Dinner: Chicken meatballs (5) dipped in tomato sauce and accompanied by zucchini noodles (Calorie amount=400)
- Snack: Low-fat Greek Yogurt (170g) sprinkled with ½ cup strawberries (Calorie amount= 125)
This sample meal plan is an example of a healthy, nutrient-rich low-calorie diet that’s rich in vitamins, fiber, fat, complex carbs, and protein. If you’re attempting occasional fasting, you’ll likely have two or three meals on this food schedule.
NB: The typical inactive woman can consume this selection of foodstuffs without feeling unhealthy, sluggish, or tired. However, if your body requires additional calories, you can include additional healthy carbs if you wish (beans, quinoa, whole grain rice, or sweet potatoes are some great choices).
Examples Of Low-Calorie Foods To Consume To Shred 20 Pounds or More
There is a myriad of possible nutrient-dense food combinations you can take to decrease calories in order to shed weight. If you select the correct low-calorie diet plan for your case (as indicated in the sample diet plan above), you won’t starve yourself or get insufficient nutrients. Here are some low-calorie and nutritious foods that will assist you to shed weight.
CARBS (GRAINS, FRUITS, & VEGETABLES)
- Raspberries- 64 calories/cup
- Blackberries- 62 calories/cup
- Mushrooms- 15 calories/1 cup
- Strawberries- 53 calories/cup
- Watercress- 4 calories/1 cup
- Cucumbers- 16 calories/cup
- Arugula- 5 calories/cup
- Cantaloupe- 60 calories/cup
- Grapefruit- 74 calories/cup
DAIRY
- One ounce of low concentrated fat mozzarella- 72 calories
- 1 tbsp cream cheese- 19 calories
- 1 oz Non-fat cheddar- 44 calories
- Low Fat Cottage cheese- 81 calories/cup
- One tablespoon of shredded parmesan- 21 calories
PROTEIN
- Shrimp- 101 calories in 3 oz
- 1 large egg- 78 calories
- Codfish- 71 calories per 3 oz fillet
- Lentils- 115 calories for every half a cup
Other Ways Of Eating Right To Lose Weight In A Month Include
Eat Less Processed Carbs
Processed carbs such as cupcakes, bagels, white rice, hamburger buns, ice cream, white bread, spaghetti, etc, all contribute to weight gain. Particularly belly fat. The best action you can undertake to shred weight fast is to eliminate processed carbs from your meal plan entirely.
You can substitute them with high fiber carbs from foods such as mushrooms, leafy greens, ground vegetables, and some grains.
If you’re not able to push down the urge to indulge in something sweet, you should prepare yourself psychologically to burn the extra energy. You can opt to do 15-25 jumping jacks or squats (or both) a few minutes before you eat something with a lot of processed carbs.
It’s an excellent tactic to counteract yourself. Some individuals opt to for a walk with their furry friend or play around with the kids before.
Eat Fat-Burning Foods
Starving yourself to shed weight isn’t the way to go – it’s selecting the correct food types that will burn the excess calories for you that will help. Get rid of all the junk food you’ve got in your pantry and pile up on the nutrient-dense stuff.
- Fatty fish
Rich in omega-3s, these fish assist in decreasing leptin levels in your body as well as increase your metabolic rate and keeps hunger at arm’s length. If you’re not much of a seafood lover, consult with your physician about the possibility of getting onto fish oil supplements. Though not as good as the real thing, it still gets the job done.
- An ‘Apple’ a day helps keep the fat away
Apples are rich in pectin, which decreases the amount of fat the body can absorb. They are also really delicious, low in calories and fiber-full, which makes them the ideal snack.
- Include garlic and ginger into your diet.
Garlic reduces insulin levels, while ginger broadens your blood vessels, and both raise your metabolism.
- Use olive oil as your main oil for cooking
Though is technically fat, olive oil has the good type (monounsaturated) that assists in lowering cholesterol levels and comes with a range of other health advantages as well.
Avoid Including Additional Calories While Preparing Food
4 ounces of lean chicken is great for your body… that’s until you smear it with Colby-Jack and butter.
When tending to meat, remove the skin and then trim the fat. And don’t cover it in bread crumbs or other additives.
Also, don’t deep fry food. Even vegetables; it loses all their nutrients when fried.
Instead, steam your food and include a lot of spices. Steaming rather than frying will cutback calories and fat, and spices will assist in raising metabolism.
Quit Junk Food
If you want to keep your calorie consumption low, you will have to eliminate sugary, salty, overly-processed snacks and foods from your diet. Bid farewell to candy, cake, pizza, and French fries.
Fatty foods and sweets consist of more concentrated amounts of calories per serving, which implies that you can be eating the unhealthy fattening foods in the same servings as other nutrient-dense food and still increase weight. For those looking to decrease their body fat, it would be in your interest to cut junk food.
The type of food you consume should either be steamed, broiled, baked, or grilled. Steer clear from fatty additives such as oil and butter.
One easy method to considerably decrease the calories you’re getting is by refraining from drinking soda and consuming fast food. They are just filled with empty calories that increase the pounds gradually without even tricking your stomach you’re full.
Drink Water
Water can play an integral role in your 20-pound weight loss plan. Increasing the amount of water you take every day is an excellent way of drinking away the weight with minimal effort to you.
As a matter of fact, one research discovered that combining a low-calorie food diet with increased water consumption before eating results in 44% more weight loss within 12 weeks.
Research has shown that water may facilitate weight loss by increasing the metabolic rate, temporarily raising the number of calories you burn after eating. Also, drinking water alongside meals helps in making you feel full, decreasing your food intake and appetite.
For instance, one case study revealed that consuming 500 ml of water before eating decreased subsequent calories eaten by 13%.
Although every person’s hydration requirement varies, the Institute of Medicine recommends women and men drink around 2.7 and 3.7 liters of water every day, respectively, which also encompasses water in food, fruits, and other beverages to reduce appetite and facilitate weight loss.
Snack Away
Taking five to seven small meals every day results in faster weight loss compared to any other meal plan. You will remain filled throughout the day, eliminating the need to overeat.
Just ensure that you eat healthy snacks. Measure out servings of your most-liked healthy snacks (yogurt, nuts, grapes, or carrots) and wrap them up for easy accessibility in the course of the week. Rather than working non-stop all day, you’ll be doing your work while you snack, which will keep your metabolic rate up.
Also, make sure not to skip breakfast! The human body requires that jolt in the morning to get systems up and running. You’ll be more energized and likely to lose weight as well as keep it off.
MILD EXERCISE IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT ALWAYS NECESSARY
Habitual movement is integral for your weight loss plan and general health, even though exercising isn’t a prerequisite.
If your goal is to decrease the number of calories, raising your exercise level isn’t always the best alternative since it may prove to be too strenuous for your body and you may begin to feel sluggish and drained. I suggest that you include more complex carbs on exercise days so you have sufficient energy.
During rest days, you can consume low calories as you’ll be in an inactive state. If you’ve got faster metabolism and increased muscle mass, you don’t need to be concerned about consuming 1200-1500 calories.
However, if you’re usually inactive with little to no activity or exercise, taking 1000-1200 calories is ideal.
When you’re attempting to shed weight fast, like in a month, make sure that your plan complements your lifestyle. Your weight loss plan shouldn’t make you feel stressed, hungry, or tired for the whole day. It’s the fastest way to find yourself indulging in regressive behavior like eating high carb foodstuffs.
Make a point of including around 30 minutes of medium to low-intensity activity in your daily routine. Even if most of your time is spent in the office, the simple decision to use the stairs rather than the elevator can make a significant difference.
Exercises you can do in your pursuit to lose 20 pounds in a month include:
- Cardio
- Running
- Walking
- Swimming
- Weight lifting
- Cycling
- Rock climbing
- Dancing
Sweat The Pounds Off
Given how water makes up the largest composition in the human body, body cells tend to store the water for future purposes. This can lead to bloating and building up of water weight, which increases the scale number higher and higher.
You can eliminate the excess liquids by discharging water from the body through sweat. This can be achieved through an intensive 1- hour cardiovascular exercise or a 30-minute soak in the sauna can assist in dumping 1-2 pounds of water weight.
To attain your weight goals, drink water moderately to cycle fresh fluids into metabolism and also stay hydrated.
FINAL THOUGHTS – LOSING WEIGHT IS A CONSCIOUS DECISION
Regardless of the amount of weight you are looking to lose, it will all boil down to how much you’re ready to commit to attaining the results you want. You’ll be able to shred 20 pounds in a month, but are you ready to:
- Begin engaging in some kind of routine activity daily?
- Raise your protein and vegetable intake and consume less processed carbs?
- Follow the vibe of your body and only have a meal when hungry, and halt when you feel full?
- Not to count all the calories you eat, but concentrate on healthy, nutrient-rich foods?
- Get adequate sleep during the nighttime and decrease your stress level?
- Care for your wellbeing through the entire process?
- (for the ladies) let yourself succumb to your cravings (within reason) during your menses without guilt?
If any of these apply to you, you can begin your weight loss plan to lose 20 pounds in a month right now. You should keep in mind that the weight loss excursion won’t be an easy one.
There are times when you may be tempted to backslide and start eating extra portions, junk food, and even regular snacking.
To keep yourself motivated with the diet plan, weigh yourself on the scale frequently and take measurements of your thighs, hips, waist, and arms so that you can monitor your progress.
Try this 1-month diet plan to lose 20 pounds, or at least be on your way to reach your weight loss goals.
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