Lose weight in a week? It’s possible!

Here's a guide with diet plan, exercise routine and tips to help you lose weight in a week.

If you think you cannot lose weight in a week, you are mistaken. Losing weight in seven days is possible but the amount you lose needs to be monitored. Following a crash diet can help you lose even 5 kg in a week’s time but if diet experts are to be believed, it is not at all healthy and does more harm than good to your body. However, you need not be disappointed as even a healthy diet will definitely show results in seven days. Here is a guide to help you shed weight in a week.

How much weight loss is recommended in 7 days?

Says nutritionist Akansha Jhalani, ‘Losing half to 1 kg in a week is healthy. If this initial goal is achieved, then further weight loss can be attempted.’

Sample diet plan by Akansha

Instead of starving one should look at clean and healthy eating. Small frequent meals should be consumed throughout the day.

Morning breakfast: Cereal, milk and a fruit
Mid meal: Choose from a fruit, milkshake, small portion of salad, 2 biscuits, etc.
Lunch and dinner: A generous serving of vegetables, a portion of cereal like roti or rice, a pulse and curd or buttermilk
Evening snack: A slice of toast or a fruit, or rice flakes or khakara

Exercise routine

It is important to note that along with the right diet, you also need to exercise to burn those calories away. Since you only have a week, you should work out the entire body instead of focusing on specific body parts. ‘45 minutes of any form of physical exercise, five times a week is recommended for effective weight loss,’ advises Akansha.

Urmi Kothari, an alternative fitness professional recommends doinghigh-intensity interval training (HIIT) five times a week as it helps in inch and fat loss. This will make you look slimmer than usual in a short time.’

It is also essential to incorporate a mix of cardio and weight training to make sure you are burning calories as well as fat and your metabolic rate is also increasing which will result in faster outcome.

A few forms you could try are:

Other tips to keep in mind

Burn more calories than you consume as this will help you lose weight. Use a calorie counter to calculate what you eat and burn.

To increase your body’s metabolism, eat frequently but in small portions.

Drink ample water to prevent water retention by your body and speed up the fat burning process. You will lose weight quickly if you drink more water.

Completely shun junk food as they do not have any nutrients and pack in loads of empty calories.

Give up alcohol and sugary drinks for a week and see how many fewer calories you pile on every day.

Opt for low-fat and healthy versions of everything you eat. For example, have mixed vegetable parantha instead of just potato or grilled fish instead of fried.

If you are a rice eater, restrict it to only once a day and preferably during lunch. Also, switch to brown rice from white.

Eat in smaller plates and chew slowly to give your brain the signal that you are feeling full.

If you cannot exercise in one go, opt for weight training in the morning and cardio in the evening. Go for a jog, skip or run on the spot if you can’t hit the gym on any day.

Do more reps and sets with lighter weights than going for heavier ones and injuring yourself.

Do not cheat on your diet plan even on a single day for a week. If you crave desserts, eat dates or dry fruits.

Cut down on refined sugar as much as possible. Add honey to your beverages and avoid processed foods as they are high in sugar as well as sodium.

‘Discipline and consistency with your exercise will do wonders with your weight loss mission. It can be performed even after your weight loss goal is reached with slowly increasing the intensity and time period,’ says Akansha.

Foods that boost metabolism

Eating foods that give your metabolism a boost will help in losing weight faster. So include the following in your daily diet:

Foods that burn fat

There are certain food items that can help burn fat which will only benefit you when you are on a weight loss diet. So make sure you have these in your diet:

Green chillies
Green tea
Chilled water

Low-calorie foods

When on a weight loss diet, eat a mix of low-calorie and high protein food items. This will help your body retain energy and you won’t have hunger pangs as well. Here are a few low-calorie foods you should include:

Remember weight loss is not something that happens overnight with drastic results. It is a step-by-step regime that comprises various factors. Losing too much weight by a fad starvation diet or heavy forms of exercise can strip your body of essential nutrients that are required for daily metabolism, it can leave you sluggish and lethargic and can have lethal effects on your body functioning as well warns Akansha.

Why losing too much weight in a short time is not recommended?

Most people who lose too much weight in a short time are on fad diets. These diets restrict certain food groups which though help shed kilos but also deprive the body of nutrients that are essential for it to function optimally. In addition to this, such diets are also short-lived and you end up putting on all the weight once you go back to your normal diet. According to nutritionist Neha Chandna, ‘What’s the whole point of following some diet regime which is short-lived, deprives you of nutrients and has many hazardous effects on your body? Fad diets can lead to constipation, weakness, fatigue, nausea, depression and muscle loss.’

Now that you know the secret to losing weight in a healthy way, make sure you track your progress and by the end of the week feel a kilo lighter. Continue with the regimen and lose more weight in an effective manner.