It’s good to set a goal for everything you want to achieve in your life, especially when it comes to your health. Setting an aim to lose 20 pounds in 3 months may feel daunting, but don’t worry. We have got you covered.
The key to lose weight and sustain it for a longer period is to take gradual and meaningful steps instead of dreadful diets and excessive exercises.
The weight loss journey is quite challenging. You can either be less motivated or you may think that’s beyond impossible. Making little tweaks in your habits can certainly help keep you on track.
Here’s how you can tweak your habits and see the results for yourself. But before you begin your weight-loss journey, don’t forget to contact your physician to avoid any health complications.
Let’s learn about how to lose 20 pounds in 3 months.
How to Lose 20 Pounds in 3 Months in Simple Steps?
1. Count your calorie intake
According to NHLBI, a person who wants to lose weight fast needs to consume 500-1000 fewer calories daily. For the same purpose, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases designed a planner for those who want to lose weight through a specific diet and activity plan.
Simply put, you gain weight when you consume more calories and reduce less of them. You can easily reduce your weight either by increasing your physical activity or by consuming fewer calories. When it becomes harder to cut down on calories, counting calories is a much effective and sustainable way when coupled with lifestyle and diet modifications.
According to a research study, people lost 3.3 kg (7.3 pounds) more when they incorporated calorie counting in their routines than the ones who did not.
2. Drink plenty of water
Increasing your water intake is highly recommended for losing weight fast with minimal effort. Research shows that water can activate your metabolism to work efficiently in the weight loss process.
Drinking water before meals helps you in losing 44% more weight over 3 months or 12 weeks. Furthermore, if you take small sips of water with your meals, it can help you feel satiated, thus leading you to reduce your weight. To get the best results, try drinking 16 glasses of water per day to get the desired results.
3. Avoid consuming refined carbs and added sweeteners
Researchers claim that consuming carbohydrates makes your body insulin-resistant, increases adiposity, and raises the risk of obesity.
Carbohydrate-rich foods such as wheat, pasta, pastries, white bread, and all baked confectioneries should not be heavily consumed by people who are on a weight loss journey. Instead, they can opt for whole-grain carbohydrates.
Refined carbohydrates tend to lose their fiber content while processing, as a result, we have a nutria-poor final product that is not healthy at all. Moreover, their high glycemic index value makes them super digestive and eventually you get frequent eating disorders that ultimately trigger sugar spikes.
Excessive consumption of refined carbs is associated with weight gain and body fat too. A study stated that was conducted over 2,834 people, concluded that people who added refined carbs to their diet, gained body weight, while a greater number of people who avoided them, reported a considerable weight loss.
4. Increase your protein intake
A diet rich in protein is more beneficial in weight loss and reducing appetite. A research study concluded that women, who want to maintain their weight loss journey, should consume 89-119 grams of protein daily. As far as men are concerned, they should consume 104-138 grams of protein a day.
Foods that are rich in protein include:
- Seafood (fish, prawns, crabs, etc.)
- Legumes, lentils, beans
- Poultry and Lean meat
- Plant-based protein – tofu
- Dairy products and eggs
Another study reveals that having a high protein breakfast to start your day declines the ghrelin levels – a hormone that triggers hunger, by a significantly greater degree if you eat a carbohydrate-rich breakfast.
5. Dare to lift weights
To increase endurance and improve your muscle strength, resistance training is an effective option. Accommodating resistance training in your daily fitness routine can inflate your fat-burning process and improves your metabolism to burn more calories even when you are at rest.
You should spend 150min/week on physical exercises and activities. This concludes that indulging in physical exercise can also help you in losing weight in a much lesser time.
People who are trying to lose weight in a quick time should try out different exercises and resistance training while having a protein-rich diet.
6. Get an adequate sleep
No matter how exercising and sticking to a healthy diet works incredibly in your weight loss journey, but having a sound sleep can play an important role as well. A study conducted on 245 women discovered that having a seven-hour sleep at night not only enhanced their quality of sleep but they succeeded in losing 33% more weight than the women who did not get sleep for seven hours at night till a specific time.
If you are suffering from insomnia, you can try practicing bedtime rituals before going to bed, including, limiting your caffeine intake and screen time. Following a good bedtime routine will help you achieve your weight loss goals.
7. Being accountable
Staying accountable is what makes you successful in achieving your goals in no time. There are several ways to stay accountable for your weight loss goals that you can try.
One of them is to maintain a journal to note how you’re losing weight with your changing habits. Check your body mass daily, maintain a diet plan and stick to it. It is better to note down your calorie intake for a day and record the daily progression.
8. Eat slowly and mindfully
It is important to be aware of what you are putting into your body and conscious enough to know how unhealthy foods can negatively affect your body. By following healthy eating habits, you can accelerate your weight loss journey, thus allowing you to enjoy the goodness of your food as well.
A study concluded that eating slowly enhances the feeling of satiety and as a result, you eat less comparatively at a faster pace. Similarly, eating slowly can help you in consuming fewer calories at a time.
So, if you want to keep yourself on track, then minimize your distractions while you eat, drink plenty of water during meals, and avoid taking high carbs, but add protein-rich meals to your diet to maximize your weight loss results.
With motivation and determination losing 20 pounds in 3 months may not be difficult at all, if you follow these tips, you can lose your extra pounds in no time.