You want to lose 2 pounds a week but you don’t know where to start.
You’re not sure what the best diet is for your body type, or even if you should be
counting calories.
You don’t know if it’s even safe to try to lose 2 pounds a week.
Like, isn’t that starvation mode?? Will it wreck your metabolism??
Is there any hope? 😩 Well, congratulations. You have found the solution you have been looking for.
As a Certified Personal Trainer, mom, and nutritionist, I am here to help you.
Read on to see your battle-tested game plan to lose 2 pounds a week – every week.
This guide is comprehensive, simple, easy-to-follow, and written in plain english.
It will teach you how to lose 2 pounds a week in a healthy and sustainable way.
It will also help you create your very own personalized 10-step plan to lose 2 pounds a week.
cue music 🎶so this is love. mmmm 🎶
Lose 2 Pounds a Week with this 3-Step Jump-start
Here’s how to get started.
- Set a weight loss goal:
congratulations! You already did this step. You already know
you want to lose 2 pounds a week. ta-da! ✅ That wasn’t so hard now was it? - Create a weight loss meal plan:
I’ll touch more on this later in this post. For now, just
know you need some kind of a meal plan if you want to lose 2 pounds a week. Also, you
need to know that it’s not a simple matter of calories in calories out. As a woman (my
blog is for women – sorry guys!), your hormones play an important role as well. This is
why some women cut calories down to 1,000 and gain weight faints in spanish - Get on a solid workout plan.
No, not one of those 8-week, 2-week, 1-week plans. You need a solid 1-year plan. Why? I’ll explain more in this blog post. But no, it is not because you need the full year.
Are You Qualified to Lose 2 Pounds a Week?
Before we go any further, I need to discuss your weight and body fat percentage with you 🙂
I’m a personal trainer.
Just doing my job here.
If you want to lose 2 pounds a week – healthily and safely, there are certain criteria you
need to meet.
- Criteria #1: your body fat percentage must be 40% or greater AND
- Criteria #2: your weight must be 250 pounds or greater
It’s not “or”. Meaning, you can’t close your eyes to one criteria.
You have not passed this check if you only meet one of those criteria.
You must meet both in order to be a perfect candidate to lose 2 pounds a week.
This is because a rate of weight loss of 1% – 3% body fat is considered healthy.
A woman weighing 250 pounds at 40% body fat percentage has 100 pounds of bodyfat.
This woman can therefore safely lose 2% of that 100 pounds every week.
That’s 2 pounds every week.
Everybody else, please don’t try this at home.
Stick with 1 pound a week – which is the safe, sustainable, albeit painful way.
I promise trying to lose weight doesn’t last forever if you do the 3 tips already mentioned
above.
If you have passed the criteria above. Nicely done! Let’s continue on this voyage ⛵
Managing Stress & Getting Quality Sleep
Most blog posts on this topic of losing 2 pounds a week will start by talking about calories
But you know that already.
You already know about calories. You already know about exercise.
So let’s skip to the good parts.
Let’s talk about your stress and your sleep.
Because I know, you – a drop dead gorgeous, talented, beautiful, stunning, powerful goddess did not gain weight for no reason.
If you’re like most women, you gained it during a period of intense stress (or sometimes trauma)
So let’s address it.
- Have you tried journaling?
- Are you in therapy?
- Have you told that man (or woman) to level up or move?
- Are you prioritizing YOU?
If you weight over 250 pounds, your hormones are likely spinning like a ferris wheel inside
your body.
They are probably not balanced.
So the first thing you need to do is balance them by sleeping and cutting out anything that is
stressing you out.
Unless it’s your hair. I can’t tell you to cut your hair even if it’s stressing you out.
Bottomline: An important part of losing 2 pounds a week is to manage stress and get quality
sleep.
These two factors alone make a huge difference in your weight loss success.
Managing stress and getting quality sleep can help to boost your metabolism, balance your
hormones, and boost your energy levels.
This in turn makes you feel less fatigued, which will make it easier to stick to your weight
loss plan, as well as make it easier to stay motivated and accountable.
Try to make time for yourself every day.
You could spend that time relaxing with a massage or taking time out to read a book.
This will help to keep your mind off of things and make sure that you are getting enough
sleep, as sleep deprivation can hurt your weight loss progress.
Eating Habits for Weight Loss
Okay. Let’s talk about food because it is important.
If you want to lose 2 pounds a week, it’s best to eat fewer calories than you burn.
This can be as simple as swapping sugar-filled foods for healthier alternatives.
Specifically, throw away any soda, fruit juices, hard candy, and cakes in your home.
Toss any white breads, sugar-filled cereals, white rice, and anything that can be spotted at a
gas station checkout stand.
Make the majority of your selections from the following 5 food groups: Vegetables, fruit,
whole grains, protein foods (fish, poultry, beans, eggs), and low-fat dairy products
Several eating habits can also help you to lose weight more quickly. – Eat small, healthy
meals throughout the day – if that works for you!!!
Eat one meal a day – if that works for you!!!
Allow room for flexibility and change
With food, there is no one set eating pattern that is the gold standard for everybody.
In fact, you may find that in one season of your life you LOVE 6 small meals a day and lose
weight effortlessly.
In another season, the thought of breakfast makes you want to vomit. And you only want to
do 2 meals a day.
There is no right or wrong here. Only what works for you!
We’ve been taught to trust “experts” and distrust our bodies.
Excuse me, but I need to say this loud and clear: your body is wiser than ANY expert out
there. No matter their pedigree.
Part of this weight loss journey is learning to trust our bodies again.
Some people can’t lose weight because they are listening to experts. When their body has
told them loud and clear “I want this” or “I need that”
Drink water or tea instead of sugary drinks. If you feel you need to drink a sugary drink as a
treat, you’re allowed to do so.
I will – however – gently encourage you to check in with yourself.
Is that diet coke really a treat? Or is it a way to survive the effects of not sleeping well?
ducks for cover
Don’t look at me sideways like that.
I’m asking for a friend 😂
3 last tips about eating to lose 2 pounds a week
Drink water.
Please. Water is essential for a healthy metabolism and helps to flush out
your system, reducing the number of calories that your body uses.
Eat slowly:
This is one that a lot of people struggle with, but it is so important. It’s
easy to rush through meals and consume a lot more calories than you actually should.
If you take your time, you will be more mindful of what you are eating and will be
less likely to overeat. It’s also boring to eat slowly so you’ll be eager to get it over and
done with.
Pack snacks
If you’re on the go often, pack snacks.
It’s tough to make healthy choices when we’re hungry.
EVERYTHING looks delicious to me when I am starving – including the concrete side walk 😩
If possible, try to make meals ahead of time and take them with you when you are gone from home.
Exercise for Weight Loss
Many people struggle to lose weight, despite making healthy lifestyle choices, because they
aren’t physically active enough.
Exercise has significant health benefits and can help you to lose those 2 pounds each week.
Try to incorporate some form of exercise into your daily routine to assist with weight loss.
I said earlier that a year long plan is needed. Here’s why.
We ALL fall off on our weight loss journey. All of us – without exception.
You need a plan that takes this into account.
So if you start in January, and fall off in May. Guess what? You don’t skip a beat. WIth a
yearlong plan, you pick up in May and keep going.
There is no guilt.
No need to try to figure out where you left off.
There is no extra work of figuring out what to do when the plan finishes (there is always a
workout waiting for you).
There is no thinking needed.
All these benefits dramatically increase your ability to be consistent until you reach your
goal.
There are a variety of different exercise programs that are designed to help you to lose
weight.
Some of these programs are more effective than others.
In my opinion, the kind of program that takes into account that life happens. You might fall
off – and that’s okay. That’s the best kind of program.
Because one thing you don’t need is more guilt in your life! ✋
If you want to lose weight quickly, it’s best to choose an exercise program that you are able
to fit into your daily schedule.
Fitness Tips
You don’t need to workout for a long time either.
Aim for 10 minutes minimum. If you can do 30 minutes, even better. I don’t recommend
exercising for more than 60 minutes on any given day.
However, your mileage may vary. Listen to your body 🙂
Some examples of easy exercises you can do are walking, swimming or cycling.
It’s important to make sure that you’re staying hydrated while you’re exercising.
Why? The reason is actually quite interesting.
As you exercise, your body sweats to keep you cool and prevent overheating.
However, sweating means your body is losing water.
Staying hydrated by drinking water replaces the water lost through sweat.
This helps to prevent dehydration and muscle tiredness.
Your Easy 10-Step Plan to Lose 2 Pounds a Week
Now that you have an idea of what to do, it’s time to make it happen.
Setting goals and establishing habits are essential parts of any weight loss plan.
You already have a goal to lose 2 pounds a week. Nicely done! 🎉
Now, let’s figure out how you’re going to make that happen.
Specifically, we need to answer the following questions:
- How many days a week can you realistically exercise? (write it down)
- What time of day works best for you to exercise? Morning, afternoon, or evening?
(write it down) - Where will you exercise? Livingroom, bedroom, outdoors, or gym? (write it down)
- What are the main proteins you will eat from now on? Chicken, tofu, salmon, or
something else? (write them down) - What are the main carbs you will eat from now on? brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole
grain bread, or something else? (write them down) - What healthy fat sources will you eat from now on? avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, or
something else? (write them down) - What vegetables will you be eating every day from now on? spinach, broccoli, peas,
or something else? (write them down) - What fruit will you use to replace some desserts? strawberries, oranges, apples, or
something else? (write it down) - What date will you buy all these healthy groceries? (write it down)
10.What date will you start doing your workouts at the time that works best for you
(write it down)
There you go.
Your easy 10-step implementation plan has been created. Just like that 😃
FYI about your plan
Once you have your plan in place (and written down), you are way ahead of the game.
Having a written 10-step plan will help you keep things simple.
It will prevent you from overthinking things and help you to make better decisions.
Keep in mind – you’re not trying to do everything perfectly.
Also, this 10-step plan is a living document Meaning that you can change it.
If you try brown rice and you HATE it (like my mom lol), change it!
Try brown pasta instead.
Speaking of pasta – let me quickly share. I cannot eat just straight up wholegrain pasta. I
don’t like the texture.
So what I did to overcome that was to mix it up with the good stuff. I would take half whole
grain pasta and half white pasta and mix it up.
It worked well for me until I stopped eating pasta altogether.
My point is, you don’t have to go by the book. Get creative and try incorporating healthier
choices while still eating the stuff you most enjoy.
Keeping Yourself Motivated & Accountable
Another important part of weight loss is to stay motivated and accountable.
One way to do this is to join one of my workout challenges.
I do these a few times a year and people LOVE them! I provide daily accountability and
always give fun prizes.
Losing motivation is not fun – but it does happen.
The key is to just dust yourself off and try again. I mean what else can you do? :-/
No, no. Giving up is not an option. That’s why I’m here for you!
You may feel like you are fighting an uphill battle and that there is nothing that you can do to
make a change.
That feeling is valid.
And – you can still try anyway.
You’re not alone.
Many other women are in the same boat as you. All hope is not lost.
Tracking Progress
Find a way to keep track of your progress. This will help you to stay motivated and keep you
accountable, as you will be able to track your progress and see how far you have come.
This can be done by using a weight loss journal, where you can write down everything that
you eat and how much exercise you do.
This will help to keep you see what is working and what is not working for you.
This can make a huge difference in your weight loss, as it will show you where to focus your
energy and what needs to be done.
Parting Words of Advice
The road to losing 2 pounds a week can seem tough.
It feels like swimming when there are alligators in the water.
It’s not easy. But it can be done.
Just make sure you meet the criteria, make your 10-step plan, forgive yourself if you fall off,
and don’t ever give up on yourself.
I know I won’t. 🤍