How to Lose 10 Pounds in a Month

Co-authored by Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT and Kyle Hall

Last Updated: March 17, 2021 References Approved

Losing 10 pounds in a month in a healthy way can improve your confidence and set you on a path toward a healthier lifestyle. If you have the right mindset, it's totally possible for you to lose the weight and start feeling better about your body!

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Eating Less

1
Eat 500-1,000 fewer calories a day. Eating fewer calories is one of the best ways to lose weight. By reducing your daily caloric intake by 500-1,000 calories, you'll lose 1-2 pounds per week, depending on your weight and how much you currently eat. Combined with exercise, this can help you lose 10 pounds in a month.^{[1]
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- The minimum number of calories needed per day is 1,200 for women and 1,800 for men. Avoid eating less than the minimum number of calories needed so that you're losing weight in a healthy, sustainable way.
- Talk to your doctor or nutritionist about healthy options for eating fewer calories.
2
Count how many calories you're eating every day. Counting calories will help you plan your meals every day and figure out if you're meeting your goals. Whenever you eat something, check the packaging to see how many calories it has and then write the number down in your phone or a journal.
- If you're not sure how many calories something has, look it up online. For example, you could search "Calories in 1 serving of brown rice," or "How many calories does an apple have?"
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3
Replace high-calorie foods like processed meats with fruits and vegetables. Replacing high-calorie foods with fruits and vegetables is an easy way to cut down on the number of calories you’re consuming every day. Plus, eating these foods will make you healthier in general.^{[2]
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- Peaches, oranges, and grapefruit all have under 70 calories.
- Tomatoes, a ³⁄₄ cup (180 mL) serving of green beans, and a 1 cup (240 mL) serving of broccoli all only have 25 calories.
- High-calorie foods you should avoid include ice cream, cheese, peanut butter, french fries, white bread, and chips.
4
Cook meals at home so you can control how many calories you're eating. When you eat out at restaurants, it's harder to choose healthy, low-calorie options. By making all your meals at home, you'll be able to carefully measure exactly how many calories are going into your meals.^{[3]
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5
Plan your meals ahead of time to eliminate the chance of slip-ups. When you’re dieting, having to make on-the-spot decisions about what you’re going to eat can lead to bad choices. Planning out your meals in advance can remove this risk.^{[4]
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- Every evening, make a list of what you’re going to eat the next day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and any snacks in between.
- To save yourself time, prepare your meals in advance and store them in the freezer until you're ready to eat them.
EXPERT TIP

Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer
Julian Arana is a Personal Trainer and the Founder of B-Fit Training Studios, a personal training and wellness set of studios based in Miami, Florida. Julian has over 12 years of personal training and coaching experience. He is a certified personal trainer (CPT) by the National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF). He has a BS in Exercise Physiology from Florida International University and an MS in Exercise Physiology specializing in strength and conditioning from the University of Miami.

Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer

Expert Trick: Choosing the right pre-workout meal can be the difference between feeling energized during a tough workout or being sluggish. Carbohydrates and protein are the two most important macronutrients to consume before a workout. For instance, you could have an almond butter and banana sandwich on whole grain bread, oatmeal with fruits and crushed nuts, or sweet potato mash with a few pieces of chicken.
6
Avoid high-calorie drinks like sodas and specialty coffees. Liquid calories won't make you feel as full as a regular meal does, so it's easy to overdo it. Eliminating high-calorie drinks from your diet can help you cut down on the number of calories you're eating every day. Replace high-calorie drinks with drinks like water, tea, or plain club soda.^{[5]
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- If you drink coffee every day, stick with black coffee. Avoid specialty coffees that are full of fat and sugar.
7
Drink a glass of water before every meal so you feel full faster. Lowering how many calories you eat every day is hard if you’re left feeling hungry after your meals. One way to avoid this is to drink an entire glass of water before you start eating. By partly filling up your stomach with water, you’ll feel full sooner and therefore eat less.^{[6]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Exercising More

1
Exercise every day for 1 hour. While it’s possible to lose weight just by eating less, it’s a good idea to also incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Exercise will help you lose weight faster, and it will help you keep the weight off.^{[7]
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- If you don't have a full hour to spare during the day for exercise, try breaking the hour up into two 30-minute sessions. You can exercise for 30 minutes in the morning, and 30 minutes in the evening.
- Sign up for a gym membership or join a workout class to help motivate you to exercise more.
2
Make it a goal to burn off 500 extra calories every day through exercise. Burning off an extra 500 calories a day will help you lose about 1 pound per week. This weight loss, combined with the weight you’ll be losing from eating fewer calories every day, will put you on track to lose 10 pounds in a month.^{[8]
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3
Do vigorous aerobic exercises to burn a lot of calories. Since you’re trying to lose 10 pounds in a month, you need to do high-intensity exercises so you’re burning off a lot of calories. While moderate aerobic exercises, like walking and swimming, can help you burn calories, vigorous aerobic exercises will help you burn more in a shorter amount of time. Some vigorous aerobic exercises you can try are:^{[9]
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Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
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- Running
- Cycling
- Hiking
- Jumping rope
- Dance aerobics
4
Incorporate physical activity in your day-to-day to burn even more calories. Look for ways that you can include moderate exercise in your daily routine, like taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator. Being more active during the day can help you reach your daily goal of burning 500 extra calories.
- If you live close to work, start walking or biking in instead of driving.
- Make it a goal to go for a 30-minute walk during your lunch break every day.
5
Do strength training exercises if you want to build muscle while losing weight. Strength training exercises won’t burn as many calories as aerobic exercises, but they will help you build muscle. If you want to build muscle while you’re losing weight, split your workout sessions between strength training and aerobic exercises. Just keep in mind that you may need to eat less since you won’t be burning as many calories through exercise.^{[10]
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Mayo Clinic
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- Lifting weights, using weight machines, and doing push-ups are all strength training exercises you can try.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Tracking Your Progress

1
Write down what you eat in a food journal. Remembering how many calories you’re eating every day can be difficult. That’s why using a food journal is so helpful — you can refer to it at the end of the day and add up how many calories you ate so you know whether or not you’re on the right track. Whenever you eat something, write it down in your journal along with how many calories it is.^{[11]
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- Your food journal doesn’t have to be a physical book. You can keep track of the foods you’re eating in a note on your phone, or by using a food journal app.
- Some food journal apps you can try are MyFitnessPal, Calorific, and Lose It.
2
Keep track of how many calories you’re burning from exercise. Just like the foods you’re eating, it’s a good idea to write down how many calories you’re burning through exercise every day. That way you’ll know whether or not you’re burning enough to lose weight. Over time, if you notice that eating less and exercising isn’t adding up to a 1,000 calorie deficit every day, you’ll know that you need to change your routine.
- To figure out how many calories you're burning through exercise, enter the exercises you're doing and how long you're doing them for into an online calorie-burning calculator.
- You can find a calorie-burning calculator at https://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc.
3
Weigh yourself right after you wake up every day. Since you’re trying to lose weight in a short amount of time, it’s important that you keep tabs on your progress. Weighing yourself every day will give you an idea of whether or not you need to eat less and exercise more. ^{[12]
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- You won’t see a change in your weight every day, but if you see your weight going up or not changing for over a week, you’ll know that something needs to change.