How to Lose 20 Pounds in a Month: 10 Tips for Faster Weight Loss

Looking at yourself in the mirror, it might seem like there is no hope of getting rid of that amount in such little time. Well, whether you believe it or not, many of these self-acclaimed wellness professionals are right. You cannot lose 20 pounds of body fat in as little as one month.

In today’s article, we will be looking at different processes that will help you with weight loss, as well as some of the tools needed to ease this journey.

Get your food journal ready, as you certainly will be crossing a lot off your list.

It takes little to no effort for some people to start losing weight. For others, however, the process is more tenacious, with them having to do much more than normal to initiate fat loss.

Weight loss typically requires the same approach regardless of how many pounds you want to lose. The entire process involves the combination of proper eating habits and a rigorous exercise routine. This does not mean that the entire process would be an easy one. It is quite the contrary. You have to be mentally prepared in order to lose weight fast.

How Long Does It Take to Lose 20 Pounds?

You do not always need a fad diet and rigorous workout plans to lose weight. Instead, flexible tools at your disposal will allow you to lose 20 pounds in record time.

Nonetheless, it will take you a couple of months to lose about 20 pounds. However, this is in an account of the different factors that promote weight loss, coupled with the system used.

On account of everybody having different bodies, it should not come as a surprise if it takes one person 2 months to cut down a couple of pounds of fat, while it takes another 4 months to cut down the same amount. The fundamental thing is to utilize the tools at your disposal for a metabolic advantage.

10 Tips on How to Lose 20 Pounds

We have prepared 10 nifty tips to help you go a couple of pounds under your current weight. These tips will help you lose weight safely and aid in your weight gain struggle.

Let’s get into the details.

#1 Stay hydrated

There is nothing wrong with trying to drink away your belly fat. Nonetheless, you should note that drinking water would not directly decrease your belly fat. However, staying hydrated is a sure way of minimizing your appetite and clearing out your skin.

How much water a person should consume every day depends on several factors such as sex, climatic condition, exercise rate, and overall health.

One easy-to-remember advice for everybody is to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. Depending on where these factors place your thirst level, you can drink more or less, but 8 glasses a day is a reasonable goal.

Green tea and other high electrolyte drinks are great additions, too. They contain lots of minerals and antioxidants that are beneficial in improving your metabolic rate.

#2 Cut out the junk food

Junk foods are high in calorie content, as well as harmful additives. Junk foods typically contain concerted doses of calories per serving size.

Sodas, fruit juice, canned fruits, and other carbonated beverages still fall under this category, packing more added sugar than the body can handle. While at it, take alcohol off the list, too, since it contains empty calories.

#3 More fibers

Fibers, like starch, are a part of complex carbohydrates, which are a good type of carbohydrate.

Fibers are typically slow to digest, moving gradually through your gastrointestinal tract, keeping you feeling fuller for much longer. Similarly, they do not throw your blood sugar level out of balance.

Vegetables, whole grains, and fruits are good sources of dietary fiber. Consuming them in the right quantity is a step forward.

#4 Limit “bad” carbohydrates

Carbohydrates primarily fall into two classes: simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates.

By bad carbs, we are referring to the simple or refined carbs, which digest rapidly, throwing the body out of equilibrium. In addition, refined carbohydrates lose the bulk of their nutrients and fiber during processing, leaving them with more bad stuff than the good ones.

Examples of foods that fall under the bad carb group are white bread, white rice, pasta, pastries, white flour, refined dough, and breakfast cereal. These foods create short-term satisfaction and, as a result, lead to overeating and weight gain.

Similarly, since these processed foods are now easy to digest and absorb, their glycemic index is typically high. Foods with a high glycemic index throw the body’s blood sugar level out of balance, followed by a hunger boost. That ultimately leads to increased body fat, nutritional deficiencies, and overall weight gain.

The best solution is to stick to low-calorie foods like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. They possess the right nutrients and are low on carbs.

#5 Focus on HIIT exercises

High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, is an extreme workout program that involves a short burst of exercises done at full strength followed by a structured recovery period.

Most HIIT exercises last anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes due to how intense they are. Nonetheless, they still produce net-positive results twice as much as moderate-intensity exercises.

The key to HIIT lies in how hard you can push yourself during your workout interval. Regardless of how you go about your training, your workout and recovery period should be a function of the exercises you choose.

Your goal should be to utilize over 90% of your potential, forcing your body to work primarily in anaerobic mode. This process helps you produce and utilize energy proficiently.

Additionally, doing HIIT exercises helps increase your metabolic rate, which allows you to continue burning calories even after you finish your exercise routine.

The effect of HIIT is an increase in your body’s fat-burning capability. By attacking all those harmful fat cells, you can burn belly fat, which ultimately accounts for total fat loss and rapid weight loss.

#6 Do not forget cardio

The amount and intensity of cardio a person needs to lose weight varies. Nonetheless, cardio is a good way for people to manage their weight while keeping tabs on their heart and lung health.

Swimming, cycling, jumping rope, rowing, boxing, myriad, and running are great examples of cardio exercises that go in line with weight loss.

Running is one physical activity that burns a significant amount of calories by engaging several muscles simultaneously. This helps transition people to weight loss by increasing their energy utilization and metabolic rate.

For you to be able to burn calories efficiently through running, you need to be conscious of your dietary and training routine.

#7 Try intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is a dietary practice that revolves around switching between fasting and eating. This results in metabolic switching, where after several hours since your last meal, your body goes through its sugar stores and burns fat for energy.

Putting this into perspective, if a person is constantly eating during their waking hours (three-square meals and a truckload of snacks) without sufficient exercise, their energy utilization comes from the calories consumed and not the stored fat.

The working principle of intermittent fasting is to increase the time your body burns through its calorie reserve before switching to burning fat for energy by going long periods without eating.

It would be best if you refrained from eating any food during this time, except for water and beverages with zero calories. You should prioritize low-calorie foods during your eating period to maintain your calorie deficit. A food journal will help you keep track of this.

There are several methods of intermittent fasting, and it is worth noting that these methods are effective but may differ across individuals.

#8 Track and calculate calories

Counting calories might not be fun for some, but how much weight you gain depends on how many calories you consume and how many calories your body burns.

The best way to lose weight fast is to create a calorie deficit. If your body burns more calories than it stores, you are sure to lose weight as time goes by. If the reverse is the case, you will gain more weight if you eat more calories than you burn.

Concerning this principle, keeping track of your total caloric intake and how many calories you should consume on a daily basis should be at the top of your weight loss priorities. This step should come after a trip to your nutritionist, though.

Quite a few apps and websites help track and calculate your calorie intake. Most of them come with both functions. That way, you can calculate your daily calorie intake while keeping track of your overall consumption.

#9 Try the keto diet

The keto diet emphasizes burning fat as fuel in place of carbs. The keto diet is synonymous with weight loss, but you need to stick to the dietary requirements to see any weight loss effect.

The keto diet emphasizes the consumption of high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carb food. Lean meats and olive oil would be your substitute for your high-protein diet. Similarly, wheat bread and brown rice would be your substitute for white bread and white rice.

#10 Have an adequate amount of sleep

Sleeping is one of the least talked about factors that promote weight loss. For the most part, the motto of weight loss revolves around eating less and moving more. But a proper sleep schedule is also important.

An irregular sleeping cycle leads to hormonal imbalances, prompting a sudden increase in appetite, meaning you gain weight instead of losing it.

Your sleep duration also runs parallel with your metabolic rate, particularly the carb-glucose tandem. A lack of sleep will result in your body’s inability to manage insulin, reducing glucose processing ability. This means that your body will continue to store glucose, converting it to fatty acids and storing it as fat.

Overall, a lack of sleep sees you dropping muscle instead of fat, which directly contrasts with what healthy weight loss should look like.

Getting at least 8 hours of sleep should be the top priority to recover your total daily energy expenditure.

Conclusion

Losing 20 pounds in a month is an impossible challenge for regular people journeying through weight loss. The stress alone is enough to render you incapacitated, but you can safely transform your looks with discipline and a few changes to your existing lifestyle.

We have given you all you need to get you from now to where you want to be. A simple mix and match of dieting, exercise (weight training and resistance training), and sleeping habits will help you decrease belly fat and have you looking fit and glam.

Have a go at it today and be just as determined as you were when you first glanced at the mirror. In no time, you will see yourself at the five pounds mark, and eventually, you will hit your target.