20 pounds in 3 weeks may seem to be hard, but if you are determined, you can achieve your goal. Losing your extra weight will make you feel confident and fit. You may want to lose this much of weight in a short period may be because of an upcoming event. Well, this articles acts as a brief guide to the 35 ways to lose 20 pounds in 3 weeks.
The first and foremost thing that you should follow is to make up a determined plan and commit yourself to achieve the goal, then only will you be able to lose weight. These ways are completely safe and will bring a surprising change to your body.
25 Easy Ways to Lose 20 Pounds in 3 weeks
These handy steps are easy and will be a beneficial routine for your day to day life. Get yourself going with these steps and become confident.
1) Drink Water
The key to losing 20 pounds in 3 weeks, is drinking water. It will help to remove out all the toxins from the body, fights constipation, maintains internal pH, enhances botulism and lowers bloating. Therefore, you should drink three to four liters of water each week.
You should drink two glasses of water of normal temperature when you wake up. To enhance the metabolism, you may add some fenugreek seeds to the water. You can make up a detox by adding cumin, cucumber, and mint leaves. This will help to improve the function of the body and keep it hydrated.
2) Set your goal
Before you start with your weight loss routine, you need to be pretty determined. The more you become determined, the sooner will you lose weight. It can be beneficial for the short term diets. Do not opt for an off day or a cheat day. Becoming determined will make it easy for you to inform others about your diet and make others do it with you. Therefore, with the help of this, you can have a partner for yourself.
3) Drink Coffee
Though coffee isn’t much reputed, you should know that coffee is full of antioxidants which is beneficial for weight loss. The caffeine in coffee enhances the metabolism by 10% and thus speeds up the fat burning process by 10-29%. However, make sure to drink black coffee without any added sugar.
4) Avoid Sugary drinks and fruit juices
While the sugary drinks may seem to be tempting, you should ignore them as they can make you fat. These sugary drinks are one of the most fattening things that you can add to your diet. So, if you’re on your mission to lose 20 pounds in 3 weeks, consider avoiding these tempting drinks.
5) Spice up your food
If you wish to lose 20 pounds in 3 weeks, spice up your dishes. Add some cayenne pepper to your dishes; this will help to speed up the process of weight loss. Capsaicin found in cayenne pepper and other healthy foods help to improve the metabolism of the body and reduce appetite, thereby helping to lose weight.
6) Keep a check on the added sugar
Consuming sugar can increase the risk of diseases like cardiovascular disorders, obesity, and diabetes. If you have neglected to add sugar to your dishes, you should keep a check on the added sugar that comes in packaged dishes. Sometimes, the self-proclaimed foods too have some added sugar, so be watch out.
7) Have a fad diet
Fad diets can efficiently work within a short period. If you wish to lose 20 pounds in 3 weeks, make sure to start with a fad diet. However, these kind of diets aren’t much healthy and have a short-term effect. Juicing is a very common kind of fad diet. Master Cleanse diet is also a kind of fad. Though they may give results in a short time, but does not have a long-lasting effect.
8) Eat five types of veggies and three types of fruits
You can effectively reach your weight loss by eating five type of veggies and three kinds of fruits. Vegetables and fruits are loaded with vitamins, minerals, dietary fibers and phytonutrients which enhances satiety, thereby lowering the chances of fat absorption. These contain fewer calories. These also help in easy movement of bowels and building up the immune system. The body cells would function properly, thereby helping to use the stored fat for energy resulting in weight loss.
9) Have a breakfast rich in protein
You can reduce your cravings for eating more for the day by having a breakfast rich in proteins. These will also help to reduce the calorie intake of your food.
10) Have Green Tea
Green tea contains very few doses of caffeine but is loaded with catechins. These thereby will help in burning up your fat. The antioxidants of green tea act up with the caffeine and enhance the fat burning property.
11) Don’t eat after a particular time of the day
Many people decide not to eat around one particular time. A timed plan can help you reach your goal of losing 20 pounds in 3 weeks. Eating during the night might be one of the worst chances because it leads you to eat more as during that time the TV is on, and you may end up eating more. Though it may sound hard, it will have effective results.
You can follow this process for about five to six days a week. If you’re with your friends, you may drink one glass of red wine and a few munching on the food.
12) Drink water half hour before the meals
According to a study, drinking a glass of water half an hour before each meal can help to increase the rate of weight loss by 44% within three months. Therefore, it may be an efficient way to lose your weight.
13) Chew your food slowly
Eating at a faster rate may contribute to weight gain. Therefore, it is recommended to eat slowly to reduce weight. Consuming your food slowly will keep you full and also induce your hormones responsible for reducing weight.
14) Avoid junk foods
Junk foods are everybody’s favorite, but then you need to sacrifice it if you want to lose 20 pounds in 3 weeks. You need to give up all your guilty pleasures if you wish to lose weight. Replace all the greasy, unhealthy, rich in sodium and sugary foods with whole foods, low-calorie snacks to lose weight.
When you crave for sweets, you can munch on the low-calorie yogurt with some figs or peaches. You can also prefer to eat just a piece of dark chocolate, which contains 80% of cocoa after your dinner to fill up yourself.
15) Have some soluble fiber
According to studies, consuming soluble fiber can effectively help in reducing weight. This is more efficient for losing the belly fat. Supplements of fiber such as glucomannan can be beneficial for weight loss.
16) Get your Beauty sleep
You may be prone to weight gain if you don’t get your optimal amount of sleep and rest. This is proven scientifically too. If you don’t get a sleep of seven hours, the cells become unable to process the foods and fail to remove the toxins from the body. This thus reduces metabolism and failing to heal. This eventually leads to stress. Because of this you will start to gain weight and become tired even if you do not move for the day.
17) Select Low-Medium GI foods
Foods rich in GI or glycaemic index can increase the level of sugar, thereby increasing insulin within the body. This results in storage of fat. Before, choosing your food, see the scale of the glycaemic index and select the foods low-medium in GI. This will keep the insulin level balanced, making you full for a long time and help to lose weight.
18) Increase the protein intake
Foods rich in protein will keep you full for a longer period and burn up the fat during digestion. Studies have resulted in showing that replacing calories with supplements of whey proteins can increase the process of weight loss and enhance the lean muscle.
Some of the foods rich in protein are mentioned below:
- Salmon
- Eggs
- Low-fat yogurt
- Lean been
- Skinless chicken breast
19) Work it out
Take out some time and opt for working out. In the middle of your television session, you can do some push-ups. You can also dance for a while during the cleaning of dishes. Move swiftly across the hallway. No matter, how silly these process sounds, this is beneficial. This will help to enhance the muscle tone and make your waist slimmer.
20) Portion control
Once you become aware of how much you eat, you can always opt for portion control and eventually try to bring it down. Reducing in small quantities such as 10-20% can also be beneficial for you and help to lose 20 pounds in 3 weeks.
Keep a check on your overall portion control. Also, do not avoid using small bowls. These can be pretty effective.
21) A balance between diet and the complex carbs
Eating complex carbs can help to balance the blood sugar level and help to release a sufficient amount of energy. These will also help to drive off the cravings and make you very less hungry. Complex carbs are full of nutrients. Some of these complex carbohydrates are:
- Whole grains
- Brown rice
- Fruits
- Beans and legumes
- Vegetables
22) Reduce stress
Avoid panicking and taking too much stress if you want to lose weight. Stress, panic, and anxiety can have a negative impact on the level of stress hormone, cortisol. It will stop the capacity of the brain to make the correct decisions and lead you to over-eating. This eventually will result in increased weight.
If you want to avoid becoming stressed, you should stop criticizing people. If you become worries or stress, walk for some time or talk to a few people. Doing some creative things such as painting, dancing or even writing can help you to become less stressed.
23) Weight training cardio
If you do weight training, you will lose calories that will keep you strong and fit. It is more beneficial than cardio for the composition of the body. It will protect the muscle mass and also help to lose weight.
According to studies, the metabolic rate of the body enhances after or during the exercise. Therefore, this speeds up the process of weight loss.
You can select exercises such as squats, presses, and deadlifts. With every movement, they will help to gain more amount of muscles. This is essential for balancing the lean muscle mass and reducing body fat.
24) Go for cycling
No matter how much insignificant these may sound, but small activities such as walking and cycling can help you to lose 20 pounds within three weeks. This will help you to burn up your fat without any strict diet.
The more you cycle, the more you will burn up the fat throughout the diet. If you do not have any physical problems, instead of going on escalators and lifts, prefer to walk over the stairs.
25) Avoid carbs
White carbs can be bad for your overall health. Foods such as pasta, white rice, crackers, flour, and sugar are sources of white carbs. These foods are refined and processed, with very less nutritional value and rich in calories. These white carbs increase the blood glucose level and are digested very easily and at a faster rate. Therefore, because of this, you feel hungry after consuming the white or bad carbs, and you start eating more calorie-laden and processed foods. This only contributes to an increase in weight. However, whole foods such as beans, white potato, cauliflower, beans, and turnip do not fall under the category of white carbs.
26) Green Coffee Extract
The extracts of green coffee are rich in chlorogenic acid and nutrients. It is available as pills or powdered form. Although, it is suggested to consult a doctor before starting to consume green coffee extract. This green coffee extract can be very beneficial for losing weight.
27) Jumping Rope
Jumping rope is easy and yet an effective way to lose weight. Practicing jumping rope for ten minutes can burn as much as fat as that on running a mile in eight minutes. It is also beneficial for the cardiovascular activity. It also helps a lot in improving the agility as well as coordination.
28) Running
Running either using a treadmill or outdoors can efficiently help you to lose weight. It is considered to be one of the best exercises to lose weight. It will help you a lot to burn up the calories. Running a mile can help you burn up an approximate of 100 calories.
29) Track your weight daily
Studies have proved that people who keep a check on their weight daily will effectively lose weight. It will also help you stay determined to your goal for a longer period.
30) Glucomannan Supplements
Glucomannan is an efficient weight loss pill. It is made from the roots of the konjac plant. This supplement is a natural dietary fiber and easily soluble in water. Glucomannan is called elephant yam.
It contains very fewer calories and keeps you full. It also slows down the process of emptying the stomach. Glucomannan also helps to lower down the process of absorbing proteins and fats. It helps to feed the helpful gut bacteria. Therefore, this can help you to reduce weight.
31) Say no to liquid calories
If you want to lose weight, you should refrain from having liquid calories. Though these sugary drinks, chocolate juices, and energy drinks may appear to be healthy, it can lead to increased risk of obesity. So, you should refrain from having liquid calories.
32) Bicycling
Bicycling can help to reduce the thighs and calf muscles. It helps to lose weight when on speed and resistance. Women who have a pear-shaped body should avoid bicycling as they may increase the thigh muscle mass.
33) Step Aerobics
Step aerobics is beneficial for the legs, hips, and glutes. It is one of the intense exercises for burning up the calories. Although, how much calories you will burn is completely dependent on your speed and step height.
34) Store up the healthy foods
Why would you need unhealthy foods as snacks, when you can keep in stock the healthy foods? Some of the healthy foods that you can store up as your snacks are:
- Whole fruits
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Vegetables
- Nuts
35) Swimming
Swimming is an effective exercise for your overall weight loss. In this process, the body is supported by water. The joints have much stress on them. This exercise can also help to cure injuries.
Final Thoughts
Mentioned above were the 35 ways to lose 20 pounds in 3 weeks. Make sure to include this in your day to day routine and follow it properly if you want to get rid of not only the water weight but also burn up your fat.
A loss in weight will make you confident about the way you look. This will help you to stay healthy and fit. So, follow these steps and make some heads turn towards you.