Whether it’s for an upcoming special occasion or you just want to be healthier, sometimes you just want to lose weight fast. Losing 5 kilograms in a week is a difficult goal to achieve, but with a proper diet and exercise plan, it may be possible. However, if you lose weight gradually, the results will be easier to maintain.

Change Your Diet

Reduce your carbohydrate intake. Research shows that following a low-carb diet is one of the fastest ways to lose weight. If you want to lose nearly 5 kilograms in a week, you need to eat less high-carb foods.

• Many types of foods contain carbohydrates. You just need to eat less foods that mainly contain carbohydrates, such as cereals. Bread, pastries, rice, noodles, and other grains contain large amounts of carbohydrates, and cutting back on them won’t harm your health because many of the nutrients they contain can be obtained from other foods.
• Dairy products, starchy vegetables, and fruits also contain carbohydrates. Eat less of these foods, but don’t eliminate them, as they also provide many valuable nutrients.
• Switch to low-glycemic index grains and non-starchy vegetables. For example, replace your usual bread, cereal, and white rice with steel-cut oats or brown rice. Choose to eat vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, cucumbers, and mushrooms.

Eat lean protein at every meal. In addition to following a low-carb diet, you should also consume appropriate amounts of lean protein. A high-protein and low-carb diet is a good choice for quick weight loss.

• Eat lean protein. They are relatively low in calories and are good for weight loss. Choose skinless poultry, eggs, lean beef, seafood, beans, and tofu.
• Include a serving of protein with every meal and snack to meet the daily intake recommended by experts. A serving of protein is approximately 90-120 grams, or the size of a checkbook.
• Protein can keep you full longer, helps control hunger and appetite, and is beneficial for weight loss.

Fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables. For a balanced diet, fill the remaining half of your plate mainly with vegetables and a small amount of fruit. These low-calorie foods provide the body with many important nutrients. But choose non-starchy vegetables to control your caloric intake and keep your blood sugar stable.

• The USDA recommends that vegetables and fruits should make up half of your plate. Even if you are losing weight, this amount is acceptable in most diets, but fruit is high in carbohydrates and sugar and should be eaten sparingly.
• Eat at least one serving of vegetables with each meal. One serving is about 1-2 cups of leafy green vegetables. If you want to eat fruit, choose 1⁄2 cup of diced fruit, or a small slice.
• Fruits and vegetables are low in calories. Taking up half of your plate with low-calorie foods can help reduce your overall caloric intake, which is good for weight loss.

Drink plenty of water. Drinking water can help with weight loss, but whether you are losing weight or not, everyone must drink enough water.

• Most health experts recommend drinking at least 2,000 milliliters of water a day, but this is only a rough estimate. Some experts even recommend drinking up to 3000ml of water per day!
• Choose fluids that are hydrating and non-caloric, such as water, flavored water, decaffeinated coffee, and tea (without milk or sugar).
• When your body becomes slightly dehydrated, it sends signals to your brain that are similar to hunger, prompting you to snack and consume more calories than your body needs.
• Drinking one or two glasses of water before meals can increase satiety and reduce food intake.

Quitting alcohol can help you lose weight. Alcohol not only increases your caloric intake, it also encourages you to eat more. Most people usually drink more than one drink at a time, and the calories they consume quickly add up. Quitting alcohol can help you lose weight faster and stick to your weight loss goals.

• You will also have more energy after you quit drinking.

Reduce caffeine intake to avoid taxing your body. Ingesting small amounts of caffeine can briefly boost metabolism, reduce appetite, and aid weight loss. However, caffeine can also cause jitteriness and has a diuretic effect, which can lead to dehydration. In addition, caffeine sources such as coffee, tea, and chocolate often have added milk and sugar, so they increase caloric intake.

• When drinking tea or coffee, do not add sugar or other sweeteners.

Drinking matcha or green tea can help with weight loss. Matcha and green tea are rich in antioxidants and may aid weight loss. Regular drinking of matcha and green tea can increase your metabolism within a few hours of drinking the tea.

• Don’t add sweetener or anything else that could increase your caloric intake.

Eat your last meal of the day at least 4 hours before bed. Not eating at night can help reduce calorie intake, especially if you always eat a lot of snacks in the evening. While eating later in the evening won’t affect your metabolism or your body’s use of calories, it’s easy to eat more and more without realizing it during the night.

• For example, you could decide not to eat after 7 p.m.
• Another benefit of stopping eating earlier is that you may burn more fat if you don’t eat for at least 12 hours from evening to the next morning. For example, if you stop eating at 7 pm and have breakfast after 7 am the next morning, your body may convert stored fat into energy, which is beneficial to weight loss.

If meal replacement is more convenient for you, you can also take meal replacement. Most health experts and dietary therapists will tell you that losing 5kg in a week is not safe or practical, but using meal replacement bars or shakes may help you get closer to your goal.

• For example, you can make your meal replacement shakes if you have a blender at home. Add a handful of almonds, a carrot, a handful of spinach, a few slices of green apple, half a banana, 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, water, or almond milk to a blender and blend until smooth. If you’re interested in making meal replacement shakes, you can try various recipes online.
• Meal replacements are usually high in protein and very low in calories, and common forms include meal replacement shakes and meal replacement bars. They can replace meals because, like meals, they contain enough protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and other important vitamins and minerals.
• There are various meal replacement plans on the market. Some clinics will also provide meal replacement plans, which are usually more expensive but safer under the supervision of doctors and dietary therapists.
• You can also buy meal replacements at a grocery or health food store. Start by researching these products online to choose a meal replacement plan that fits your lifestyle and budget.
• Meal replacement should only be used as a short-term diet plan. A low-calorie diet should not be continued for more than 1-2 weeks.

Exercising Regularly

Perform aerobic exercise for 150 minutes. Aerobic exercise burns more calories and can help you lose weight faster when combined with a diet plan.

• The USDA recommends at least 150 minutes, or approximately 21⁄2 hours, of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. If you want to burn more calories, plan to exercise for 300 minutes a week.
• What is called moderate-intensity exercise is different for everyone. You should be out of breath and slightly sweaty, but still be able to continue exercising for at least 20-30 minutes.
• Do exercises like brisk walking, jogging or running, swimming, kickboxing, or the elliptical machine.

Do two or three days of interval training. In addition to cardio, consider incorporating high-intensity interval training to help you burn more calories each week.

• High-intensity interval training is a relatively new form of exercise. Research shows that this type of training can burn a lot of calories in a short period, and it consumes more calories from fat.
• High-intensity interval training can also effectively increase your overall metabolism and continue to burn calories for several hours after exercise, sometimes even up to 24 hours.
• Example of high-intensity interval training: 1 minute of sprinting, followed by 1.5 minutes of moderate-intensity jogging. Alternate like this for about 20 minutes, plus a 5-minute warm-up and cool-down before and after exercise.

Increase the amount of activity in your daily life. If you want to continue to increase your overall caloric burn throughout the week, try increasing your daily activity. The more active your daily life is and the more you move, the more calories you burn every day.

• Daily activities, or baseline activities, are things you do every day, including traveling to and from where your car is parked and your destination, or doing household chores.
• Increase the amount of activity in your daily life and walk as much as possible. Try going up and down the stairs more often. Park your car further away from your destination and give yourself some extra mileage. Or take advantage of the TV show’s commercial breaks to jog in place.

No snacks. A weight loss plan can appropriately include one or two healthy snacks, but if you’re trying to lose a lot of weight quickly, skipping snacks entirely can help control your caloric intake.

• If you’re hungry before meal time, drink a glass of water, unsweetened decaffeinated coffee, or tea. These liquids and flavors can trick your brain into thinking you are full.
• If you must snack, make sure the foods you choose have no more than 100-150 calories and are primarily lean protein to help you meet your protein recommendations.
• Good snacks include a handful (8) of almonds or other nuts, a cup of soy milk, a tablespoon (15 ml) of hummus, a hard-boiled egg, or a serving of fat-free whey yogurt.

Change Lifestyle

Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Sleep is very important for health, especially when trying to lose weight. Even if it’s just a week to lose weight, be sure to get enough sleep.

• If you don’t sleep well, you won’t be able to lose weight. One reason is that lack of sleep causes the body to secrete more hunger hormones. Additionally, sleep deprivation can lead to increased cravings for fatty foods.
• Plan to sleep at least 7-9 hours each night. Try to go to bed earlier and wake up later. Ensure you have a restful sleep by reducing the number of devices in your room that emit sound or light.

Release stress. Too much stress, such as lack of sleep, can make losing weight more difficult. Try to control and reduce stress.

• Everyone gets stressed. When you are chronically stressed, even in small amounts, your body produces more cortisol. This hormone can make it difficult to lose weight and make you feel more tired and hungry.
• Incorporate stress-reducing activities and techniques into your daily life. Try going for a walk, taking a hot bath, chatting with family or friends, watching a good movie or reading a book.
• If stress is out of control and is causing emotional eating or interfering with maintaining healthy eating habits and losing weight, consider seeking support and guidance from a life coach.

Take over-the-counter diuretics. It’s difficult to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time, so consider taking an over-the-counter diuretic to keep the weight off going.

• Diuretics are medications that help the body get rid of excess water. Sometimes, your diet or lifestyle habits may cause excess water to be retained in the body. The body appears visibly swollen and the weight increases.
• Take an over-the-counter diuretic for a few days. The body loses enough water to help you lose a kilogram or two in a week.
• Taking diuretics long-term without a doctor’s supervision is unsafe and not recommended. Always talk to your doctor before taking any over-the-counter medications to make sure they are safe and right for you.

Tips

• Always talk to your doctor before losing weight, changing your diet or exercise plan.
• Everyone is different, and you may need a tailored diet or exercise plan to lose weight.
• If you are still very hungry, drink two glasses of water before eating to help increase your feeling of fullness and reduce food intake.