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Lose 10 Pounds in 2 Weeks

Article Written By Sky Taylor, Diet Bites

High & Unreasonable Expectations

Can an individual lose ten pounds in two weeks?  

One answer comes from one of our physicians who claimed he could make an individual lose 80 pounds overnight. However, he smiled as he added that there was a downside; doing such would kill the patient.

He went on to point out that the body is chiefly water and that quick weight loss equals water weight loss AND in most cases, quickly packs back on - particularly when the individual returns to their former daily diet.

So yes, an individual can lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks according to the good doctor, but of course - not in a safe manner.

What about an individual who wants to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks through dieting? Is that possible?

The Healthy Equation

Let's assume Dan is consuming 3,500 calories per day before he begins his rush to lose the big ten in fourteen days. How many calories will Dan need to subtract from his current day's worth of eating to accomplish these results?

Let's begin by a bit of basic math:

1 pounds equals 3,500 calories so 10 pounds equals 35,000
2 weeks equals 14 days
divided into 35,000 calories equals 2,500 per day

Decreasing Caloric Intake to Safe Levels

In order for Dan to lose this amount of pounds in this amount of time, he will need to decrease his daily kcal intake by 2,500. That would only leave 1,000 kcals per day for energy needs. It goes without saying that a diet that is so restrictive in energy values would be considered an unsafe method to pursue.

Now Sam could couple his caloric decrease with activity to 'manually' burn more energy, allowing him to increase his daily intake by the amount of energy burned.

Therefore in this situation, he could meet his rather aggressive goal in the allotted time, although the plan would still be very restrictive and grueling on the body.

Performing strenuous exercise using a tiny-feed of calories is also taxing on the body.   Food is energy and with a low supply of quick energy being input into the body, at some point weakness will settle in and Willpower will fly out the window.

In Summary, Conclusions

The problem with this example is that 3,500 calories per day is almost double the common 2,000 per day diet which is the pattern and template for nutrition labels.

That is quite a lot of kcals BUT in the modern world with obesity being a growing epidemic, it's certainly not unusual.

Here is what we conclude from the example:

Daily Energy Levels Too Low to Support Life, Health

Although losing the desired about of pound in the allotted period can be accomplished, the daily energy values would be so minimal that the individual might end up losing more than weight. There are much worse things in life than being over one's recommended size.

A troubling example of such springs to mind which involves my mother. She experienced three strokes within a 12 week period leaving her with the mind of a child. She had no short-term memory capabilities.

For example, she can eat a particular food and two minutes later she cannot remember what she ate - or the fact that she even ate.

When I was told of her condition at the hospital, I was of course devastated and quite stunned when the head nurse told me that I should be thankful that the situation was as favorable as it was; after doing extensive research on my mother's condition I knew what he was telling me. It could be much worse - and eventually, it will get there.

The More Overweight, The Quicker Rate of Fat Loss

In cases where the person has a vast amount of fat to lose, a ten pound drop within a two-week window becomes more attainable.  

When caloric intake is vast - the rate of fat loss is generally  vast in the early stages of the reduction plan.

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