Lose 10 Pounds in 2 Weeks

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 - but it would kill them.  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 dieter returns to their former daily diet.  So yes, an individual can lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks according to the good doctor.

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

Let's assume Dieter Dan is consuming 3,500 calories per day before he begins his rush to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks.  How many calories will Dan need to subtract from his current daily diet to accomplish a 10 pound weight loss in 2 weeks?

Let's begin by a bit of basic Diet Math:

1 pounds equals 3,500 calories

10 pounds equals 35,000 calories

2 weeks equals 14 days

14 days divided into 35,000 calories equals 2,500 calories per day

In order for Dieter Sam to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, he will need to decrease his daily calorie intake by 2,500 calories per day.  That would only leave 1,000 calories per day in Sam's diet - a diet that is so calorie restrictive that it would be considered unsafe.

Now Sam could couple his decrease in calories with activity to 'manually' burn more calories, allowing him to increase his daily calorie intake by the amount of calories burned.  Therefore in Sam's case, he could lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, although the diet 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, the Will to generate energy is difficult.

Summing it Up

The problem with the Dieter Sam example is that 3,500 calories per day is almost double the calories for the common 2,000-calorie per day diet.  It's a lot of calories.  

Here is what we conclude from the Dieter Sam example:

Although losing 10 pounds in 2 weeks can be accomplished, the daily calories would be so low that the dieter might end up losing more than weight.

In cases where the dieter has a vast amount of weight to drop, a 10 pound rate of weight lost in 2 weeks becomes more attainable.  When calorie intake is vast - weight loss is generally vast in the early stages of the diet.

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