So, you want to lose ten pounds in a week. And, you probably want to do it without being hangry the whole time. By now, you've heard of Keto and you're ready to give it a go and see if it can help you lose weight.
After all, the title is how to lose 10 pounds in one week without starving. I know it can be done, I've done it myself. I can tell you how you can do it too.
You can skip right to day one if you want to. But, this is a big undertaking and there's some science involved.
I recommend reading the post, but you're the boss.
Throughout the years there have been a lot of diet fads.
The “banana diet,” the “cucumber diet,” the “lemon juice and vinegar diet” “the have a limb amputated diet” – okay, I was just checking to make sure you’re paying attention.
I don’t know if any of these waka-noodle diets actually work – and they aren’t worth it at any rate because you'll starve the whole time.
What I can tell you is that I have done lots of research about the Keto Diet, and I know for a fact that Keto actually works.
I know why Keto works so well, and I can explain it because it’s fairly simple.
I can also tell you that if you combine a healthy Keto Diet with intermittent fasting you can quickly and comfortably get into Ketosis.
During the first few days after achieving Ketosis there is usually some rapid weight loss. I personally lost 13 pounds the first week.
I started at over 250 pounds, and I was very strict with myself about eating no carbs, and keeping protein under 15% of my calories.
Keto Works Differently for Different People.
Now, I don't really think I should have to say this, but you're unique - just like everybody else.
Your body's metabolism is not the same as mine or your spouse or your kids. Your metabolism may not even the same as it was year ago.
The time it takes you to achieve Ketosis and how it will affect you will vary depending on your age, sex, weight, body composition, stress levels, fitness levels, and your diet before you start.
And, a huge factor in the effect of Keto on you is how sensitive you are to insulin.
If you are insulin resistant or type 2 Diabetic, achieving ketosis will probably take a little longer.
If you really want to skip the explanation and go to the "How To" part of the post that's fine. I will understand, but I believe it will be easier and healthier if you understand why Keto works.
Understand that you can not only lose 10 pounds in a week, but you can change your lifestyle so you're healthier and thinner forever.
What is Ketosis?
Ketosis is the metabolic state where your body uses fat/ketones for fuel instead of sugar/carbs - that's the selling point that has made the Keto Diet all the rage.
Everyone probably knows by now that Keto is a low carb way of eating.
The reason Keto works is that when you don't eat carbs, your pancreas doesn't excrete enough insulin to stop you from accessing fat for fuel.
Insulin is the hormone that tells your cells to open up for the sugar that is floating around in your blood.
In addition, insulin also tells your fat cells to hold onto fat - i.e. you can't burn fat when there is too much insulin.
If you eat a ketogenic diet (80% fat, 15% protein and 0-5% carbs) your insulin levels will drop to the point where fat cells will release fat to your liver. In turn, your liver will break the fat down into ketones and release them into your blood where the ketones will be absorbed directly and used for fuel.
One other thing insulin does is tell your kidneys to recycle sodium and other salts.
When you reduce the insulin far enough to get into ketosis, you excrete (pee out) the sodium along with the excess water.
Fat Weight vs. Water Weight.
No matter what you eat or don't eat, it would be impossible to lose 10 pounds of fat in a week.
Fat weight:
There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat.
That means to lose one pound of fat, you would have to burn 3,500 more calories than you consume.
So, to lose 10 pounds of fat, you will have to burn 35,000 calories more than you consume.
To do that in a week you would have to burn 5,000 calories per day more than you consume.
Since the average person burns between 1,600 and 2,500 calories a day, this would be tough.
I have a pretty high metabolism. If I just sit on the couch I burn about 2,200 calories a day, and if I workout I can get it up to 2,700 calories.
So, even if I ate nothing for a week and worked out every day, I might lose five pounds of fat and who knows how much water weight.
Water Weight:
I fasted for 3 days and I lost 7 pounds. If you do the math, about 1.5 pounds of that was fat, and the rest was water.
As I explained above, when you get to ketosis you urinate out a bunch of sodium, and water follows sodium. You'll pee out more water than you drink. Don't be alarmed when this happens.
A gallon of water weighs about 8.3 pounds.
So what I really lost was about 1.9 lbs of body fat and ⅔ of a gallon of water. I was really happy about that. I was a lot less "puffy".
Fat Burning Foods? Nope.
Ugh. I see pins and posts and ads about "fat burning" foods all the time and it makes me cringe.
Please beware of claims of "fat burning" or "metabolism increasing" foods.
There is no such thing as a fat burning food. Fat is fuel, carbs are fuel, protein can be fuel, your food is made up of fuel. No food "burns" fat.
Your body burns the fuel and your metabolism determines what type of fuel you burn and how much.
Your metabolism is controlled by hormones, and the mother-of-all metabolic hormones, is insulin.
As I said above, insulin is secreted by the pancreas when you eat carbs (net carbs).
Insulin only allows you to burn carbs/sugar for fuel.
Insulin stops fat burning and increases fat storage.
Net Carbs & Fiber
I understand if you're confused by this - I was when I first started this whole Keto thing.
Net Carbs are the carbs (sugar) with calories and they include starches like bread, pasta and potatoes. As well as sugars like table sugar, honey and corn syrup, etc.
Net Carbs should be avoided this week because they create a severe insulin response - less than 5% of your calories should come from net carbs while you are actively trying to lose this particular ten pounds.
Fiber, aka Dietary Fiber is technically a carbohydrate. But your body can't digest or glean any calories from it, and most importantly for Ketosis, it causes no insulin response.
You should eat lots of fiber.
Fiber is great for the good bacteria in your gut. It can help get rid of toxins, and it will make you feel full.
When you look at a food label, you'll see "total carbohydrates" and under that, a line for "dietary fiber."
If you subtract the dietary fiber from the total carbohydrates, that will give you net carbs (in grams).
There are 4 calories per gram of net carbs. Calories are still important, even on Keto.
How to Get into Ketosis & Lose 10 Pounds:
This is the part you've been waiting for....
To lose weight fast, you're going to need to get into Ketosis fast. But you also don't want to be hungry or "hangry" or anything like that.
Your body will get into Ketosis when insulin is low enough and there is no glycogen available.
Glycogen is what your liver and muscles make out of sugar.
Your body stores about one days worth of energy in the form of glycogen in your muscle and liver cells.
And your body will burn that before it will start burning fat - There is no way around it.
What you need to do is burn through all of the glycogen without giving your muscles and liver any sugar to replenish the glycogen.
So here's what you do to get into Ketosis fast:
- Don't eat any sugar
- Don't eat any "net" carbs (starches like potatoes, and grains)
- Don't overeat protein
- Don't eat any sweeteners (even zero calorie, no carb sweeteners)
- Get most (80 to 90%) of your calories from healthy fat.
- Drink lots of water.
The Plan to Lose Weight Quickly:
The night before you start, eat early if you can and try not to eat too many carbs.
Don't eat any noodles, potatoes, bread, etc. and skip dessert.
Instead, eat some protein and leafy and cruciferous veggies like meat and salad or meat and broccoli with cheese - that sort of thing.
Nothing fancy or complicated needs to be made on the first night and keep the list below handy:
- Don't drink any alcohol at all.
- Don't have any "diet drinks"
- Drink lots of water. (black coffee, tea, club soda are okay and count as water as long as there is no sweeteners or flavoring)
- Do something to get tired, like take a long walk or work out.
- Then go to bed early enough that you can get eight hours of sleep if possible. You may not sleep that well because this is not your normal routine but give it a try.
The above list is going to apply to the whole week.
Day 1: Wait to eat until you're hungry.
When you wake up, drink water (some people like to add a little spritz of lemon or lime & that's okay).
After you drink some water it's okay to have some black coffee.
Wait as long as you can to eat or drink anything with calories.
Don't torture yourself, but if you can wait until lunch to eat, that will be great, if you can wait 'til dinner that would be even better.
When you do eat, have a leafy green salad with oil & vinegar dressing, and maybe some fatty protein like bacon, chicken wings or fried eggs.
For dinner, eat low carb veggies like broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts etc. and some meat (fatty meats are better).
Keep your protein low - for men this mean less than 50 grams, and women less than 40 grams. (your body turns excess protein into sugar & you don't want that today).
To be clear, you will only eat small portions of meat and veggies.
Again do some sort of exercise even if it's just walking the dog or cleaning the house to get tired. Try to get to bed early.
The idea of day 1 is to eat as close to zero carbs as you can and only enough fat and protein so that you are not hungry.
Day 2 and Day 3 of Ketosis:
Do the same as day one, but you will find that you don't get as hungry, You're adapting to fat burning.
If you eat mainly fat and fiber you will stay full. Remeber to get some sodium if you notice that you are losing a lot of water via urination.
By day 3 it may not even be hard to fast (not eat) until dinner.
The idea of day 2 and 3 is to make the time between eating longer without getting too hungry.
This will allow your insulin levels to stay low while you burn out the remainder of the carbs/glycogen in your liver and muscles.
Day 4 and 5:
Only eat dinner.
Keep calories low (for men less than 1000, and for women less than 900)
Keep net carbs as low as possible (less than 5% of total calories for men less than 12 grams and for woman less than 11 grams).
If you need help with determining how much to eat, get a nutritional calculator like Fitness pal or any of the others that offer free versions first (to make sure you like it and will use it).
Keep protein under 15% of total calories (For men less than 37 grams and for woman less than 33 grams)
Do something to get tired and go to bed early.
The idea of day 4 and 5: You will see that without carbs in your diet you don't get hungry.
You should have burned through all of the carbs in your system, and if you are not experiencing any of the signs of ketosis yet, you soon will.
Day 6 and 7:
Fast. As in, don't eat today.
Don't worry (in Ketosis you don't have to).
This is fasting - zero calories - The ultimate Keto Diet to lose ten pounds in a week.
You should drink water - lots of it.
You may also drink black coffee, tea, club soda (the flavored club soda is okay).
You may add a little spritz of lemon or lime to your drinks (there is calories in lemon, but it is insignificant if you only add enough for flavor)
Do not eat or drink any sweeteners. (no "diet drinks" no sweet & low, no splenda etc. If it tastes sweet don't eat it.)
You should have a some salt. You can eat it straight or put it in water.
(I know it seems weird to have salt with nothing to put it on but if you are in ketosis and drinking enough water you will need to replenish your electrolytes so you don't get crampy and sore.)
Keep your regular schedule. Still do something to get tired and go to bed early.
The idea of day 6 and 7: By not eating any calories, all of the calories you burn will be from body fat.
If you burn 4000 calories during these two days that is a over a pound of actual body fat. And fasting re-balances/resets the hormones that control your metabolism, so it will not only make you thinner it will also make you healthier.
Continue on Keto:
If all you're going for was to lose 10 pounds in a week then we'll see ya next time.
Maybe there's class reunion or a big family thing and you just wanted to be thinner for the event.
If all you want is to lose weight fast, then don't read any further, but if you want to stay thin and be healthy for the rest of your life, a healthy Keto lifestyle is the way to go.
I have done the work and can help. For the last 2 years, I have not only been happily Keto, but I have done all the research.
And if you would like an in depth explanation of how Keto works and how we got tricked into thinking we should eat low fat... Why we get Fat: And What to do About It is a fantastic book.