How to Lose 5 Lbs. a Week With Workouts

Losing five lbs. a week is possible, but may be too drastic to be healthy. A sudden increase in aerobic activity, paired with a serious reduction in calories, can be very taxing on your body. Dropping weight quickly may be appealing because the sudden changes in your body are motivating, but losing too much too quickly can cause serious health problem like kidney stones and reduction in muscle mass. A healthy amount of weight to lose in the span of a week is 1 to 2 lbs. If you combine workouts with sensible food choices, you will see a gradual reduction in weight that is healthy and reduces your risk of disease.

Things You'll Need

• Sneakers
• Fitness DVDs
• Walkman, iPod or MP3 player
• Portable water bottle
• Lean protein
• Vegetables

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Instructions

• 1

  Decrease your daily intake of calories. It is important to reduce your caloric intake to lose weight, but starving your body is unhealthy and will not help you lose weight. When you increase aerobic activity, your body will need additional fuel for energy. Determine what you need to eat each day to feel satisfied, energetic and healthy. Depending on your height and gender, your daily calorie intake should be between 1,200 and 1,600 calories. Eat meals that include lean proteins, vegetables and fruit and avoid processed foods. Choose healthy alternatives like avocados and nuts when incorporating fats into your diet.

• 2

  Create a workout plan. Remember that everything we do requires energy, which is fueled in the form of calories from our bodies. Activities like sitting still, cleaning the house, doing office work, preparing dinner and showering burn several hundred calories every day. While burning additional calories is necessary to lose weight, the calories you burn without trying still count toward your daily total. When trying to lose weight, these daily tasks will count toward your total number of calories burned.

• 3

  Increase your formal aerobic activity. Aerobic activity burns about 300 to 600 calories per hour, so plan to add several hours worth of exercise to your week. To lose 1 lb., your body must burn an additional 3,500 calories per day. While nearly a pound per day is an ambitious goal, if you plan your workouts frequently enough, it is possible. You can either workout five days during a seven day period and aim to burn all of the necessary calories in that time or you can stretch the workouts across the entire week. This enables you to workout fewer hours per day, but commit to more days of workouts.

• 4

  Include muscle building in your workout. When you are trying to lose weight quickly, weight-lifting and increasing muscle mass is something you will want to avoid. However, if you are focusing on long-term goals, building more muscle is important. Muscle weighs more than fat, but it takes up less space. This means you can weigh the same as you did a few weeks ago, but be leaner, smaller and healthier. Muscle also burns calories more efficiently than fat, so the more muscular your body is, the more calories you are burning even when not engaged in working out.

• 5

  Boost your daily water intake. Water hydrates your body, which helps you feel better when exercising. Water is calorie-free, but helps you feel full so you eat less. Drinking water improves the efficiency of your digestive system and flushes the toxins from your body. Aim for eight to 10 glasses per day and drink throughout your workouts. While exercising, take occasional water breaks to replace the water your body loses while perspiring during a workout.