How to Lose 5 Pounds Every Week for a Month

Losing 20 pounds in one month is a difficult task but can be done with the right combination of diet, exercise and self-discipline. Because it is recommended that dieters lose weight at a rate of one to two pounds per week, losing five pounds per week is possible but should only be attempted by the obese and morbidly obese. The higher your body mass index (BMI, or your height-to-fat ratio), the easier it will be to lose weight. People with large amounts of fat lose it faster and easier when put on the correct diet regimen.

Things You'll Need

• Doctor or nutritionist
• Healthy foods
• Exercise equipment, access to fitness center or outdoor area
• Pen and paper
• List of foods and their calories (can be found in weight-loss reference books such as "Calorie King" or on websites like fitday.com)

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Instructions

How to Lose 5 Pounds Every Week for a Month

• 1

  Keep a journal for one week, and record the amount of calories you consume each day. To find the average daily calorie intake, add each of the seven day's calories and then divide this total by seven.

• 2

  Assess your caloric needs per day. Your caloric needs depend on many factors, including sex, current weight, height and your level of physical activity. A quick assessment of the calories needed to maintain your current weight can be made using http://calorieneedscalculator.com/.

• 3

  Reduce your overall calorie intake by 17,500 every week. Because one pound of fat equals 3,500 calories, you must reduce an average of 2,500 calories per day. You must expend the 2,500 calories through exercise and reducting your daily calorie intake.

• 4

  Follow the online calorie needs calculator listed above to determine how many calories you must eliminate per day. For example, the calculator suggests a sedentary man who is 5'10" and weighs 300 pounds needs 3,389 calories daily to maintain his weight. If he aims to burn 500 calories per day through exercise, he must decrease his calorie intake by 2,000. This will leave him with a daily allotment of 1,389 calories per day for eating.

• 5

  Find an exercise that you enjoy but will also burn enough calories. Obese people may begin to burn calories safely by walking, using an elliptical machine or swimming for about an hour each day. These are considered low-impact cardiovascular exercises, which are easier to perform and pose a lower risk of injury for those new to exercising.