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4 Weeks to Fit & Fabulous

Whether it’s one month until summer or 30 days until your high-school reunion, four weeks is enough to make a difference in your weight-loss efforts. According to WebMD, you can safely lose up to 3 pounds in a week, which could translate to a loss of up to 12 pounds in a month. However, keep your expectations reasonable -- initial loss is often due to dropping water weight, so you might only lose 1 to 2 pounds in the final weeks of your efforts. Keep your eye on the goal, and in four weeks, you could be feeling fit and fabulous, no matter what the number on the scale says.

  1. Clean Up Your Diet

    • Kick off your weight-loss efforts by focusing on your diet. Purge your pantry and fridge of unhealthy options and restock with a limited variety of healthy foods. According to registered dietitian Hollie A. Raynor, having too many options when it comes to food means you’re less likely to be successful in losing weight. Instead, rotate a few tried-and-true nutritious recipes, such as grilled chicken or fish, fresh green salads and roasted vegetables. When you’re aiming to lose weight in just 30 days, you have to make every day count, including the weekends -- according to “Fitness” magazine, Americans typically eat approximately 82 more calories on Saturday and Sunday than during the rest of the week.

    Begin Cardio Exercises

    • When you have the hang of eating a nutritious diet, turn your focus to incorporating intense cardiovascular activity into your weekly routine. Set a stringent goal of aiming to exercise every day of the week. This might seem excessive, but when you only have four weeks to make a difference, it's important to aim high. “Fitness” magazine says you typically will meet 60 percent of a weekly fitness goal – which equates to at least three to four workouts each week. Work out in the morning if you can, because trainer Josh Salzman says on iVillage.com that interval training in the morning boosts your metabolism for the rest of the day. To do intervals, first complete a short warmup. From there, alternate cardio such as running, biking or stepping between two to three minutes at an intense pace, followed by two to three minutes of recovery at your normal pace.

    Add Weight Training

    • Cardio helps burn off body fat, but only heavy weight training can give you the lean, sculpted look that being fit brings to mind. Building muscle also speeds up weight loss because it boosts your metabolism, says iVillage.com. Incorporate resistance exercises at least three times a week, starting with moves that target larger muscle groups such as your butt and thighs -- try squats and lunges -- and then move onto isolated movements that target specific muscles. It's important to note, however, that you can't spot train a body part -- if you want to sculpt your abs to look fabulous in that bathing suit, you have to lose body fat from all over your body as well as build muscle in that region.

    Avoid Crash Diets

    • When you're wishing desperately to be a pants size smaller within four weeks, it's tempting to turn to diet pills, very-low-calorie diets or other extreme methods of weight loss. Resist this temptation, because you can not only hurt your metabolism -- sabotaging long-term weight loss -- but also put your body at risk for further damage. Dipping below 1,000 calories per day helps you lose fat, but muscle disappears, too, making you weak and unable to exercise at the right intensity or duration, according to WebMD.

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