It’s almost summer, which means you may be looking to regain motivation to achieve your weight loss goals. There are hundreds of blogs, tips, and books out there on how to lose weight. Weight-loss advice is helpful, but it can be overwhelming. Plus, all those articles on “how to lose 10 pound in 2 weeks” are misleading and result in temporary water weight loss and muscle loss, which is what you don’t want!

Feeling overwhelmed by all the weight loss advice? Discouraged from the extreme diets on how to “lose 10 pounds in a week”? You are not alone. You can lose 10 pounds by making small changes to you daily exercise routine and diet. No extreme meal plans or workout routines needed.

Follow the five simple steps below to lose 10 pounds in 2020 and decrease your fat percentage. You can lose 10 pounds in one year – naturally. You just need to follow the right diet and exercise plan.

Keep reading for the 5 steps I took to lose 10 pounds last year. The result? I watched the scale drop from 145 pounds to 135 pounds.

5 Steps to Lose 10 Pounds Naturally with Small Changes to Your Diet and Exercise Plan

Step 1) Find an Exercise Routine You Love to Lose 10 Pounds

I used to go to the gym. Daily. Every night from 7-8pm, I’d hit up the gym, do the elliptical, and watch my favorite TV show. After 10 years of following this workout routine, I got bored. The gym gets boring! My motivation to exercise at LA Fitness, attend a spin class, or go for a 2-mile completely disappeared.

I lost 10 pounds by finding new exercises I loved. I’m a sociable person, so working out with others did the trick for me.

Here’s what I did to lose 10 pounds through exercise.

1) I found an exercise class that I loved. I discovered Pure Barre two years ago and fell in love. I go every morning before work. I’ve seen AMAZING results. My arms and back got toned, my thunder thighs became sculpted, and a six-pack started to show through. I love Pure Barre because I can “zone out,” listen to the music, and do my exercises. If I’m tired, I can “go easy” on myself.

Exercise Takeaway to Lose Weight: Find an exercise program you love. It may be yoga, lifting weights at home for 10 minutes, or going on a lunch-time walk.

2) I joined a recreational sports league with friends. I found a rec volleyball league through Atlanta Sport and Social Club. I do this every Saturday afternoon. I love it because I get to see my friends.

Exercise Tip to Lose Weight: Make exercise fun by finding an activity to do with friends.

3) I scheduled workout dates with a friend. I used to get drinks with girlfriends to catch up. Now, I have a regular walking date with a friend every Tuesday night. We walk on the Beltline for an hour after work and catch up. When I’m tired, I know that my friend will be there to walk with me after work. Even on cold, winter days – we bundle up and walk together for 30 minutes after work.

Exercise Tip to Lose 10 Pounds: Find a friend to keep you accountable and motivated.

4) I discovered a new challenge – Tennis. It’s important to stay challenged and to switch things up to stay motivated. Last year I joined an ALTA tennis team in Atlanta. I’m not good yet and I love the challenge. My team practices weekly, I’ve made new friends, and I get a great workout.

Exercise Tip to Lose Weight: Find a new exercise or sport that you’ve never done before to stay motivated while losing weight.

5) I leveraged an existing passion for dancing and discovered a new activity – West Coast Swing. I love dancing. I’ve been hitting up the clubs with friends since I was 21. My friend recently introduced me to West Coast Swing, and that is now my Thursday night activity.

Exercise Tip to Lose Weight Naturally: Think about what your favorite sport was as a kid or back in college. Did you love dancing? Try a new dance class. Were you into tennis? Maybe you’d love pickleball or racquetball.

Step 2) Follow a Diet Plan That Works for You to Lose Weight

I cringe when I hear women talk about limiting their calories to 1,500 a day. Or juice diets. Or fasting. Or cutting out fruits due to their high sugar content. None of those techniques work for me. They are too hard to follow! I’m active and need at least 1,800 calories a day to stay satisfied.

I found a diet and meal plan that works for me to lose weight.

Here are a few “rules” and changes I’ve made to lose weight.

• Don’t buy tempting foods. I discovered that I have absolutely no self-control when it comes to certain foods. Mine used to be energy bars, Halo Top ice-cream, and peanut butter. I just have no self-control at all. So I stopped buying these foods.
• Eat more protein and reduce carbs. I used to eat lots of oatmeal and brown rice. Last year, I discovered that these foods don’t fill me up. Oatmeal satisfies most people, but not me. Now, I have eggs, lean steak, and chicken I’m much more satisfied, and less hungry.
• Throw out foods with fake sugar. I used to put Splenda in my coffee. And drink diet Coca-Cola sometimes. And chew gum. Even though Splenda and Stevia may be healthier than aspartame, I still avoid it. Once I cut out all versions of fake sugar, my cravings substantially resided.

Step 3) Get More Sleep at Night to Lose 10 Pounds – No Dieting and No Exercise Needed!

Many people reach for food when they are low on energy and tired. For me, over-eating at night used to be a BIG problem. I’d eat well all day and then my self-control would be depleted at the end of the day. I’d be exhausted at 9pm and reach for food. This is a common problem for many people struggling to lose weight, as our willpower decreases throughout the day.

My solution to lose weight? Now, I simply put on my pajamas and go to sleep.

Studies show that more sleep equals lower weight. Specifically, less than 7 hours a night seems to be the tipping point.

Takeaway to Lose 10 Pounds Naturally: Start getting more sleep to lose 10 pounds for good!

Step 4) Find Your Weakness and Address It Head On to Lose Weight

Everyone has weaknesses that prevent them from losing weight. Find out what your biggest weakness is and address it head on.

Potential Weaknesses Include

• Overindulging Friday night and having an extra 2,000 calories with pizza, wings, and beer.
• Eating the entire tub of ice-cream Sunday nights.
• Forgoing a 45 minute walk to watch TV.
• Buying sugary cereal and eating all of it in one night.
• Having four energy bars throughout the day as a snack.
• Eating your kids’ hot pockets.
• Snacking on Goldfish and Hershey’s chocolate at work.

My weakness used to be snacking at night, and I had absolutely no will power. After a stressful day, I often couldn’t sleep at night. So what did I do? I’d drive to Kroger at 12:30am (yes – 12:30am!), buy four 200-calorie energy bars, and eat ALL of them. Yes – that’s an extra 800 calories at night, which means an extra pound a week if done daily! I used to have no resistance toward peanut butter either. I’d buy a jar, and then finish it in four days. No joke.

Takeaway on How to lose 10 Pounds: Discover your weakness, and then cut it out – like COLD TURKEY. For me, that meant forcing myself to not eat ANY energy bars for three weeks. I used to crave them like crazy! Instead, I told myself that I could have as many fruit shakes, apples, turkey, and other healthy snacks as I wanted. Just no energy bars. After cutting out that weakness, the scale started to go down.

Step 5) Weigh Yourself Daily to Lose Weight

 

Yunmai scale to track weight loss daily and to help you lose weight

Your weight can fluctuate 5 pounds daily, which may make weighing yourself daily sound counter-intuitive. But I’ve found it to be the opposite. By weighing myself daily, I can see week over week averages go down on the scale, versus losing my motivation due to my weight randomly being higher on the ONE day each week I happened to weigh myself.

I found it much more motivational to continue to eat well and exercise when I could see the weight drop from week to week, even if it was just 0.2 pounds. I still use the Yunmai scale to this day to stay motivated to eat well and exercise, and I love it.

Takeaway to Lose 10 Pounds Naturally: Weigh yourself daily to see the scale go down over time.

How Many Calories to Cut a Day to Lose 10 Pounds?

Curious if you can lose 10 pounds without exercise? You can, if you cut out calories.

3,500 calories equates to one pound of weight loss. (I don’t know what it is for me, but I feel like cutting out 2,000 calories equates to one pound of weight loss.)

To safely lose weight for good and to lose 10 pounds of fat (and not muscle!) in a year, you’ll need to lose approximately one pound a month. That equates to about100 fewer calories per day throughout one year.

Here are some easy ways to cut out 50 to 100 calories a day

• Swap out whole milk for 1% grass-fed milk in your coffee.
• Have an apple for a snack instead of a bowl of cereal.
• Replace Ranch dressing with balsamic vinegar and light oil on salads.
• Have sandwiches with one slice of bread instead of two.
• Swap out your weekly Starbucks Frappuccino for a latte instead.

Or, you can burn an extra 100 calories a day to lose 10 pounds in a year.

Here are easy ways to burn an extra 100 calories a day

• Take a 20 minute walk during your lunch break.
• Stand up and pace during your next 1-your conference call instead of sitting down.
• Mow the grass instead of paying someone else to do it.
• Stand up and walk around the office whenever you have a 5 minute break.
• Park your car far away in the parking lot at stores (and for work!).
• Throw a football or Frisbee back and forth with your kid(s) for 25 minutes after work.

More Ways to Lose 10 Pounds in 2020

Want more tips on how to lose weight this year? Check out this article on how to lose five pounds in three months. I also have another article on my top diet-friendly and healthy food finds at Trader Joe’s.

Don’t give up! I know that losing weight is a slow, and often unrewarding journey (in the short-term!). Just reminder that losing the weight slowly helps ensure you don’t gain it back.

Please leave a comment below, or send me a message on Instagram at Instagram.com/theJeansFit if you have any fitness or health questions. I also have a Pinterest Board with inspiration, tips for weight loss, and how-to guides to lose 10 pounds.

Lots of love!

-Chrissy (just a health-addict girl who loves to share her fitness advice, weight-loss tips, and athletic apparel reviews for women)