A common weight loss goal is trying to lose 40 pounds in 2 months.
But, how long does it take to lose 40 pounds actually? What are some tips for how to lose 40 pounds fast? Are the weight loss plans that say how to lose 40 pounds in 2 months legit? Are the tips for how to lose 40 pounds for a woman the same as how to lose 40 pounds for a man?
In this weight loss guide, we will discuss if and how to lose 40 pounds in 2 months, how long it takes to lose 40 pounds, how to lose 40 lbs. fast, and whether articles or posts that say “How I lost 40 pounds in 2 months“ are legitimate.
We will cover:
- How To Lose 40 Pounds In 2 Months…Is It Even Possible?
- Tips for How to Lose 40 Pounds Fast
Let’s jump in!
How To Lose 40 Pounds In 2 Months…Is It Even Possible?
We have to begin this discussion with how to lose 40 pounds fast with the truth, even if it is a bit of a bummer: It is not possible to safely lose 40 pounds in 2 months in almost all cases.
Though many people would love for there to be an easy, effective, healthy “how to lose 40 pounds in 2 months plan,“ losing 40 pounds in eight weeks is unsafe unless you are being specifically guided by a medical professional for rapid 40 pound weight loss.
Therefore, we share an important disclaimer: we are not advising extreme dieting or supporting methods used in viral videos or posts that say “How I lost 40 pounds in 2 months“ or “How to lose 40 pounds in 2 months for a woman.“
This rate of weight loss is dangerous in almost all scenarios, again, unless specifically guided by a team of medical professionals for those who are severely obese or preparing for bariatric surgery, or coming off of a weight loss surgery procedure.
Losing 40 pounds in 2 months means you are losing 20 pounds a month or 5 pounds a week for 8 weeks.
Because it takes a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat, losing 5 pounds per week to lose 40 pounds per month means you have to burn 17,500 calories more per week than you burn or 2,500 calories per day.
This is unreasonable and more than the average woman and equivalent to the average daily caloric needs for the average man for most age groups, according to the USDA.That means that you’d either have to eat zero calories every day (which would quickly put the body into starvation mode and become fatal at a certain point) or burn an additional 2,500 per day above USDA caloric expenditure estimates.
In order to do so, you would have to spend almost your entire day exercising at a moderate to vigorous intensity and eating very little; again, this would be extremely dangerous for your health.
That said, we will discuss how to lose 40 pounds quickly—or as quickly as possible using a safe and sustainable rate of weight loss.
For those searching for a guide on “how to lose 40 pounds in 2 months,” we hope that we can shift expectations and goals and provide a more realistic but actually effective 40 pound weight loss diet plan.
Tips for How to Lose 40 Pounds Fast
We all want to lose weight quickly, but as long as you are consistently losing the recommended 1 to 2 pounds per week, you can lose 40 pounds in 4 to 5 months.
In some cases, you may actually lose 40 pounds in 3 months or lose 40 pounds in 4 months, even though this rate exceeds the recommendations for weight loss per week.
This is because if you are following the best 40 pound weight loss plans, you will be shifting your diet to be significantly more nutritious and eliminating any foods that cause systemic inflammation and water weight gain in the body.
This means that you will lose water weight rapidly when you begin the 40 pound weight loss diet plan.
Even though this won’t be true fat loss yet, it will still help you lower your body weight, and more importantly, it will reduce inflammation in your body that can contribute to poor health, increased risk of lifestyle diseases, high blood pressure, joint pain, lethargy, sluggishness, and a general feeling of being “puffy.”
The other thing to mention is that the tips for how to lose 40 pounds for a woman are essentially the same as how to lose 40 pounds for a man.
Though there are differences in the hormonal profiles between males assigned at birth and females assigned at birth, the general principles of weight loss apply to everyone.
Moreover, if you are following the best weight loss plans, you will be optimizing your hormones in either biological sex, which will then help you burn fat faster and decrease abdominal fat storage, fat gain, bloating, and puffiness while increasing lean muscle mass.
Here are some tips for how to lose 40 pounds fast:
#1: Count Calories
For effective weight loss, you need to know how many calories you are burning in a day and how many calories you are eating in a day.
This means that you need to track both your energy expenditure and use a food log to track your calories.
You also need to assess your basal metabolic rate, BMR, in order to determine your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).
Once you have this information, you will need to create a caloric deficit of 500 to 1000 calories per day to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week, respectively.
You can achieve this weight loss calorie goal by cutting calories in your diet, being more physically active, or a combination of both (both being the preferred choice).
#2: Drink More Water
Drinking more water not only helps you stay better hydrated, but it can also help you feel fuller and increase your metabolic rate, both of which can help support you on your journey to lose 40 pounds.
#3: Cut Out Processed Foods and Sugar
Processed foods have been shown to not only be deleterious for your health but also increase appetite and stoke food cravings because of the high-sugar, high-salt, high-fat nature of these foods.
These qualities can be addictive to the brain and alter the perception of our palate to continue to seek out sweeter, saltier, creamier, and richer foods, and processed foods are highly refined and therefore not very satiating so they do little to suppress your appetite.
#4: Load Up On Fiber
If you want to lose 40 pounds fast, you want your 40 pound diet plan to be filling so that you don’t constantly want to munch and eat more calories.
Adding more fiber to your diet will help you stay satiated between meals while also providing a host of other health benefits, such as improved digestion, better gut microbiome health, and lower risks of various lifestyle diseases.
#5: Rearrange Your Plate
Focus on veggies taking up at least 50% of your plate, lean protein taking up 2/3 of the remaining half, and then use the last portion for whole grains or starchy carbs and a tablespoon of healthy fats.
#6: Eliminate Alcohol Completely
Alcohol contains empty calories, alters your metabolism, may contribute to fat gain, increases water retention, and can reduce your self-control around eating, especially at night, which can contribute to derailing your weight loss plans.
#7: Exercise At Least 30 Minutes Per Day
Getting at least 30 minutes of exercise every day is not only important for your health but will also help you burn calories, create consistent healthy habits, and improve your self-confidence and energy levels, helping you stick with your plan to lose 40 pounds.
#8: Get More Sleep
The importance of getting enough sleep when you want to lose a lot of weight cannot be overstated.
Although we tend to focus just on diet and exercise, studies suggest that getting too little sleep, and even getting too much sleep, can contribute to weight gain.
Aim to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night, which is the recommended amount for adults.
Again, although we do not believe that it is possible or advisable to seek out ways how to lose 40 pounds in 2 months, we do believe it is absolutely possible to lose 40 lbs. fast.
Here, “fast“ is a relative term. You can do it!
To jumpstart your new exercise routine, check out our walking for weight loss guide, here!
