Slim Down in 7 Days!

We’ve all seen those articles promising quick weight loss. A pound a day lost and so on. The real questions you have to ask: is it possible and if so, is it healthy?

Well, it depends. How much you can lose really depends on several factors: how much you have to lose, age, gender, and previous eating habits. So, if you are a young guy in your 20’s who has about 50lbs to lose and usually eats like crap, but then suddenly clean things up for a week you could lose 10lbs in 7 days no problem.  

However, if you are a woman in her 30’s / 40’s who is fairly healthy. Who has about 10-15lbs to lose and you take up a one week slim down you could get somewhere to around 5 – 6lbs. 

So really it varies. And the other factor we have to take into account is that while SOME of those pounds are from fat loss most are from flushing out water weight. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you have an event to go to flushing out excess bloat can only make you look and feel trimmer.  

So, if you were to undertake this one week shred what does it entail? A fast, “cleanse”, 6 hour daily workouts? No. None of the above. This really is predominantly about clean eating, reasonable calorie restriction, and strategic short but intense workouts that are no longer than 25 minutes 4-5 times in 7 days.  

What I mean by clean eating is removing foods that drive up insulin and cause water retention. So the key is to cut out processed sugar and flour (cakes, cookies, ice cream etc) and processed grains (bread, pasta, cereal etc that isn’t whole grain). Avoid alcohol the entire week as it slows fat metabolism and can result in water retention. Keep your sodium to around 1600mg a day tops and drink at least 64oz of water – this also helps to flush excess water retention. Keep your calories around 1200 a day with unlimited greens (but sauces and dressings count as calories).  For a step by step, detailed meal plan for a jumpstart diet, check out the Jumpstart Meal Plan in the JM My Fitness App.

When it comes to your fitness regimen this week we want to keep inflammation to a minimum so heavy lifting is great in the long run, but not if you are hoping to slide into your skinny jeans in 7 days. Heavy lifting can cause water retention in the short term because your muscles can be swollen from an intense lifting session. HIIT workouts and body weight exercises are going to be best. And be sure to adhere to the aforementioned guidelines of 25 minutes tops 4 – 5 times a week. This helps to avoid any overtraining and stress hormone that can be released when we train too hard for too long.