Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM
FACT CHECKED
Losing 15 pounds is a realistic and achievable goal for many people. However, it requires focus, dedication, and an understanding of the basic principles of weight loss. You'll need to optimize things like your training, nutrition, and even your sleep to shed these pounds successfully.
The good thing is this article will tell you exactly what to do. If you have some extra weight and wonder how to lose 15 pounds, we'll give you the information below.
Prepare to lose some pounds with our exclusive 12-week fat loss training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and torch that stubborn fat, all while retaining, or even gaining muscle...
Calories Consumed - Calories Expended
If you want to lose 15 pounds, you need to understand the relationship between calories consumed and calories expended. These two numbers are what control;
- If you lose weight
- How fast you lose weight
- If you gain weight
- If maintain weight
As you see, calorie control is the primary component that dictates your weight. If you've ever heard the adage, "Calories In, Calories Out" (CICO), this is what it's talking about.
Now, there is some nuance to CICO, and it's not an exact science. Everyone has different variables that affect their weight loss and can lead to more or less weight loss. Some of these include;
- A person's body composition
- Hormone levels
- Sleep and stress
With that said, it's the primary guideline that you need to follow if you want to lose 15 pounds. Just keep in mind that you must monitor your weight over time and make adjustments when needed.
With that said, here's what you need to know.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE, is the total number of calories your body burns daily at your current weight.¹ There are four components that make up the total ranging from basic bodily functions to exercise.
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): The calories your body needs to perform essential functions like breathing, digesting food, and circulating blood while at rest.
- Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): The calories you burn through exercise and general movement throughout the day (e.g., walking, working, exercising).
- Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): The energy your body uses to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food you eat.
- Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): The calories burned from activities that are not formal exercise (e.g., walking to your car, fidgeting, cleaning).
How to Calculate Your TDEE
There are two options for determining your TDEE.
The first is to use a TDEE calculator online. This is the easiest and fastest method and easy to use.
The second requires you to do some calculations. Ultimately, you multiply your BMR by your activity level. To do this, follow these steps.
- Calculating your BMR using the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation.
- For Men: BMR= (10×weight in kg) + (6.25×height in cm) − (5×age in years) +5
- For Women: BMR= (10×weight in kg) + (6.25×height in cm−(5×age in years) −161
- Once you have your BMR, multiply it by an activity factor:
- Sedentary (little to no exercise): BMR × 1.2
- Lightly active (light exercise or sports 1-3 days/week): BMR × 1.375
- Moderately active (moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days/week): BMR × 1.55
- Very active (hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week): BMR × 1.725
- Super active (very hard exercise, physical job, or training twice a day): BMR × 1.9
The number you get is your estimated TDEE. Keep in mind that this is only an estimate. You will need to monitor your weight over time and make any necessary adjustments.
How To Lose 15 Pounds
Now that you understand calories and energy expenditure let's look at how to lose 15 pounds. We'll review different areas in your life you need to address to optimize your weight loss.
How Many Calories Do You Need To Burn?
Ultimately, losing 15 pounds will depend on you burning a ton of calories.
We know that you'll need to burn approximately 3,500 calories to burn just one pound of fat. Therefore, to lose 15 pounds, you would need to burn around 52,500 calories over time!
Now, you're obviously not going to burn all those calories at once. Under most circumstances, you will be advised to get into a 500-1000 calorie deficit. Therefore, here's the duration you can expect for both numbers.
- 500 calorie deficit will take you 105 days
- 1000 calorie deficit will take you 52 days
Now, this is just how many calories you need to burn over time to lose weight; it doesn't tell you how many calories you need to burn daily.
Create A Caloric Deficit
Knowing your TDEE is just one part of losing weight. That's because if you eat the same amount as your TDEE, you will stay at the same weight.
To lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than your body burns. As mentioned above, you should be in a calorie deficit of about 500-1,000 calories daily.
This is generally considered the safe and effective rate for the gradual weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week. This can be achieved through:
- Diet: Reducing calorie intake by cutting back on high-calorie foods and replacing them with healthier options.
- Exercise: Increasing physical activity to burn additional calories.
For example, let's say you want to eat a 500-calorie deficit. You live an active life, so your TDEE is 3,000 calories, meaning you can eat 2,500 calories.
On the other hand, let's say you live a sedentary life, so your TDEE is just 2,500 calories. Since you don't exercise, you will now have to eat 2,000 calories to get a 500-calorie deficit.
The point is that the amount of calories you burn depends on your TDEE and how active you are combined with how big of a caloric deficit you want to be in.
We recommend most people lean towards the smaller side of caloric deficits. These are easier to adhere to, which is the most important part of dieting and losing weight.
Either way, it's in your best interest to live an active lifestyle. This will increase your TDEE, which allows you to eat more food, along with all the other benefits of exercise.
The Best Diet To Lose 15 Pounds
Any diet that gets you in a caloric deficit you can adhere to will be ideal. There's no such thing as a "best" diet for weight loss. However, there are some variables that will optimize your success as well as areas that need to be addressed.
- Ensure you get all your micronutrients. This is best done by following a whole-food diet.
- Mitigate or eliminate ultra-processed foods, junk food, fried foods, and added sugar. All these are high in calories and provide minimal nutrition. Losing weight while following a diet high in these is difficult, if not impossible. At the same time, these foods can lead to various other conditions.
- Eat high-protein. Aim to eat at least 2.0 grams per kilogram of body weight. High-protein diets have consistently been found to be effective in weight loss.² This is due to numerous benefits, including increased satiety, increased TEF (calorie burn through digestion of food), and mitigation of muscle loss.
- Hydrate!!! Drink plenty of water during your weight loss. It will keep you full, give you energy, and optimize your health. Water should always be your primary source of hydration.
Training Program To Lose 15 Pounds
Your entire training program should ideally include 3 components.
- Weight Training
- Cardio
- Daily Physical Activity (low-intense)
All three of these have their own unique health benefits. At the same time, they will all contribute to increasing your daily caloric burn.
- Weight Training - At a bare minimum, you should include 2 days of resistance training each week. However, increasing the frequency to 3-5 weekly sessions will yield better results. Concentrate on using your big, compound movements, as these provide the best benefits. They train multiple muscles and allow larger loads. Further, be sure to use progressive overload and aim to increase the load and reps over time.
- Cardio - The standards set by governmental health organizations say you should get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity cardio weekly or 90 minutes of vigorous cardio. You can also use some type of combination which we believe is ideal. Therefore, unless you have conditions that would prevent you, get at least 1 session of moderate-intensity cardio and at least 1-session of high-intensity cardio.
- Daily Physical Activity - You've probably heard of "10,000 Steps" before which is what increasing your physical activity refers to – you just need to get on your feet and move more. Research has shown that increasing daily steps seems to have a dose-response in terms of weight loss; this means that people who walk more tend to see greater results.³
How Long Does It Take To Lose 15 Pounds?
Above, we discussed the general time frame for losing 15 pounds. Assuming you're in a 500-1000 calorie deficit, it will take around 50-100 days.
Now, fat loss is never linear and there can be fluctuations during this loss. At the same time, life might get in the way and result in a longer duration. Whatever happens on the scale, just remember to keep going.
Even when you lose the weight, you'll need to still adhere to a healthy lifestyle so in reality, weight loss is never finished, it just becomes weight maintenance.
How To Lose 15 Pounds In 1 Month?
For some people, waiting 50 days is too long, and they want to lose weight fast. We strongly encourage you to take your time losing weight to mitigate any negative effects.
However, if you have a lot of weight to lose, you could possibly attempt this in a safe manner. This will highly depend on your personal situation.
To lose 15 pounds in 30 days, you must burn all 52,500 calories! This means you'd need to increase your deficit to 1,750!
You must consistently increase activity and eat even fewer calories to achieve this.
In terms of your weight training and other variables, nothing would change that much; however, some adaptations might include;
- Increasing sleep
- Increasing protein
- Make sure to always stay hydrated
Just keep in mind that prolonged large caloric deficits can affect you. Therefore, be sure to monitor your fatigue and mood levels if you attempt this.
How To Lose 15 Pounds In 2 Weeks?
Some people even ask how to lose 15 pounds in 2 weeks – that's basically 1 pound a day! This means you'd need to be in a deficit of 3,500 calories daily!
This is obviously not healthy, and you shouldn't do it. While there are ways to lose this much fat, they involve drastic measures such as water fasts and excessive exercise.
You may have heard stories of people, especially fighters, losing extreme amounts of weight in minimal time. While this is true, realize that much of this weight isn't fat. In reality, it's things such as;
- Water loss from advanced dehydration
- Glycogen depletion
- Loss of waste
In other words, it's not "real" weight loss. Many of these people will regain all their weight loss, and sometimes even more, once they eat normally again.
Final Thoughts
Losing 15 pounds is a solid fitness goal. By altering certain lifestyle changes, fixing your diet and getting active, you can easily shed this weight. Concerning time frames, it's always good to have a goal so that you can write a plan and stay on track. Just be sure to not be too strict and allow yourself forgiveness. Losing weight is a long-term goal and consistency is always the key component.
Prepare to lose some pounds with our exclusive 12-week fat loss training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and torch that stubborn fat, all while retaining, or even gaining muscle...
References
- Ostendorf, Danielle M., et al. “Physical Activity Energy Expenditure and Total Daily Energy Expenditure in Successful Weight Loss Maintainers.” Obesity, vol. 27, no. 3, 25 Feb. 2019, pp. 496–504, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6392078/, https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22373.
- Pesta, Dominik H, and Varman T Samuel. “A High-Protein Diet for Reducing Body Fat: Mechanisms and Possible Caveats.” Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 11, no. 1, 19 Nov. 2014, p. 53, https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-7075-11-53.
- Creasy, Seth A., et al. “Pattern of Daily Steps Is Associated with Weight Loss: Secondary Analysis from the Step-up Randomized Trial.” Obesity, vol. 26, no. 6, 6 Apr. 2018, pp. 977–984, https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22171.
Garett Reid
Author