How Can I Lose 20 Pounds in 2 Weeks?

According to the Center for Disease Control, 67 percent of the adult population of the United States can be classified as either overweight or obese. Most people truly want to lose weight. However, a major demotivating factor battling weight gain is that losing it seems to take so long. Counting calories, weighing portions, cutting fat, denying yourself all your favorite treats seems like a losing battle when week after week, you see almost no change. But there are ways to lose weight and see results quickly, in under two weeks.

Master Cleanse

One way to lose weight quickly which has gained a lot of attention recently is the Master Cleanse, also called the lemonade diet. Celebrities such as Beyonce Knowles and Robin Quivers have reported large weight loss while doing the diet. The Master Cleanse was not originally developed as a diet. It was intended as a natural method of body detoxification. If you use the Master Cleanse for losing weight, remember that it is a short-term, temporary diet, but can be repeated whenever you feel the need. Depending on how long you continue the fast, you can lose anywhere from five to 20 pounds in two weeks.

The Master Cleanse usually consists of an easing-in period in which you cut down on your food intake and switch to eating only fruits, vegetables and juice, the fasting period, and then an easing-out period during which you slowly introduce solid food back into your body. The fast itself consists of drinking a beverage made of water, the juice of fresh lemons, cayenne pepper and maple syrup every day, along with a saltwater flush either in the morning or in the evening to help clean out your system. During the fasting period, the lemon drink is the only thing you consume--no other foods.

Cabbage Soup Diet

The Cabbage Soup Diet, while not as restrictive as the Master Cleanse, is another way to lose 20 pounds in two weeks. In fact, there are reports that you can lose as much as 15 pounds in one week on the Cabbage Soup Diet. The Cabbage Soup plan is set up to be done for seven days at a time. You are allowed to eat more than cabbage soup on each day, but the core of the plan is to fill yourself up with as much of the low-calorie, high-vitamin soup as you can. As the diet goes on, you add more and more foods back into your rotation, so that by the end of the week you are eating the soup, you can also take brown rice, vegetables and unsweetened fruit juices.

The recipe for the soup varies, but a good general recipe includes six large green onions, two green peppers, 10 oz. of mushrooms, one or two cans of tomatoes (or several fresh tomatoes), one entire bunch of celery, one or two cubes of bouillon of your choice and half-head of cabbage. Many people like the cabbage-soup diet because not only do they lose weight quickly and begin to change their eating habits, but they also don't feel so deprived while dieting because they can change the soup recipe and also keep eating other foods.

Warnings

You should always check with your doctor before beginning any diet plan, especially ones as restrictive as the Cabbage Soup Diet or the Master Cleanse. Also, remember that neither of these diets is meant to be permanent, but are only temporary diets meant for quick weight loss and detoxification. They are both very low in calories and staying on the programs too long can result in fatigue, low energy, breaking down of muscle and other body tissues and the slowing down of your metabolism.