Losing weight is something that takes consistent hard work, and though it can sometimes be difficult… it can change your entire life for the better.

When you are trying to lose weight, and you build a healthy diet and exercise routine that you can stick with consistently, you will be able to see exciting fat loss results and maintain your habits so that you can reach your long-term goal.

This 7-day weight loss challenge will show you how to start your weight loss journey, and how to build the habits that you need to lose a significant amount of weight.

You will begin by eating healthy food every day, and then as the week passes you will exercise on 3 different days. Along the way you’ll also add even more healthy habits into your weight loss routine, such as drinking more water every day.

In 7 days, you may expect to lose up to 5 pounds depending on your current weight and how hard you work, but in this first week of your transformation, the focus shouldn’t just be on how much weight you can lose… it should be how consistent you can be!

The 7-Day Weight Loss Challenge is the second part of the entire Weight Loss Journey program, so if you want to prepare yourself for weight loss feel free to start from square one, but this challenge is also a great place to start if you are feeling ready and motivated!

After you completed this 7-day challenge, you will have started building consistent healthy habits with both healthy eating and exercise, and you will be ready to progress to the 8-Week Weight Loss Challenge.

If you can eat healthy and exercise for 7 days, you’ll know that you can do it for 8 weeks, and if you can do it for 8 weeks… you can sustain your healthy weight loss habits for as long as it takes to reach your ideal weight!

Note: In this challenge you will focus on ADDING super healthy foods into your diet rather than worrying about restrictions. This will help you easily REPLACE unhealthy foods without having to stress out about it.

We will not actively focus on “cutting/reducing” sugar, as this will begin to happen naturally when you fill your mind and belly with satisfying healthy foods… and as time passes and you keep improving your diet, you will notice that you will need/want less unhealthy food.

That being said, don’t worry about cutting out unhealthy foods, but do be mindful and excited about how your healthy additions are taking the place of foods you would have eaten otherwise, and when you are comfortable with doing so feel free to purchase less junk food on your next shopping trip.

So let’s get started with your transformation!

Day 1- A healthy meal every day!

Welcome to the first day of your weight loss transformation!

It’s time to make a significant, and permanent healthy change in your diet.

Make the decision today to start reaching for your weight loss goal, and dedicate to eating at least one healthy meal every day.

One meal might not sound like a lot to start with, but that’s a good thing. One meal is just a minimum for your starting point, and so you can go above and beyond on any given day… as well as look forward to the fact that this entire program is designed to gradually build your healthy diet, and bring more and more healthy foods into your life one step at a time.

You don’t need to be perfect to get amazing results, you just need to make consistent improvements to see your results stacking up day after day, week after week.

So if you want to dedicate to eating two healthy meals per day or even to eating a completely healthy diet during this challenge, then do it! Just know that if things get tough and you go too big, instead of giving up you can fall back on the normal pace of the course and confidently keep making progress without putting too much pressure on yourself.

For anyone who has had a hard time changing their eating habits in the past, and has struggled to lose weight consistently, I suggest starting small, and giving yourself time to change. This is exactly how I changed my eating habits and lost 80 pounds… one step at a time!

So today begin your transformation by eating a few healthy foods! Ideally, choose a variety of foods that will give you a good balance of nutrients (more on this below).

Most people already know a few healthy foods that they like, and so if you already know what will work for you then be confident in selecting those foods, and don’t feel like you need to buy something new and unfamiliar if you already have some healthy foods that you love.

The best weight loss food choice for you will be something that is healthy, that you enjoy, and that you can eat consistently.

Healthy food suggestions

We will focus on the most natural and healthy foods, as your primary food selections.

It’s also important to replace white bread products that you normally buy with whole wheat/ whole grain versions… as well as to look for other healthy, all-natural versions of some of your favorite products…

But these healthy processed food trades are just a bonus to filling your diet with the absolute healthiest foods.

The healthiest foods that are the most effective for weight loss, are called “whole foods”, or some people like to call them “real foods”.

These are foods that come to the grocery store just as they were when they were harvested from earth.

Here are the major categories that we can divide whole foods into, with some examples/suggestions included:

Fruits: Apples, bananas, oranges, blueberries, blackberries, *avocado

Vegetables: Leafy greens, broccoli, mixed veggies, sweet potato, tomato

Nuts/Seeds: Peanuts, almonds, chia seed, flax seed, *quinoa

Grains/Beans(Legumes): Brown rice, non-instant oats, navy/kidney beans

Lean Meat (Unprocessed, preferably white): Chicken, turkey, fish, *eggs

These are the foods that you can simply focus on eating MORE of, to lose weight without being hungry. These foods will naturally replace the unhealthy foods that you normally eat, and satisfy your hunger while keeping your body in a calorie deficit.

Choose a few healthy foods to start eating

Pick 2 or 3 foods from the above categories, and start eating them today to lose weight. Choose from varying categories to get a good balance of nutrients.

You don’t have to stick with your choices forever… simply pick some foods that you can get started with!

Remember that the important thing is ADDING healthy foods into your diet, so focus on eating more to lose more weight. Don’t worry about restrictions or trying to be perfect… simply let the healthy food do it’s job.

After you have eaten your healthy food selections for the day, you can eat anything that you want. If you want to reduce your consumption of unhealthy foods, simply go above and beyond and eat even more healthy foods beyond the 1 meal daily minimum.

Just in case you aren’t ready to customize your diet, I have made some super simple meal plans for you to follow below.

Pre-made meal plans

Here are a few meal plans that you can follow for the first week of your journey.

Since the idea is do start with a minimum of one healthy meal per day, most of them contain 3 foods.

But for days when you go above and beyond, there is also a meal plan with 7 foods, which you can use to fill your entire day with a variety of healthy foods.

3-food plan (#1)
Brown Rice
Apple
Peanuts

3-food plan (#2)
Broccoli
Brown Rice
Chicken

3-food plan (#3)
Sweet Potato
Ham
Mixed Veggies

7-food variety plan
Brown Rice
Apple
Almonds
Chicken
Leafy Greens
Sweet Potato
Chia Seed

These are just a few options for daily meal plans… so feel free to follow these plans for simplicity if you would like, but don’t limit yourself to these foods.

Ultimately you’ll need to discover the healthy foods that you truly love, so that your healthy diet becomes a natural part of your lifestyle that you can stick with for good.

So also feel free to make your own healthy food selections and to build your own meal plans, so that you begin building a healthy diet that you personally love. Try a variety of healthy foods, combinations, and meals.

So eat healthy today, and I’ll see you tomorrow for your first exercise session!

Day 2- Exercise Session 1

Welcome to day 2 of the challenge, and to your first workout session for the week!

Today, get in a great exercise session that leaves you tired, and proud.

Remember to also eat your daily healthy meal, so that you can take advantage of the combined benefits of both diet and exercise, and begin a normal habit of eating healthy every day / exercising multiple times per week.

Keep working hard, and congratulations on dedicating to healthy eating as well as exercising… you will be so happy with your results!

Exercise Plans:

Below are some exercise plans that you can follow during the first 7 days of your journey.

You’ll find a variety of plans that fit a variety of different body types and preferences, so choose the one that works best for you.

When it comes to exercises like push-ups, do as many reps as it takes to sufficiently tire yourself in each set. Do 3 sets for each exercise in the plan that you choose, besides for jogging and walking.

Don’t hurt yourself, but make sure that your muscles are getting a good burn and that your heart/lungs are getting a good workout too.

*Do 3 sets for bodyweight exercises and optional lifts

Home exercise/ bodyweight plan:
Session 1: Push-ups (Optional curls)
(Alternate Session): Burpees
Session 2: Sit-ups, leg raises
(Alternate Session): Shoulder press
Session 3: Squats, lunges
(Extra Session): Walk for 15-30 minutes, or jog for about 5 minutes

Basic bodyweight plan:
Session 1: Push-ups
Session 2: Sit-ups
Session 3: Squats (no weight)

Walking plan:
Session 1: 15-30 minutes
Session 2: 15-30 minutes
Session 3: 15-30 minutes

Jogging plan:
Session 1: Jog until tired
Session 2: Jog until tired
Session 3: Jog until tired (Bonus: Jog again after rest)

Have a great workout, and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Day 3- 1/2 Gallon of water per day

Welcome to day 3 of the challenge!

Starting today, in addition to eating healthy every day… dedicate to drinking at least 1/2 gallon of water every day.

Drinking lots of water will help you replace unhealthy sugary drinks… which will lower your daily calories even more every day.

Water will also help you burn fat and digest food more efficiently, as well as to help you recover from your workouts more effectively.

So enjoy the added fat loss benefits of drinking more water, and get ready for tomorrow’s workout!

This content was originally written on TheShapeWithin.com

Day 4- Exercise Session 2

Welcome to day 4 of the challenge, and to your second workout session for this week!

Today is the day where you begin to establish consistency with your exercise routine, and begin proving to yourself that you can maintain your new routine of eating healthy AND exercising to lose lots of weight.

Give your workout lots of effort today, get a good burn, and also enjoy yourself!

Today you will want to focus on eating your minimum of one healthy meal, and drinking a minimum of ½ gallon of water, in addition to getting your exercise session in.

All of these healthy habits combined will help you to start losing weight quickly if you stick to them. Stay strong, and soon these habits will become natural to you as time passes and you continue to improve yourself.

Remember that the effort you are putting in and the changes that you are making will continue to move you forward towards your dream weight!

Day 5- Extra Credit

Welcome to day 5 of the challenge, and congratulations on the healthy changes that you have made so far!

Today is a day for making further improvements, without any added stress or requirements.

Go above and beyond today!

Eat an extra healthy meal… do a small bonus workout… drink more water and less soda… simply make an additional improvement in your habits today, and either use it as a single day of extra credit, or otherwise see if you can handle sustaining your extra efforts as you push forward in the following days and weeks of your journey.

Either way, today will help you enjoy some extra results and help you get used to stepping up your game without stressing yourself out.

Keep up the hard work, and I’ll see you tomorrow for this week’s final workout!

Day 6- Exercise Session 3

Welcome to day 6 of the challenge, and to your third workout session for this week!

Today give your workout your very best so that you burn lots of fat, and earn a couple days of rest.

Really work your muscles, get your heart pumping, and work hard so that you feel a good burn.

After today’s workout you can be proud that you exercised consistently for an entire week, and you can rest easily until your first exercise session next week.

Stay strong, stay on track with your healthy eating habits, and drink lots of water too.

Be proud of having sustained your healthy eating and exercise habits so far, and remember that continuing to make these healthy decisions will lead you to your goal weight!

See you tomorrow for the last day of the challenge!

Day 7- Finish Strong

Congratulations on making it to the last day of the challenge, and more importantly for maintaining your healthy weight loss habits for an entire week!

Today, eat at least one healthy meal, and drink at least ½ gallon of water, and as with any day, feel free to go above and beyond!

Be proud of the weight loss results you have experienced so far, and remember that as you remain consistent… those results will continue adding up until it results in an astounding transformation.

Today marks the end of one challenge in your journey… and the beginning of another.

Now that you have proven that you can eat healthy and exercise for 1 week, you can confidently continue to improve your habits for another 8 weeks.

As you proudly finish up your 7-day challenge today, prepare yourself to continue your journey tomorrow with the 8-week challenge!

Progress to the 8-Week Weight Loss Challenge!

P.S. Your success means a lot to me. If you need any help with weight loss, staying motivated, or have any questions at all please feel free to email me at corey@theshapewithin.com. I would be happy to help!