- To lose weight on the treadmill in a month, run at a moderate-intense pace 3-4 days a week, and prioritize strength training 2-3 days a week.
- Be sure to give yourself a day or 2 each week to rest, but still get some activity: have a leisurely walk or get off your treadmill and go for a hike in the woods.
- Cut back on your calories—including refined carbs and processed foods. Instead, eat plenty of veggies, fruits, and lean protein.
Weekly Treadmill Exercise Plan
Day 1: brisk walking for 60 minutes. Running will help you shed pounds, but running every day can be tough on your joints. Aim to walk for about an hour a couple days a week, at a pace of 2.5 to 3.5 miles (4 to 5.6 km) per hour. Make sure you’ve got good posture: head up, shoulders and back relaxed but straight. Walking is also the best way to begin running, if you’re not a runner already. If you want to lose a lot of weight quickly, you’ll likely need to run every day. However, this isn’t really sustainable, and not giving your body time to rest can lead to injury. If you’d like to challenge yourself, increase the incline on your treadmill.
Day 2: HIIT on the treadmill for 10-20 minutes. Take things up a notch a couple days a week to get your heartrate really moving! HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training, and it refers to a training routine in which you alternate short bursts of intensive exercise with short periods of rest. The result is a super effective workout in a short amount of time. To implement HIIT in your treadmill exercises, alternate sprinting for 1 minute with walking for 30 seconds. Do this for 10 to 20 minutes. Before launching into your HIIT workout, warm up by walking at a moderate pace for about 5 minutes, and cool down afterwards by walking for another 5 minutes and then stretching once you’re off the treadmill. Though the average HIIT workout is pretty quick, it makes up for it by being super intensive. In fact, studies show HIIT burns 25-30% more calories than other workouts do. If you’re new to working out, you might only be able to do your HIIT routine for a few minutes. That’s OK! Over time, you’ll be able to do it for longer.
Day 3: jogging for 20 minutes and strength training. While running is a great way to slim down, combining your cardio with strength training will help you achieve better overall health. So on your third day, jog at a moderate pace—3.5-4 mph (5.6-6.4 km/h)—for about 20 minutes, and then change things up a bit with some strength training exercises, like tread pushes or lateral shuffles. The best thing about these exercises is you don’t need any equipment to do them besides your treadmill! To do a tread push, walk on the treadmill as you usually might—only keep the treadmill off the entire time. Try to walk for 20 minutes to give your large posterior muscles and your core a great workout. To do a lateral shuffle, stand sideways on your treadmill with your knees slightly bent. Turn on your treadmill and set it to a slow-to-medium speed, without an incline, and shuffle along sideways for 45 seconds, and then switch sides. Do this for 20 minutes. Keep challenging yourself to avoid plateauing. Start out with a leisurely jog in your first week—maybe 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h) or so. Try to increase your speed a bit each week.
Day 4: leisurely walking for 60 minutes. Give your body a midweek slow-down. This is a good day to stroll and catch up on your favorite podcast or television show—or to hop off the treadmill and enjoy a walk in the park or around your neighborhood. Don’t just reserve exercise for one half-hour or hour-long window each day; build it into your day! Walk to work when you can, play with your kids, mop the floor, take the stairs instead of the elevator—small bouts of physical activity can really add up over time. If you do watch TV or listen to music or a podcast while you're on the treadmill, just be sure you're staying alert. Getting too distracted can result in a serious injury.
Day 5: jogging for 20 minutes and strength training. Try to squeeze 2 or 3 days of strength training into your week. You can copy Day 3 if you’d like, or you can change things up a bit by alternating jogging with strength training for a variation on the HIIT treadmill workout. Start by warming up: jog or walk briskly for 5 or 10 minutes. Run fast for 60 seconds. Aim for 6 mph (9.7 km/h), or whatever is “fast” for you. Stop the treadmill, hop off, and do kettlebell swings for 30 seconds. Next, do push-ups for 30 seconds. Then do a 60-second plank to really work your core muscles. Follow the plank with a 60-second leisurely jog. Repeat this sequence, from fast run to strength training to leisurely jog, 4 to 6 times before cooling down with a 5-minute walk.
Day 6: HIIT on the treadmill for 10-20 minutes. Another high-intensity exercise day. Your workout today doesn’t have to be exactly like it was on Day 2 (though it can be)—just make sure to prioritize running at a pace that gets your heart rate really moving. If you want to change things up and give yourself a challenge, try an inclined HIIT routine: Warm up with 30 seconds to 1 minute of each of the following drills: a light jog, high knees, quad pulls, butt kicks, and A-skips. If you're new to these drills, just do one to warm up for 2 to 5 minutes. Trying to speed through too many new drills at once could lead to injury. Sprint for 30 seconds at a low incline, and then walk for 90 seconds. Set your treadmill to a slightly higher elevation and sprint for another 30 seconds. Then walk for 90 seconds. Repeat the sprinting-walking routine 10 times total, at a slightly higher incline each time. Cool down with a light jog for 2 minutes, and then hop off the treadmill to stretch.
Day 7: resting or leisurely walking for 60 minutes. Make sure to give your body a break 1 or 2 days a week. Not only will this help you prevent injury, but it’ll keep you motivated to know you get to relax on the regular. That said, still aim to get a little activity in: get up and move throughout the day, but take it easy to avoid overexertion. Prioritize having fun. This might mean getting off the treadmill and dancing in your kitchen or hiking in the woods—whatever gets you moving your body and enjoying yourself. Exercise doesn’t have to be all hard work all the time!
Changing Your Diet for Weight Loss
Eat fewer calories. Exercise is essential to staying in good shape, but it’s cutting calories that’ll really help you slim down. This doesn’t mean starving yourself—not only is restricting calories unhealthy, it’s just not manageable. To lose about a pound or 2 (0.45 to 0.91 kg) a week, cut down your caloric intake by about 500 calories. The average person needs about 2000 calories to maintain their weight, so a 500-calorie deficit will mean you’re eating about 1500 calories per day. If you’re a woman, avoid going under 1200 calories a day, and if you’re a man, avoid going below 1500 calories a day. There are loads of apps you can download to help you count calories, including My Fitness Pal and Lifesum. You can also track your daily exercises on these apps. Counting calories is helpful for a lot of people, but they may not be useful if you struggle with disordered eating. If you feel that tracking your calorie count doesn’t help, just try to stay aware of what you’re eating throughout the day.
Cut back on refined carbs and processed foods. You don’t need to eliminate the birthday cake on your special day, but avoid consuming refined carbs and processed foods on the daily. These carbs might lead to a quick sugar boost, but your energy tanks quickly, meaning the calories you get from a bag of chips or cupcake are “empty calories.” Refined carbs are carbs that have been stripped of all their nutrients, fiber, and bran. They include pizza, white bread, pastries, dough, white flour, sweet desserts, and many cereals. Instead, prioritize complex carbs like sweet potatoes, whole grains, and fruits—carbs that give you energy and help you stay full and energized for a while.
Eat more protein. Experts recommend eating about .8 grams of protein per kg of body weight (or .36 grams per pound) every day. Cutting calories can help you slim down, but this means that the calories you do eat need to be energizing and filling, so be sure to include plenty of protein in your diet. Try to ensure about 35% of your daily caloric intake comes from lean protein, like fish, chicken, chickpeas, and lentils. For instance, if you weigh 155 pounds, you’d multiply 155 by .36 and get 55.8 grams of protein. In kg, you’d multiply 70.3 kg by .8 and get 56.24. You can also use the USDA’s DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) app to calculate just how much protein you need.
How much weight can you lose in a month?
It’s possible to lose 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a month, but 4-8 pounds (1.8-3.6 kg) is more manageable. With vigorous exercise and strict dieting, you can lose 10 or more pounds (4.5 kg) in a month, but if you want to implement a manageable, long-term workout routine and diet, aim to lose 1 or 2 pounds (0.45-0.91 kg) per week so that you don’t get burned out too quickly. How many calories you’ll burn depends on your body type, how intensively and frequently you work out, and how many calories you consume a day. 1 pound is equal to about 3500 calories, so when you're first starting out, try to enter a calorie deficit of about 500 calories a day to lose a pound (0.45 kg) a week. However, keep in mind that the more you weigh, the more calories you'll burn per day, so after a few months, your weight may start to plateau unless you cut more calories. You can determine roughly how many calories you burn on the treadmill in 1 minute by using this equation: (0.035 X body weight in kg) + ((Velocity in m/s ^ 2) / Height in m)) X (0.029) X (body weight in kg) For example, if you're 1.6 meters tall (or about 5.25 feet tall), weigh 60 kg (or roughly 132 lbs.), and usually walk at 1.4 meters a second (roughly 3.1 mph), you'd calculate (0.035 X 60 kg) + ((1.4 x 1.4) / 1.6 m)) X (0.029) X (60 in kg) = 5.7855. In other words, if you weigh 132 lbs. (60 kg) and are 5.25 feet (1.6 m) tall, you'd burn about 5.8 calories a minute walking at a pace of 3.1 mph, or 348 calories an hour.
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