Can You Lose 15 Pounds in 2 Months?

15 Pounds in 2 Months Diet: What You Need to Know

15 Pounds in 2 Months Diet: What You Need to Know
Nadine Greeff/Stocksy

This eating plan is considered a fad diet. Fad diets often promote quick weight loss that is unsustainable and may severely restrict what you eat. They may be harmful and generally do not have long-lasting health benefits. Talk to your healthcare provider before making any major changes to how you eat.

A diet to lose 15 pounds in two months aims to help you lose weight quickly by restricting your calorie intake combined with exercise. It involves focusing on nutrient-dense, low-calorie foods.

Although losing 15 pounds in two months may be less drastic than some shorter diets, it is still considered rapid weight loss.

How Does the 15 Pounds in 2 Months Diet Claim to Work?

Diets aimed at helping you lose 15 pounds in two months work by creating a calorie deficit. This means taking in fewer calories than you burn. You may need to make changes to the kinds of foods you eat in addition to increasing your daily exercise to support gradual weight loss.

In general, if you consume 500 fewer calories per day, you can expect to lose about 0.5 to 1 pound per week. However, this can vary depending on factors like your age, sex, weight, and activity level.

To lose 15 pounds in two months, you would need to lose about 2 pounds per week. This means creating a calorie deficit of about 1,000 calories per day through diet and exercise.

You can estimate your current daily calorie requirements using a calorie calculator.

What Can You Eat on the 15 Pounds in 2 Months Diet?

In addition to increasing your physical activity level, you can reach your target calorie deficit by:

  • Avoiding foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value
  • Replacing high-calorie foods with lower-calorie options
  • Reducing portion sizes
When reducing calories, it’s important to make sure you’re not removing nutrients from your diet. Focusing on nutrient-dense foods helps you avoid deficiencies and leaves you feeling more satisfied, making it easier to stick to the plan.

Foods to Avoid

Creating a calorie deficit can be as simple as replacing foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients with more nutrient-dense options.

This means limiting or avoiding:

  • Added fats and sugars
  • Commercially processed foods
  • Refined grains

Alcoholic beverages are also high in calories and low in nutrients.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) provides a calculator for estimating calories from alcohol intake.

Foods to Include

Eating a well-balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and a variety of low-fat protein sources can help you reach your weight goals.

Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are good sources of dietary fiber. Fiber slows digestion, improves blood sugar control, and helps you feel full for longer.

The American Heart Association recommends the following eating habits to help you reach or maintain a healthy weight:

  • Increase your fruit and vegetable intake
  • Aim for whole-grain foods that are low in saturated fat and high in fiber
  • Replace saturated fats with healthier oils and sprays when cooking
  • Replace red meats with proteins low in saturated fat, like chicken, fish, and beans
  • Read food labels to help you choose items that are lower in calories, sodium, saturated fat, and trans fat

You can also use the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate tool to help you create a dietary program tailored to your individual needs.

Potential Benefits of the 15 Pounds in 2 Months Diet (and Why They May Not Last)

For certain people, a healthcare provider may recommend losing 15 pounds in two months for health problems due to obesity, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

However, rapid weight loss may not be right for everyone and can be difficult to maintain. Always talk to your healthcare provider before changing your diet, especially if you have a health condition.

Potential Risks of the 15 Pounds in 2 Months Diet

Losing 15 pounds in two months may enable rapid fat loss, but it also comes with potential risks.

Dramatically restricting calories can increase your risk of deficiencies in important vitamins and minerals. This can lead to a range of health symptoms, like fatigue and higher risk of infections.

Losing weight quickly can also slow your metabolism. This can make it harder to sense when the body is full, making it easier to overeat.

Is Losing 15 Pounds in 2 Months Right for You?

Losing 15 pounds in two months is considered a rapid weight loss plan.

Your doctor may recommend a rapid weight loss plan if you experience health problems due to obesity, like diabetes or high blood pressure. However, it may not be right for everyone and carries potential health risks.

Always speak to a healthcare provider before starting a rapid weight loss diet.

The Takeaway

  • Losing 15 pounds in two months is considered a rapid weight loss plan. It works by creating a calorie deficit through diet and exercise, meaning you take in fewer calories than you burn.
  • Focusing on nutrient-dense foods is important when restricting calories to avoid nutrient deficiencies and other health issues. This means limiting foods like processed meats and refined carbohydrates and including foods like lean meats, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains.
  • Losing 15 pounds in two months may benefit people with health conditions due to obesity. However, it carries potential risks and may not be sustainable for most people.
  • Always talk with your healthcare provider before starting a new diet plan.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Counting calories: Get back to weight-loss basics. Mayo Clinic. September 5, 2024.
  2. DRI Calculator for Healthcare Professionals. U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  3. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025. U.S. Department of Agriculture. December 2020.
  4. Alcohol Calorie Calculator. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
  5. Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet. Mayo Clinic. December 11, 2024.
  6. Eating Well and Losing Weight. American Heart Association. April 29, 2024.
  7. Diet for rapid weight loss. MedlinePlus. May 20, 2024.
  8. Kiani AK et al. Main Nutritional Deficiencies. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene. October 17, 2022.
  9. Jaime K et al. Risks Associated with Excessive Weight Loss. StatPearls. February 29, 2024.
kayli-anderson-bio

Kayli Anderson, RDN

Medical Reviewer

Kayli Anderson has over a decade of experience in nutrition, culinary education, and lifestyle medicine. She believes that eating well should be simple, pleasurable, and sustainable. Anderson has worked with clients from all walks of life, but she currently specializes in nutrition therapy and lifestyle medicine for women. She’s the founder of PlantBasedMavens.com, a hub for women to get evidence-based, practical, and woman-centered guidance on nutrition and cooking, hormone health, fertility, pregnancy, movement, mental well-being, nontoxic living, and more.

Anderson is board-certified in lifestyle medicine and serves as lead faculty of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s (ACLM) "Food as Medicine" course. She is past chair of the ACLM's registered dietitian member interest group, secretary of the women's health member interest group, and nutrition faculty for many of ACLM's other course offerings. She is the coauthor of the Plant-Based Nutrition Quick Start Guide and works with many of the leading organizations in nutrition and lifestyle medicine to develop nutrition content, recipes, and educational programs.

Anderson frequently speaks on the topics of women’s health and plant-based nutrition and has coauthored two lifestyle medicine textbooks, including the first one on women’s health, Improving Women's Health Across the Lifespan.

She received a master's degree in nutrition and physical performance and is certified as an exercise physiologist and intuitive eating counselor. She's a student of herbal medicine and women's integrative and functional medicine. She lives with her husband in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where you’ll find her out on a trail or in her garden.

Andrea Boldt

Author

Andrea Boldt has been in the fitness industry for more than 20 years. A personal trainer, run coach, group fitness instructor and master yoga teacher, she also holds certifications in holistic and fitness nutrition.