How to lose 5kg in a month through exercise

A detailed yet easy plan of 30-minute bodyweight exercises, a bit of extra walking, and a shift to healthier food

When the pandemic-induced lockdown happened, I lost all motivation. My lifestyle became sedentary. Up until then, I had a relatively healthy lifestyle peppered generously with sessions of table tennis in the evenings and long walks along the dusty campus roads with friends at night.

The indoor lifestyle didn’t suit me. It affected my mental health more than I would like to admit. I knew I was gaining weight, but because I didn’t want to do anything about it, I started consuming more processed food. It was a vicious cycle of self-hate feeding self-hate, until one day when I finally gathered the courage to weight myself, I found I was 64 kg.

I was horrified. Before this, my weight had never crossed 60 kg. Since I am not very tall either (160 cm), this meant my BMI was 25.4, which is unhealthy for me.

Since I am inherently a comfort-loving person, I could not devote several hours of my life in making and sticking to a religious meal or workout plan. I did the best with what I had: free workout videos on YouTube from celebrity fitness influencers. Along with it, I applied some simple lifestyle changes that did not take too much time or effort.

The results were slow in coming, but when they did, they were gratifying beyond words. Within ten days of starting my journey down this avenue, I could see visible results. My stomach looked flatter, my love handles less pronounced, and my thighs slimmer.

When I weighed myself at the month’s end, my weight had come down to 59 kg. My BMI stood at 23.4.

In this post, I want to address some key mindset shifts and lifestyle changes that helped me achieve this goal. I would also like to outline my current training plan and discuss the results that I achieved, in the hopes that it would be helpful for anyone looking to lose weight without intensive dieting or fasting.

Before we get started, I want to set the stage with a few things to keep in mind before you start tracking your fitness.

• Exercise because you want to. Not because the world tells you your current body type is not acceptable. Remember that “fit” is a state of being. “Fit” does not have a look.
• You should be disciplined in your workout routine, but remember to be flexible enough so that you don’t start blaming yourself if you miss your workout for a couple of days.
• Exercise should be an outlet for you to release your stress. Don’t make it one of the reasons to add to your anxiety.
• Above all, do it because you love it. Some body movements might not feel “right” for you. It’s okay to abandon those and stick to the ones that give you joy.

I am not a professional nutritionist or a qualified physical trainer, but this is what worked for me.

My 30-Minute Workout Program

Before I started out, I had some misconceptions regarding working out. I believed that doing the same exercises daily would help me lose body fat. In my previous bursts of workout motivation (which never lasted longer than a few weeks), I used to do whichever exercises I felt like, without planning my schedule or prioritising the parts of my body I wanted to work on. With that approach, I didn’t get any visible results.

Once I started reading about physical training programs online, I came across the concept of progressive overload, which involves continually increasing the demands on the musculoskeletal system to continually make gains in muscle size, strength, and endurance. In other words, to lose weight, you have to progressively work your muscles harder than they are used to.

Since I worked out at home, I didn’t have weights. In fact, the only equipment I had was my yoga mat, but it served its purpose. I did twenty to thirty minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) a day for thirty days. These sessions consisted of 25–30 different exercises aimed at different parts of my body.

That’s all. No two-hour-long workout sessions spent sweating or crying. No kilograms of weight balanced on my abs and forearms. Just free-hand bodyweight exercises for 30 minutes a day.

A detailed look at my workout schedule

I took up the Summer Shred Challenge by fitness influencer Chloe Ting with some of my own modifications. The exercises included a 12-minute full-body routine almost every day followed by routines for abs, waist, hips, arms, and legs with sufficient interval in between.

The exercises included in this challenge were beginner-friendly, required no equipment, and lasted only 20–30 minutes per day. Each session was a combination of the following four workout sessions:

Full-body shred: Each exercise is to be repeated for 30 seconds, with 10 seconds rest in between. Total time: 12 minutes.

1. High knee jumps: Full-body burn.
2. Lunges with arm crosses: Works the arms and legs.
3. Curtsey lunges with toe taps: Inner and outer thighs.
4. Mountain climbers: Full-body burn with focus on strengthening core.
5. Squats with side twists: Works the thighs, butt, and abs.
6. Burpees: Full-body burn.
7. In and out crunches: Works the core.
8. Push-ups with shoulder tap: Core and arms.
9. Plank hop jacks : For core, arms, and legs.
10. Touch hop and kick (30 seconds each for both legs): For core, legs, butt.
11. Tricep dip kicks: For arms, core, and legs.
12. Plank walk: Core strength.
13. Curtsey lunge with side kicks: Legs and butt.
14. Jumping jacks: Core, arms, and legs.
15. Groiners: Works the hips, hamstrings, and abs.
16. Squats with side kicks: Works the legs and butt.
17. Low kicks: Full-body burn.
18. High-knee kicks with hand raises: Works the legs, arms, and core.

Abs shred: Each of these exercises are to be performed for 30 seconds, with 10 seconds break in between.Total time: 10 minutes.

1. Bent-knee jack knife
2. Flutter kicks leg drop
3. Plank kick
4. Plank with side rotation
5. V-sit bicycle crunches
6. Straight-leg opposite toe touches
7. Wood chop sit-up with twist
8. Boat twist
9. Plank jacks
10. Plank and down dog
11. Reverse crunch
12. Reach through
13. Straight leg pulses
14. Bicycle crunches
15. Side plank (30 seconds on both sides)

Waist and butt shred: Each of these exercises is to be performed for 30 seconds, with 10 seconds rest in between. Total time: 11 minutes.

Set One: Abs

1. Russian twist chops
2. Bicycle crunches
3. Reverse crunches
4. Alternating toe touches
5. Side plank with crunches (30 seconds on both sides)
6. U-boats
7. Heel touches
8. Spiderman planks
9. Plank jacks

Set Two: Butt

1. Fire hydrant kicks (30 seconds for both legs)
2. Leg-raise (30 seconds each on either leg)
3. Side plank with hip abduction (30 seconds on either side)
4. Booty flutter kicks with taps

Set Three: Abs and Butt

1. Single-leg glute bridge (30 seconds each on either leg)
2. In and out crunches
3. Glute bridge
4. High plank with kickback (30 seconds each on either leg)
5. Donkey kick with fire hydrants

Arms shred: There are 14 exercises in the following sequence, each to be performed for 40 seconds each with 10 seconds break in between. Total time: 10 minutes.

1. C-rotation: Hold your arms out to the side parallel to the floor and rotate them clockwise and anticlockwise, tracing out as large a C as you can.
2. Wall push-ups (standing)
3. Forward pulse: Hold your arms out parallel to the floor, then pulse them forward, stretching out in front of your chest, then back to starting position. Repeat for 40 seconds.
4. Backward pulse: Hold your arms out parallel to the floor, then pulse them backward, stretching out behind your back, then back to starting position. Repeat for 40 seconds.
5. Arm wing: Stand in quarter-squat position and extend your arms backward, squeezing the muscles on your back. Repeat for 40 seconds.
6. Arm squeeze: Stand in quarter-squat position with your arms parallel to your upper body, then extend them backward, squeezing your back.
7. Around the world: Stand with arms raised to the top of your head and rotate them until they are hanging by your sides. Rotate them back to the top and repeat for 40 seconds.
8. Full-extension: Raise your arms above your head, then bring them to the sides parallel to the floor, rotate them forward to meet at the front of your chest, then raise them over your head again. Repeat for 40 seconds.
9. Wall push-ups
10. Double pulses: Similar to the arm wing, but two pulses to the back make one rep.
11. Criss-cross: Stand in quarter-squat position with your hands parallel to your upper body. Extend them inwards till they cross each other behind your back, then bring them back to starting position. Repeat for 40 seconds.
12. Up pulse: hold your arms out parallel to the floor, then pulse them upwards, tracing an angle of 45 degrees with your shoulder. Repeat for 40 seconds.
13. Down pulse: Hold your arms out parallel to the floor, then pulse them downwards, tracing an angle of 45 degrees with your shoulder. Repeat for 40 seconds.
14. Arm circles in a clockwise and anti-clockwise direction.

Here is a breakdown of my workout regimen:

The major benefits of this program that I found are:

• The exercises were enjoyable and the gradual increase in toughness level helped me prepare mentally and physically for what was to come next.
• Very few sessions involved repeating the same exercise for more than a few seconds. This kept challenging my body to try new poses and keep my interest in the session alive.
• There were sufficient breaks between two exercises, which made it simple for a beginner like me to cope up and keep track.
• I made sure to add some basic stretches as warm-up sessions before each workout and the cool-down sessions after to help my body avoid the pain of too much exertion.
• The 28-day program included an “Active Rest Day” every three days, where you can take the day off from working out, but make sure you stay on your feet and be active all day long.

10,000+ Daily Steps

The average human walks 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day. However, aiming for a higher number is beneficial because walking not only helps in burning calories but is also responsible for the following benefits:

• Walking at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week can reduce your risk for coronary heart disease by about 19 percent.
• Walking eases joint pain. In fact, walking 5 to 6 miles a week may also help prevent arthritis.
• It improves immunity. According to a study, walking at a moderate pace for 30 to 45 minutes a day reduced the chances of contracting respiratory tract infections in adults by 43 percent.
• There can be several other intangible benefits of walking, like toning your legs, improving your mood, and inspiring creativity (especially if you walk outdoors and spend time with nature).

Overall, walking a lot has several health benefits, and the daily goal of 10,000+ steps I set helped me in maintaining an active lifestyle. It aided the exercise I did and was especially fulfilling on my active rest days.

Here are some ways in which I tried to incorporate more walking into my lifestyle without taking out extra time for my schedule:

1. I started walking whenever I talked on the phone with someone. If it was a nice day with pleasant weather, I would walk on the terrace, breathing in the fresh air, enjoying my time with nature.
2. I started watching movies standing up. This helped me stretch my arms, legs, and waist a little, also while ensuring that the two hours spent in front of the computer screen not completely sedentary.
3. I stood up every twenty minutes while working on my computer. This made sure I wasn’t sitting for too long, while also allowing me to stretch my limbs. I also walked about a bit in each of my standing breaks, and this worked wonders in getting my heart rate up.

The Mindset Shifts That Were Helpful

Sticking to a workout routine is not easy for a comfort-loving person like me. However, I was tired of the unproductive, sedentary lifestyle I led, and that helped me stick to this 30-day routine of working out. The workouts I picked were short, barely lasting 30 minutes, and had lots of breaks in between so I didn’t exhaust myself.

I also noticed some mindset shifts that developed that I believe were helpful in helping me stick to my routine and achieve my fitness goals.

Challenge, not responsibility

If I looked at my workouts as a responsibility, I started to feel pressured, as if a sword was being held above my head, and I had to do them, no matter what. This made them feel like a liability and I didn’t even have fun doing them.

But, with time, when I accepted that I was the one who started this lifestyle by my own choice. No one had forced me to, and I could quit as soon as I wanted. This helped me stop looking at the workouts as responsibilities. Instead, I took them up as a challenge — something I pushed myself to do because I was driven by the results and I wanted to finish the entire routine.

Fitness is a state of mind

More than being something you do with your body, fitness is what you make of it with your mindset. After I had accepted that I would be striving to have a healthier lifestyle, the following changes came easily to me.

• While I did not count my daily calories, I only had home-cooked meals of rice, lentils, cooked vegetables, fish, and the occasional chicken curry.
• I stopped snacking on processed food, and only had carrots and peas when I felt hungry between meals.
• I tried not to have an excess of sugar, but since chocolates are my weakness and I don’t want to live in a world where they don’t exist, I went easy on them, consuming 15–25 g of dark chocolate every day.
• I drank at least 3 litres of water daily. Apart from making my skin glow and supporting weight loss, this had the unexpected perk of making me take a lot of “pee breaks.” I chose to go to the farthest washroom from the place I was sitting, so it also helped to increase my daily steps.

The Results

I lost 5 kg in 30 days, and this was in a month when I didn’t go out of the house much, except for groceries and other essential items. In spite of that, I stuck to a routine of 30-minute workouts and 10,000+ steps daily, and I was able to fit into the clothes I had worn in college. I also managed to bring my diet in control and got rid of urges to have bucket-loads of fast food. For someone who was chugging soda and bingeing on potato chips in the last month, this feels like a significant achievement.

More than the changes in my body, I am grateful for the impact this routine had on my mental health over 30 days. The discipline made me feel more confident about myself — a confidence that does not end at physical appearances.

Because I managed to gain control over my lifestyle and stick to a routine for a full month, I feel I can accomplish just about anything I start. It also helped me understand that it is possible to lose weight without making significant changes to your lifestyle or getting too much out of your comfort zone.

Weight loss will happen when you decide that you want it, that you would settle for nothing less. But, to achieve it, you don’t necessarily have to spend hours training in the gym. Home workouts are effective and simple, and you can get through with them in just about half an hour. One important thing to remember is that don’t arbitrarily start working out. Instead, follow an established physical trainer on YouTube and enroll in one of their free courses. Keep tabs on what you are eating, but don’t get too obsessed. Allow yourself days where you can eat whatever you like and not keep counting calories with each bite.

Most importantly, listen to your body and only select a plan you are comfortable with. It should give you results and, at the same time, be safe and healthy for you. All you need is a little self-control, and you can achieve wonders!

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