How to Go Down a Pants Size Quickly

If you're wondering how to go down a pants size quickly, be warned: Losing weight rapidly can be dangerous to your health and potentially result in weight regain. Instead, shedding pounds at a safe pace is the most sustainable way to drop a pant size, if that's your goal.

Below, we share tips for how to lose a pant size (or even how to drop two sizes) without jeopardizing your health.

If you've ever googled "lose two dress sizes in two weeks" or "how to lose two dress sizes in two months," odds are you've encountered fad diets that promise speedy weight loss.

While fad diets may lead to some initial weight loss, they can be harmful. Many of these programs require that you follow a rigid menu, eliminate entire food groups and don't include exercise as part of the plan, per the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics — this may deprive you of essential nutrients and doesn't support long-term weight loss.

Instead, the best methods for how to lose a jean size involve losing weight and keeping it off the safe way. According to the Mayo Clinic, this means slimming down at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds per week. You can do this by creating a daily calorie deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories by eating fewer calories and/or exercising more (more on that below).

Just make sure your calorie intake doesn't dip below 1,200 per day for people assigned female at birth or 1,500 per day for people assigned male at birth (unless under the supervision of a doctor), per Harvard Health Publishing. This may not provide enough nutrition and fuel.

One of the primary ways to create a calorie deficit is to switch up your eating habits, according to the Mayo Clinic. Focus primarily on eating foods like:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Whole grains like whole-wheat bread, oats and barley
• Low-fat dairy products like yogurt and cottage cheese
• Lean protein sources like skinless poultry, nuts and beans

Per the Cleveland Clinic, at the same time, limit or avoid foods like:

• Processed, salty snacks like chips
• Baked goods like cake and cookies
• Candy
• Fried foods

Diet isn't the only trick for how to go down a pants size. Whether your goal is to go from size 8 to size 4, lose three sizes or maintain previous weight loss, physical activity can help create a daily calorie deficit by encouraging extra calorie burn, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend adults get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercise per week, plus two strength training sessions.

You can also do 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, like high-intensity interval training (HIIT), a form of exercise that alternates bouts of high-intensity effort with short rest periods to maximize calorie burn and cardiorespiratory fitness.

Cardio activities to consider include:

• Walking
• Running
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Rowing
• Dancing
• Playing sports
• Boxing
• HIIT

You can also dabble in different types of strength training, like:

• Weight lifting
• Isometric weight training
• Body-weight exercises
• Circuit training
• Bodybuilding
• High-volume training