Don’t be fooled by the misconception that losing weight fast is a good thing.  In fact, you really aren’t getting the type of weight loss that you want.   For example, studies show that when a person is dieting, the weight that is lost on average is 75 percent fat and 25 percent muscle. And a high percentage of this weight loss is likely to be water. Water accounts for about 70 percent of the total body weight of an average person, with muscle tissue containing roughly 75 percent water, and body fat containing roughly 50 percent water. 

The human body does not lose weight at a regular or uniform speed. Different people lose weight at different speeds. Many variables exist that will affect the rate of weight loss for different people.  Some of these factors include, your current weight, diet and diet history and the lifestyle that you live (smoker, drinker); level of physical activity; genetics (which will include your metabolic rate) and current health and level of stress experienced throughout your daily life.
So it’s difficult, if not impossible, to give a precise answer to the question “how fast can I lose weight?” However, as a rough guide, here are some basic guidelines for maximum weight loss.  While it is possible to lose weight quickly, most of it is likely to be water. It will therefore be regained as soon as you resume your normal eating habits.  A person who is considered obese may be able to lose up to 3-4 lbs a week assuming they are in good health.  Most all others, by comparison, can successfully lose between 1-1.5lbs of fat each week.  If you are consistently within this range, your success rate for keeping the weight off in the long run increases substantially.
Substantially low calorie diets are artificial changes to normal eating behavior which is very hard to sustain and even dangerous long term.  Not surprisingly, this doesn’t give us enough time to learn new eating habits. So although our physical weight may have changed, our mental approach to food and eating remains the same. Without support from others, we commonly find ourselves unable to sustain the new dietary habits required to maintain the new lighter weight, and we regain the lost weight.  This in turn, leads to Yo-Yo dieting.  The effects of this can not only lead to regaining the lost weight, but sometimes will add more weight each time an attempt is made. By making a plan to lose 1-1.5 lbs a week, you can give yourself the best chance for success.  So when your next big event is around the corner, a reunion, vacation or just getting ready for swimsuit season, and you find yourself a few pounds more than you would like, plan ahead a give yourself enough time for safe and effective weight loss. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 27th, 2006 at 9:06 pm and is filed under Fitness, Diet, Exercise, Nutrition, Personal Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.