How Fast Can I Lose Weight?
Can I Lose Weight Fast?
I understand that everyone wants to lose weight fast and this is possible but should you?
Even though it is generally advised that you should aim to lose 1-2 pounds per week, this isn’t true for everyone. There are a few factors that can drastically change your results. We will go over three here
Calorie Deficit = Consuming less calories than the body requires to maintain its current weight.
Your Current Calorie Needs – if you currently don’t know how many calories your body requires to maintain its current weight you can use our Calorie Calculator.
(Click Here To Learn How Many Calories I Should Eat)
First – Starting Weight
This is sometimes the biggest factor in determining how fast you can lose weight. A person weight is usually directly tied to the number of calories the body requires to maintain that weight, giving a person a higher BMR. (You can click here to learn more about your BMR) When a person has a higher BMR this gives that person more space for larger calorie deficits, and more “free calorie” burn. Simply put a lighter persons body burns less calories in maintaining its self compared to a larger person.
Example:
Two people with different weights but same age, height, and activity level.
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- Male
- Age: 30
- Height: 5ft 8in
- Exercise / Moderately active
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Calories Needed to Maintain Weight:
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- Person A weighs 220 lbs and needs 2,896 calories to maintain current weight
- Person B weighs 180 lbs and needs 2,451 calories to maintain current weight
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This shows that if both person A and B went on very low calorie diets of 1,200 healthy calories per day. Person A would have a calorie deficit of 1,696 while person B would be at a 1,251 deficit. This would give person A a faster weight loss than Person B.
Understand that your calorie needs will continue to change as your weight and muscle mass change. So it is good to monitor both your weight and calorie intake to insure you don’t lose weight too fast or slow.
Couple things to keep in mind about calories.
It is generally advised that 1,200 calories per day should be the very minimum unless prescribed and monitored very closely by you doctor. Many professionals also suggest 1,500 calories for women and 1,800 calories should be a minimum daily calorie intake.
Using the 3,500 calories is equal to a pound, a 500 calorie daily deficit equals about 1 pound loss per week. It is also suggested that you shouldn’t have a deficit larger than a 1,000 calories per day.
You can read more about the 3,500 calorie per pound here
Is 3,500 Calories per Pound a Myth?
Second – The stages of weight loss
When first going on a new diet plan Your weight can fluctuate sometimes pretty drastically. This usually comes in a 3 stages. (Starting weight can effect these more or less)
1 – (most people)
Water Weight actually has a considerable effect on weight, just one cup of water weighs just over half a pound. When changing your diet especially when it comes to carbohydrates and sodium (usually found in higher quantities in prepackaged and “unhealthy” foods). When you cut carbs and sodium your body begins to retain less water which can happen pretty sudden.
2 – (most people)
After losing the first few pounds sometimes really fast, it can feel like you almost stop losing weight. Sometimes losing pounds here can slow down to almost zero, your current weight can also have an effect here. But the water weight can usually make this a pretty abrupt change. Fat loss will be slower than the water weight.
3 – (average/lower weight people)
Gaining Weight for Wight Loss? This is the one that can sometimes make people quit, which is actually just misunderstood. When you decide to lift weights (or almost any exercise really) as your source of exercise you can sometimes experience a gain in weight do to building muscle mass, especially from lesser used muscles. Depending on your current weight you can be gaining muscle mass quickly enough to counter the fat loss you are achieving. This is actually a great thing, this is why weight isn’t the only way you should be measuring your progress. During this time you will usually begin slimming down faster than you think, pounds maybe steady but inches will be flying away.
Just as a side note. Weight lifting is a great way to lose weight. Increasing your muscle mass can Increase your BMR, this sorta means free calorie burning (even when you’re sleeping). Also, for the many that are afraid of Bulking up too much. With regular exercise or weightlifting most people will just become slimmer and muscles will become more defined. Muscle Builders require very rigorous and very strict diets to achieve their physical appearance. So Lift them Weights!
Third – Heavier Toady than Yesterday?
A regularly Misunderstood fact of weight is that it changes all the time. Your weight can change from month to month, week to week, day to day, hour to hour, and even minute to minute. You can literally weigh your self before going to bed and weigh less in the morning (even before regular morning routines) believe me, just us try it. For women specifically weight can vary quite drastically during a cycle. So because of these reasons we recommend weighing yourself on a consistent basis and understanding how to truly weigh and measure yourself. I would recommend reading our post on Weighing and Measuring Ourselves. You can click below for a link to that page.
(Click Here to Learn How to weigh and Measure Yourself)
Conclusion
While the answer can vary quite drastically the answer is both vague and direct. The ideal goal for longer term weight loss should be 1-2 pounds per week. While those that have much more weight to lose can experience faster weight loss at the stat. This should be accounted for longer term dieting. Always stay safe during weight loss. Some diets attempt to restrict diets drastically and you should be cautious. Consuming too few calories and over exerting your self during workouts can lead to higher risks of injury.