When someone embarks on a weight loss journey, they want to expedite the process, as much as possible. But there is no use of losing it fast, and gaining it all back. And this faster loss can happen only through short-term extreme methods, like very low-calorie diets, or extreme fad diets, excessive endurance exercises etc.
In fact, such diets are the quick fixes, people opt for, when they are looking for a faster weight loss. And when you aren’t able to achieve your goal, or eventually gain the lost weight back, your confidence dips, and you have a feeling of self-doubt. Eventually you look for another extreme diet, and the cycle continues, till someone puts you on the right track.
But the aim is not to just lose fat/weight, but keep it off or sustain that loss, for a long term. US CDC recommends, that a loss of 1-2lbs/week (app. 0.5-1kg/week), is healthy and sustainable. This means a loss of app. 2-4kg in a month.
This may sound a bit less to a lot of novices, but in health and fitness, the results are always long term. If you are able to sustain this weight loss pace, for 6 months, it would mean a healthy weight loss of app. 12-24kg.
But it’s not that simple, and neither you should be worrying about this pace. Firstly, there are way too many factors which needs to be considered, in every individual. That’s why, these numbers are average, not exact.
Every individual is different and responds differently to the same type of training and nutrition. This is based on a combination of factors like genetic ability, difference in muscle fibre types, hormonal profile, medical conditions, lifestyle, age, and psychological status.
However, when it comes to weight loss maintenance, a systematic review study, that behavioural and cognitive determinants that promote a reduction in energy intake, an increase in energy expenditure and monitoring of this balance, are determinants of weight loss maintenance.
Also, as I have repeatedly told before also, that there is a difference between fat loss and weight loss, or getting thin and getting fit & strong. Weight loss shouldn’t be your target in any case. The aim should be only fat loss.
Weight loss is easy to do, and is mostly unsustainable and unhealthy. Fat loss on the other hand, needs a proper mixture of diet and workouts, which include resistance training and endurance workouts.
When you lose fat, and gain muscle, your weight won’t drop much. The reason is because the muscle is much more dense than fat. That’s why a kg of fat is much more in volume as compared to the same amount of muscle.
