A problem that most people have when wanting to lose weight is that it’s very difficult to know what is realistic weight loss.
There are claims made by weight loss companies or products that are not only unrealistic, but can also be dangerous to your health. You may have heard or read claims such as:
- Lose 7 pounds in 7 days
- Lose 20 pounds in the next month
- Or lose 3 pounds overnight
These claims are quite ridiculous and if you attempt to follow their advice then you are setting yourself up for misery, frustration, and a lifetime of struggling with your weight!
To make things even harder to know what is realistic weight loss, you may also have your family, friends, or work colleagues telling you how they’ve lost weight quickly or the magic formula they’ve found. They sound like experts in losing weight, but do they really have much of a clue?
Here’s the truth you need to know…
Losing weight quicker is NOT better
Yes, losing weight quickly is possible, but will it actually help you?
You may say that you want to lose weight as quickly as possible. Please read on and you may think differently. It could affect your whole way of thinking about losing weight.
The huge problem with losing weight too quickly is that you lose weight from muscle, water, and even bone tissue. Your body would be really struggling for energy and so it will try to get that energy from wherever it can. This is a poor way to lose weight and it’s certainly not good for your health.
You will lose some fat as well which is good, but with everything else that you lose, it’s definitely not a good plan!
What is a good weight loss plan?
The best way to lose weight is to lose weight slower, although this actually works out much quicker overall because you can get results that last… Rather than constantly struggling with your weight, or your weight going up and down over many years.
Your weight loss is best being at a level where you can keep your muscle (as well as water and bone), and lose weight from fat.
The reason to keep your muscle and lose fat is that muscle burns more calories than fat, and so with more muscle on your body you will find it easier to lose weight and keep it off. Your body simply burns more calories. You also wouldn’t need to be stuck on a low calorie diet to keep your weight off in the future.
Plus, you get the added advantage that with healthy, lean muscle and less fat, you have a fitter, healthier and better looking body 🙂
This also highlights why exercise is so important when losing weight. Exercise helps you to keep your muscle and lose fat, as well as gaining many other physical and mental health benefits.
Changing your mindset from wanting to lose weight as quickly as possible, to losing weight gradually, will be a great help to you over both the short term and long term.
What is realistic weight loss?
Many people lose weight quickly and then gain it back just as quickly and are no better off. In fact, they are worse off because they have wasted much time in their life and also lost muscle, which makes it harder to lose weight in the future as their body burns fewer calories.
Our approach at BoostMyLife is different and we define “realistic” weight loss as:
“Losing weight at a rate that is sustainable to keep the weight off”
Isn’t that what you want? Not just to lose weight, but also to keep it off!
A great guide to use when losing weight is this:
Aim to lose a maximum of 1% of your bodyweight per week
For example, someone weighing 200 pounds can safely lose a maximum of 2 pounds per week. More than this, and they would most likely start losing more muscle which we don’t want.
For many people, losing 0.5 pounds to 2 pounds per week is healthy and sustainable weight loss, although people weighing over 200 pounds can safely lose more.
This can add up to a lot over time, and it’s a MUCH quicker way of losing weight than doing it quickly and gaining the weight back and continually struggling with your weight.
Lose weight once and keep it off for life is the best way…
That’s what BoostMyLife helps people do, and if you would also like our help to lose weight and make positive and sustainable improvements, then check out our BoostMyLife Online Program.
James Porter
BoostMyLife Founder
P.S. Get your FREE copy of The Top Ten Mistakes You Must Avoid When Losing Weight
