What's a Safe Weekly Weight Loss Rate?

Nowadays, it's common to see people losing weight very quickly. Reality t.v. and weight loss surgery are two reasons why. They make it look easy and safe, but is that true for everyone? A personally safe rate of weekly weight loss depends on many factors, actually.  For most people, losing one or two pounds a week is generally safe, healthy and expected. At the same time, losing more than two pounds of fat per week isn't necessarily dangerous. Below are some things to keep in mind when deciding how fast you should lose weight:

Factors That Determine the Safe Rate of Fat Loss:

• Your starting weight. Instead of trying to figure out the number of pounds you should lose each week, think instead of a percentage of your current weight. Very heavy people could safely and reasonably lose three or four pounds in a week when they begin a modest weight-loss eating plan and exercise program. For a 300 pound person, three pounds is only one percent of his weight. Still, it’s not unhealthy for moderately obese people to lose more than three or four pounds in a week. This is especially true if you are doing vigorous physical activity and creating the right deficit between the number of calories you burn and how much you eat.
• Your activity and diet. Quick weight loss can be safe. Your focus should be on the exact method you choose to lose weight. If the primary foods and drinks you cut from your diet are saturated fat and sugar, then you're still getting a balanced intake of plant-based foods, proteins and complex carbohydrates. However, if you are going to extremes by skipping meals or drastically cutting overall caloric intake, then you're doing more harm than good even if the number on the scale is shrinking.

Why It Matters How You Lose Weight

A quick reduction in weight isn't harmful as long as the weight is from fat loss. However, methods such as starvation or dehydration weight loss of water and muscle which is dangerous. Both will not only affect your current health, but will harm your long-term weight management efforts. It's okay to lose water weight when you reduce sodium intake from processed foods but be careful not to mistake a reduction in bloating for a reduction in fat. This is why it's helpful to know your body fat percentage before you start a weight loss program.

Extreme tactics like starvation force your body to break down your muscles and use them as source of protein. In this way, you eat yourself and lose the very cells that are responsible for keeping your metabolism high; your muscle cells. This is the primary reason that people gain weight back quickly after weight loss surgery. Their bodies starved, lost fat and muscle, and reduced their metabolism, which made their next round of weight gain larger and faster.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that better to lose weight from healthy lifestyle changes such as moderating processed foods, saturated fat and total calories than to lose weight fast at any cost. Also, have your body fat measured before you begin a weight loss program so that you can get a true sense of whether you're losing the kind of weight that matters and that's helpful.