The biggest hindrance to weight loss is the inability of obese people to go through a healthy weight loss regimen. They like to try fancy weight loss methods such as pills, creams, injections, devices, and even magic voodoo spells for fast weight loss.
Most obese people, overwhelmed by a sense of urgency to lose much weight, prefer to try shortcut methods to shed pounds quickly. But those shortcut methods for fat burning only lead to a weight loss plateau in the end.
The more weight you intend to lose, the more time it requires.
Weight loss supplements like garcinia cambogia and fad diets promise a slim and healthy body in no time.
Fast-paced weight loss is not healthy. Refrain from falling prey to false promises of some of the more popular weight loss plans and supplements.
The fastest way to reduce weight is by combining a calorie-restricted diet with an intense and regular workout routine.
When you begin to eat fewer calories per day, your body is forced to burn stored fats to meet the body’s energy requirements. It is the first step to starting weight loss.
How Long Does It Take to Lose Weight?
How many days or weeks it takes to shed weight depends on the rate you are losing and the total amount of weight you plan to lose. According to health experts, losing about 1 to 2 pounds a week is considered healthy and sustainable.
According to a New York Times report, in Season 8 of NBC’s reality television show “The Biggest Loser,” the contestants lost hundreds of pounds and gained them back. Most of the participants in the contest failed to keep off the weight they lost.
If you have set a goal to lose 20 pounds, it might take anywhere from 12 to 20 weeks (2-4 months). You have taken a long time to gain weight, so you should also be shedding the weight at the rate you have gained it.
If you had a weight gain of 30 pounds in six months, you should not expect to lose 30 pounds of fat mass in 1 or 2 months. A rapid rate of weight loss may be dangerously unhealthy in the long run.
Within the first 4–6 weeks of your diet and exercise, you’ll take to notice weight loss.
When Can You Expect to Start Losing Weight?
You’ll start to lose weight when your daily calorie intake exceeds the calories your body burns daily. A calorie deficit diet is the first step to losing weight.
Many factors such as how many calories are consumed, hereditary traits, body composition, activity level, and lifestyle habits also affect weight loss.
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body needs to function. When the body does not get the required calories from the foods, it uses up the stored body fat according to the requirement. You may lose weight as the body begins to burn body’s fat.
According to medical standards, one pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories.
If you are eating a deficit of 500 calories daily, losing one pound of body weight will take one week. And you can lose a little more weight per week by engaging in active exercises.
However, a sudden reduction in calorie intake makes the body sense a potential famine, and it tries to conserve the fat stores. The body may break down muscle tissues to meet its energy requirements in such a scenario. Excessive loss of muscle tissues alters the healthy fat-to-lean mass ratio unfavorably.
The healthy strategy to lose weight is the calorie-deficit diet. Still, the calories you eat daily should stay within the minimum calorie intake of about 1200 to 1700 calories per day.
How Does Losing Weight Affect Your Health?
In reality, people lose weight at different rates. And it takes a few weeks to experience the health benefits of weight loss.
You won’t be able to see the quick physical changes in the initial weeks of the weight loss regimen. It takes a couple of weeks before you notice any significant waistline reduction, especially the visceral fat.
By achieving a 10% reduction in body weight, you will notice a significant improvement in your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels. Losing 10% of your weight will not make much difference in your appearance, but it will greatly impact how you feel.
The ultimate goal of your weight loss should be getting rid of visceral fat. As you lose visceral fat, you will notice a significant improvement in cardiovascular health and type 2 diabetes issues.
People who take the slow and steady weight loss progress tend to keep the weight off for a longer time. The safest weight to lose is one to two pounds per week then losing weight too quickly, like losing 20 pounds in 2 weeks.
Physical Changes From Weight Loss
A healthy weight loss plan involves continuous efforts (diet and exercise) to lose weight gradually and steadily within a few months or a year.
The initial signs of shedding pounds are visible on a scale, and your tight clothes become unusually loose. Your reflection in the mirror should make you appear slimmer than before.
Only when you have lost over 10 pounds, do your friends, and colleagues begin to notice the slimming that has happened to you. But if you are hugely obese, weighing 250 pounds or more, losing 10 pounds would be hardly noticeable to others. And you need about 6 to 8 weeks to lose 10 pounds healthily.
For men, belly fat is the toughest fat to get rid of, whereas women struggle to lose the fat around the waistline and thighs.
How To Maximize The Weight Loss Effects?
Fast-track weight loss is the least recommended by all weight-loss experts. Quick weight loss results can do a lot of harm to the body and end up being counterproductive.
A ‘miracle weight loss supplement” pops up on the market. Some promise to make you lose up to 40 pounds in a month. Such weight loss supplements not only damage your health, but their results are temporary too.
A healthy weight loss program must emphasize long-term dietary changes and a regular weight loss exercise regimen.
What matters most in weight loss is limiting daily calorie intake and including only healthy and nutritious foods in your diet.
It would help if you were willing to permanently give up all the bad foods. The bad foods for obesity include highly processed junk foods, sweets, and high-calorie foods. Include more fibrous green vegetables, fruits, lean protein, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains in your diet.
Regular exercises are important for burning more calories and fat. A healthy weight loss regimen should include at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity workouts per week t. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a minimum of 250 minutes of a workout for obese and overweight people to shed weight.
Resistance training is useful for achieving faster weight loss and toning up your muscle mass. For greater muscle building and shaping, try to do at least two weekly resistance training sessions. Cardiovascular exercises like running, rowing, biking, swimming, and active sports should be done 3-5 times per week and last more than 45 minutes.
The more muscle mass you have, the faster the weight loss result you can expect, especially when losing bad fats and water buildup in your body. The muscle tissues constantly utilize energy for their maintenance.
Are Extreme Diets And Diet Pills Good Or Bad?
Losing 1-2 pounds of weight per week is ideal.
However, some like to use crash diets, diet pills, or other fancy methods to achieve the fastest ways to shed pounds. Such a weight loss program is unsustainable and can even jeopardize the healthy functions of bodily organs.
Some crash diets may help you lose more than 3 pounds per week. But soon, you will hit a weight loss plateau, and soon after you quit the diet, the lost weight will be regained in a few weeks.
An extreme calorie-deficit diet and skipping meals are unhealthy and dangerous for people with weak health. It denies your body the essential vitamins, nutrients, proteins, and calories required daily.
The more you try to give up high-calorie foods, the stronger your urge to binge eat. According to the Institute of Medicine, adults should consume at least 130 grams of carbs daily.
Your weight-loss efforts should not be a short-term goal. When you make modest and gradual changes in your diet habits, your body gets accustomed to them naturally. Gradual diet changes make you steadily lose weight over an extended period without adversely affecting your health.
Conclusion
You should not be worried about how long it takes to lose weight. Achieving your weight loss goal can take six months to a year. It would be best if you were trying to lose weight at the same pace as you have become overweight.
Healthful weight loss entails losing weight naturally and steadily without depriving your body of the vitamins and nutrients it requires daily.
All that you need to lose weight are healthy diet habits, a healthy lifestyle, and adequate physical exercises done right and regularly.
If you use unhealthy means to achieve quicker weight loss, the initial result will be phenomenal, but for a short period.
FAQs
Let us now look at some common concerns of obese people who have just started or plan to start a rapid weight loss program. All answers are from the point of view of healthy dieting and exercising.
How fast you can shed weight with exercise?
It will take at least 2 weeks of scheduled exercises combined with dieting for you to start losing weight. From the third week onward, you’re likely to lose 1-2 pounds weekly.
How long does weight loss take to show?
It will take 3 weeks to see noticeable weight loss results.
How fast you can reduce weight by not eating?
By not eating, you begin to lose weight in two days, but never try to lose weight by fasting to the point of critically hurting your body.
How much time does it actually take to lose weight by running?
Running at a moderate speed makes you lose about 150 calories per mile. If you can burn 500 extra calories daily by running, you will lose 1 pound per week.
How fast can you achieve weight loss with lemon water?
Regularly drinking lemon water is an additional boost for losing belly fat. It is most effective when combined with a healthy diet and regular workouts.
How fast you can slim down by starving?
If you don’t eat (or eat frugally), your weight loss rate can be 5 to 10 pounds per week, which is detrimental to your health.
How much time doe it takes to start losing weight after starting to exercise?
It depends on the number of extra calories you burn every day. Consuming 500 extra calories daily can result in a weekly weight loss of more than one pound.
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