One of the most common questions I get asked is how much weight
you can lose in a month. People see programs such as the Biggest Loser
where giant men and sometimes even the women lose a dozens of pounds in a
month and want to do the same. While this is an extreme case which I
often explain they still want to know what is possible for them. The
question is an interesting one and one that is very much dependent on a
number of factors. Let us look into it in more detail.
The first thing to remember is that weight is an inaccurate term. What weight are you talking about? When you are 'losing weight' what you really want to be losing is fat content. When you get on the scales you are in many cases losing water and even muscle. It is important to remember this as with many diets weight loss appears greater in the first week but slows down in the following weeks. This is because in the first week much of the weight is water and in some cases the actual weight of the food we had been eating.
It is important for that reason to be sure to also take measurements of areas of your body where fat is most common. This is most likely to be your chest, waist and hips. I also like to take one at the maximum point of my stomach. If and when you lose body fat it is the measurements which will give you the best reading. Losing a pound or two in weight from one day to the next proves nothing.
How to lose body fat
So exactly how do you lose body fat rather than just water when trying to lose weight? Well it is actually amazingly simple. To lose body fat you need to get your insulin levels down and to do that you cut out carbohydrates. Now there is a lot said about cutting out food groups so I would like to clarify this a little. When I talk about carbohydrates I am talking mainly about sugar products which are pretty much all processed foods. This can include chocolate, biscuits and cakes as well as alcohol and fizzy drinks. You can then take it a step further and cut out bread and pasta. While many 'experts' will say these are essential they are in fact not. All the nutrients you can get from these you can get a lot more of from fruits and vegetables.
So what do you eat?
The key things to eat when trying to lose weight/fat is real foods. This means you eat protein such as meat and fish with plenty of eggs, fruits and vegetables and the controversial part is eat fat. Yes you can eat fat as long as it isn't the processed fats. These fats known as transfats are now being removed because they are so bad for us but avoiding processed foods will ensure you don't eat any of them. Saturated and unsaturated fats are found from unprocessed sources.
You then simply eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Your body will switch from using carbohydrates as an energy source and start using fat instead. If you are overweight or obese then your body already has plenty of fat available from your fat stores. At this point your insulin levels will be low allowing your body to start using those stores and thus helping you burn body fat. It is actually a very simple procedure.
So going back to the question of how much weight can you lose in a month it really depends on how good you get your diet and how much you supplement it with exercise. Remember exercise will help you create a calorie deficit and thus low weight but if you do to much of it you will only make yourself hungry and risk eating more. This in itself isn't a problem as long a what you eat is unprocessed foods as mentioned above.
The first thing to remember is that weight is an inaccurate term. What weight are you talking about? When you are 'losing weight' what you really want to be losing is fat content. When you get on the scales you are in many cases losing water and even muscle. It is important to remember this as with many diets weight loss appears greater in the first week but slows down in the following weeks. This is because in the first week much of the weight is water and in some cases the actual weight of the food we had been eating.
It is important for that reason to be sure to also take measurements of areas of your body where fat is most common. This is most likely to be your chest, waist and hips. I also like to take one at the maximum point of my stomach. If and when you lose body fat it is the measurements which will give you the best reading. Losing a pound or two in weight from one day to the next proves nothing.
How to lose body fat
So exactly how do you lose body fat rather than just water when trying to lose weight? Well it is actually amazingly simple. To lose body fat you need to get your insulin levels down and to do that you cut out carbohydrates. Now there is a lot said about cutting out food groups so I would like to clarify this a little. When I talk about carbohydrates I am talking mainly about sugar products which are pretty much all processed foods. This can include chocolate, biscuits and cakes as well as alcohol and fizzy drinks. You can then take it a step further and cut out bread and pasta. While many 'experts' will say these are essential they are in fact not. All the nutrients you can get from these you can get a lot more of from fruits and vegetables.
So what do you eat?
The key things to eat when trying to lose weight/fat is real foods. This means you eat protein such as meat and fish with plenty of eggs, fruits and vegetables and the controversial part is eat fat. Yes you can eat fat as long as it isn't the processed fats. These fats known as transfats are now being removed because they are so bad for us but avoiding processed foods will ensure you don't eat any of them. Saturated and unsaturated fats are found from unprocessed sources.
You then simply eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Your body will switch from using carbohydrates as an energy source and start using fat instead. If you are overweight or obese then your body already has plenty of fat available from your fat stores. At this point your insulin levels will be low allowing your body to start using those stores and thus helping you burn body fat. It is actually a very simple procedure.
So going back to the question of how much weight can you lose in a month it really depends on how good you get your diet and how much you supplement it with exercise. Remember exercise will help you create a calorie deficit and thus low weight but if you do to much of it you will only make yourself hungry and risk eating more. This in itself isn't a problem as long a what you eat is unprocessed foods as mentioned above.
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