While many fad diets and weight loss supplements want to convince you that you can lose 20 pounds in 10 days, that’s not always a realistic or safe option. Even when you have a lot of weight to lose, it’s much better to go slowly and stay healthy along the way. Every time you lose weight fast, it will come back even faster once you stop dieting. The trick is in making a lifestyle change that will help you reach your goal weight and keep you at it without compromising your health and wellbeing.
Ultimately, weight loss is all about a caloric deficit. As long as you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight. Of course, there are some other factors that can affect this process, but this is true most of the time. Now, in order to lose a pound of fat, you need to make a deficit of 3,500 calories. This means you will either eat less, move more, or combine the two. There are apps that can help you calculate how many calories you need to stay at your current weight (TDEE – Total Daily Energy Expenditure), so you’ll know where you’re starting from.
Let’s say that you want to subtract 1,000 calories per day in order to lose weight. You can do it by eating 500 calories less than your TDEE and burning 500 more through exercise or other activity. By doing this, you can expect to lose 2 pounds per week and this is a healthy pace for almost everyone. This means that you can expect to lose around 8 pounds per month in the healthiest ways possible.
