Coming Up with the Perfect Weight Loss Time Frame
Countless advertisements have hawked miracle ointments, weight loss diets and exercise regimens that promise to reduce your waistline by 5 inches in a week’s time or make you 30 pounds lighter in 30 days. But do any of them really deliver?
How and When Can You Lose Weight?
Realistically speaking, weight loss does not and cannot happen overnight. There is a healthy way to go about it and it requires careful research and planning just like any other major undertaking. The decision to lose weight is not be entered into lightly and should be done only after consulting with a trusted health care provider, nutritionist or fitness instructor.
There are also countless books and researches that have been published in relation to this and it would be good to read them in order to make the most informed decision possible.
Losing weight is a numbers game
Losing weight is a numbers game. Here are a few equations that you will need to keep in mind as you set out to conquer your weight loss goal:
- 3,500 calories = 1 pound
- To compute required calorie intake per day according to lifestyle:
Sedentary: multiply weight in pounds by 11
Active: multiply weight in pounds by 12 or 13
Very Active: multiply weight in pounds by 15, 16 or 17 - Body Mass Index
Weight (in kilograms)
Height (meters) * Height (meters)
According to experts, it would be safe to expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week which would translate to lowering calorie intake by about 500 calories per day. They recommend removing 300 calories via diet and burning another 200 calories by engaging in a physical workout. This method is not only safe, it allows your body time to adjust to a new diet and workout schedule without unnecessarily depriving it of essential energy-giving nutrients.
Also, as you begin your weight loss journey, it would be prudent to keep track of your BMI or body mass index. This is the tool used to measure whether a person is underweight, healthy, overweight or obese. Knowing your BMI will help you gauge your need to lose weight and roughly estimate the amount in pounds that you need to subtract from your current weight in order to reach a healthier BMI.
Be realistic about your weight loss goal
So let’s say Suzy currently weighs 190 pounds and wants to get down to a healthier weight (she’s 5′ 4”) of 125 pounds. She lives a sedentary life so a daily calorie intake of 1,090 would ensure that she stays right where she is, weight-wise as this will neither increase nor decrease her current size. If she can remove 300-500 calories from her daily calorie intake via a healthier diet and engage in a physical activity like brisk walking which should help eliminate 400 calories per 40-minute session… then she can reasonably expect to lose at least two pounds per week. Her realistic weight goal should be set at 8 ½ months.
The key to setting a weight goal and trying to work out a time frame for it is to be realistic. Expecting to lose twenty pounds in two weeks is not only disheartening when weighing-time comes around, it is also extremely dangerous to your health. Don’t put yourself at risk when there are easier and safer ways to go about achieving your weight-loss goals.
Be realistic about your weight loss time frame and remind yourself to celebrate each milestone. Just not with cake.
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