Weight loss is something that everyone wants, regardless of whether it’s for a special occasion or to improve your overall health.

You may be able to set realistic expectations by knowing what a healthy weight loss rate looks like.

This article will explain the factors that can affect how long it takes to lose weight.

How to lose weight

When you eat fewer calories each day than you burn, you will lose weight.

Weight gain occurs when you eat more calories than what you burn.

Every food and drink that contains calories contributes to your total calorie intake.

However, it is more difficult to calculate how many calories you have burned each day (calorie expenditure or energy).

Calorie expenditure consists of three main components

• The resting metabolic rate (RMR). It is the amount of calories that your body requires to perform normal bodily functions like breathing and pumping blood.
• Thermic effects of food (TEF) refers to how many calories are required to digest, absorb and metabolize food.
• Thermic effects of activity (TEA). These calories are used during exercise. TEA can also include NEAT (non-exercise activity temperature), which accounts to calories used for activities such as yard work or fidgeting.

You maintain your body weight if the calories you eat equal the calories you burn.

To lose weight, you need to create a negative caloric balance. This means consuming less calories than you burn and burning more calories through exercise.

SUMMARY:

When you eat fewer calories each day than you burn, you will lose weight.

Factors that affect weight loss

There are many factors that affect how fast you lose weight. Many factors are beyond your control.

Gender

How much fat you have to lose is a major factor in your ability to lose weight.

Women have a higher fat-to-muscle ratio that men than women, so they have a RMR of 5-10% less than men their same height

Women generally consume 5-10% less calories at rest than men. Men tend to lose weight faster than women if they eat the same amount of calories.

A study of over 2000 participants who followed an 800-calorie diet for 8 weeks found that men lost 16% less weight than women. The relative weight loss was 11.8% in men and 10.3% respectively

However, although men lost weight faster than women, the study did not examine gender-based differences in weight loss.

Age

One of the many changes in your body that come with aging is the alteration in your body composition. This can lead to an increase or decrease in fat mass.

This, and other factors such as the decreasing calorie needs for your major organs, leads to a lower RMR

Adults over 70 years old can have RMRs 20-25% lower that those of younger adults

With age , this decrease in RMR may make weight loss more challenging.

Start point

How quickly you lose weight will depend on your initial body mass and composition.

It is important to realize that relative weight loss (in percent) can be correlated with different absolute weights (in pounds). Weight loss is complex.

The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Body Weight Planner can help you determine how much weight you can lose based upon your initial weight, age, sex, as well as how many calories you consume and expend

A heavier person might lose twice as much weight but a lighter person could lose the same percentage (10/250 = 4%) versus 5/125 = 4%)

A person who is 300 pounds (136kg) can lose 10 pounds (4.5kg) by decreasing their daily intake of 1,000 calories and increasing their physical activity for two weeks.

Calorie deficit

To lose weight, you must have a negative calorie balance. How quickly you lose weight will depend on how large your calorie deficit.

A diet of 500 calories less per day for 8 weeks will result in more weight loss than a diet of 200 calories per day.

Be careful not to make your calories deficit too large.

This would be not only unsustainable, but could also lead to nutrient deficiencies. It could also make it more likely that you lose weight through muscle mass, rather than fat.

Sleep

Sleep is a crucial part of weight loss.

Chronic sleep loss can seriously hinder your weight loss efforts and slow down the rate at which you lose weight.

One night of sleep deprivation can increase your cravings for high-calorie, nutritional-poor foods like cookies, cakes, and chips

Participants were randomly assigned to a calorie-restricted diet for two weeks. They could sleep 5.5 hours or 8.5 hours each night.

People who slept for 5.5 hours less lost 55% more body fat and 60% more body mass than those who slept for 8.5 hours

Therefore, chronic sleep deprivation has been strongly linked with type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease

Other factors

There are many other factors that can influence your weight loss rate.

• Medications. Many medications, including antidepressants, antipsychotics and others, can either promote or inhibit weight loss
• Medical conditions. Illnesses, including depression and hypothyroidism, a condition in which your thyroid gland produces too few metabolism-regulating hormones, can slow weight loss and encourage weight gain
• Genetics and family history. This genetic component is associated with obesity and overweight people
• Yo Yo dieting. A decrease in RMR can make it more difficult to lose weight.

SUMMARY:

Weight loss can be affected by many factors, including age, gender, and sleep. Other factors that can affect weight loss include your medical condition, genetics, or the use of certain medication.

Best diet for weight loss

There are many weight loss methods that promise impressive and fast results, but it can be difficult to choose the best.

However, even though proponents and creators may consider their programs superior, there is no one best weight loss program

Low-carb diets, such as keto, may initially help you lose weight, but long-term studies show no significant difference in weight loss

It is important that you can maintain a healthy and low-calorie eating style

It is not easy to eat a low-calorie diet for extended periods of time. This is why many diets fail

You can increase your chances of success by reducing your calorie intake but only moderately. Also, personalize your diet to suit your needs and work with a registered dietitian.

Combining diet and exercise (including both resistance and aerobic training) can maximize fat loss and minimize or prevent muscle loss

You can promote weight loss and overall health by avoiding processed foods and incorporating healthier whole foods like vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and protein.

SUMMARY:

Most people find it difficult to adhere to a weight-loss diet. No matter what your goals are, you can choose a diet that suits your needs and your health.

Weight loss

Although most people want to lose weight quickly, it is important not to lose too much.

Rapid weight loss can increase your chances of developing gallstones, malnutrition, or dehydration

Other side effects include: 

• Headaches
• irritability
• fatigue
• Constipation
• hair loss
• menstrual irregularities
• muscle loss

Experts recommend losing 1-3 pounds per week (or 0.45-1.36kg) or about 1% of your bodyweight

Remember that weight loss is not always a linear process. You may lose more weight in some weeks than others

Don’t let your weight loss slow down or plateau for a few weeks.

You may be able to stay on track by keeping a food journal and regularly weighing yourself.

Research has shown that self-monitoring methods, such as tracking your diet and weight, can help you lose weight faster and keep it off.

This post was written by Darryl Johnson, Co-Owner of Apex performance. At https://theapexperf.com/ we are a community of highly trained experts looking to provide performance enhancement and a permanent lifestyle change for our clients in a fun and interactive environment. Members can take advantage of one-on-one training, small group classes and specialized courses for a wide variety of athletics, sports training and body goals!