Safe Weight Loss

"Lose 14lbs in 14 days"
"The physique that's right for you in 6 weeks"

These are two of the statements on the front of this month's Men's Fitness magazine. They're little different to other headlines or statements in many other magazines and books covering fitness, health, weight loss and dieting.

For the vast majority of us these are misleading, dangerous or plain incorrect statements and promises. So why is this and what can we expect for safe weight loss. It is not such an easy answer as we're all different, as are our goals.

Safe weight loss is typically around 1 to 2lbs (~0.5 to 1kg) a week, anything above that and you increase the risk of having health issues, breaking down muscle rather than fat or just regaining the weight again.

If you're overweight and trying to loose body fat while putting on some muscle then losing 1 lbs-2 lbs a week in weight is a more usual target. This can still be 50 to 100 lbs of weight loss in a year! Muscle is more dense than fat however so your results will vary. Remember that some patience is required, most of us spent many years gaining the weight we have, trying to lose it all in a few weeks or months is unrealistic and dangerous. If you see books, magazines or people promising they can help you shed weight quicker then I'd suggest you walk past them, it's not worth the risk to your health...

If you're obese you may be able to have higher weight loss at first, if you're already very lean or with muscle then you may lose weight slower.

The body has evolved over thousands of years and the pace of technology and the world around us has changed quicker than the body can evolve. If we go on a crash diet then we may lose some weight however the body goes into starvation and survival mode, not realising that there is plenty of food available, and tries to store as much as it can and you'll end up losing muscle rather than fat.

Many diets promise amazing results in the first 2-4 weeks and this is often down to 'water loss'. The vast majority of us do not drink sufficient water and hence our bodies are constantly dehydrated. Check when you go to the toilet, if your urine is yellow then this is a reasonable indication that you are dehydrated although watch out for drinks such as alcohol and caffeine that act as diuretics which results in the body losing more water than normal and you may therefore pass the 'bathroom test' but still be dehydrated.

Once you start drinking more water your body begins storing less as it realises there is a regular intake and then you'll find you've lost a few lbs in weight just due to this phenomena. This is fine for the first 2-4 weeks but then this 'amazing weight loss' slows down and you'll have to work to lose any further weight.

Typical research suggests drinking 8 glasses of water a day, if it is ice-cold then it can help to burn some more calories, however don't replace the water with soda and other liquids. The body needs the fluids, drink green tea and other beverages however still aim for the 8 glasses of water as your body will thank you for it.

Enjoy the journey ahead of you, we're looking for sustainable weight loss that we still have in 2, 5 and 10 years time. We're not looking for the yo-yo effect where we lose weight now, only to put it back on in 3,6,12 months time and then have to start all over again. So get to know your body, understand what it is telling you, the aches, the pains, the urine, the hunger, these are all ways the body uses to talk to you if you're willing to listen and understand.