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It’s easy to get excited about our weight loss goals. But when it comes to sustainable weight loss, a safe weight loss is the surest way to keep those pounds off.
Let’s explore how much weight you can safely expect to lose in a month and the sustainable practices that can help you get there.
How Much Weight Should You Expect To Lose?
According to the CDC, the optimal amount of weight loss you should shoot for in your weight loss goals is 1 to 2 pounds a week. Over the course of the whole month, that sets you at anywhere between 4 to 8 pounds.
Reasonable weight loss goals are considered to be around 5 to 10 percent of your total body weight. Based on those metrics, you’ll begin to see improvements that indicate a healthy weight, like lowered blood pressure and lowered cholesterol.
How To Lose 1 Pound a Week
You have to burn 3,500 calories more than you eat to sustain a weight loss rate of one pound per week.
An example of how to reach this number would be a 500-calorie reduction of your daily diet over the course of a week. For a rate of two pounds a week, you would then double the caloric restriction of your diet to 1,000 calories.
The two primary options for effective calorie reduction are consuming a diet with fewer calories or increasing the number of calories you burn with more exercise.
Going Beyond 2 Pounds a Week
While it ventures outside the CDC recommended weight loss rate, losing more precipitously than 2 pounds per week is possible. Rapid weight loss strategies may go beyond this rate, sometimes into 5 pounds per week or more. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
Going too far beyond the recommended weight loss rate could incur undue stress on your health. If you’re concerned about finding the right weight loss rate for you, consult with your dietitian or nutritionist.
VLCD or very low-calorie diets are weight loss strategies built on finding the bare minimum caloric intake necessary. By consuming as few calories as possible, you can increase the rate at which you lose weight.
Rapid weight loss strategies may be encouraged for people in specific circumstances and only under doctor supervision to address obesity or a high BMI.
What Are the Health Risks of Rapid Weight Loss?
While rapid weight loss strategies can be an effective means to lose weight, it is essential that you take every precaution to ensure that you are doing so safely.
Excessively rapid weight loss can cause health issues like:
- Increased risk of developing gallstones
- Dehydration
- Headaches
- Constipation
- Muscle loss
Excessive rapid weight loss strategies may not bring sustainable results to offset the weight gain.
If you’re embarking on a weight loss journey, it’s important that you use every possible opportunity available to you.
Here are a few ways that will help you maintain the calorie reductions necessary to lose weight.
What Kind of Exercise Do You Need To Lose Weight?
Physical activity is one-half of the puzzle in losing and maintaining a healthy weight. Regular exercise is one of the most effective ways to lose weight and keep it off.
Exercise is a deeply personal experience. We’re all built differently, with varying levels of familiarity with exercise routines. With so many exercise options available, it can be challenging to know where to begin or how to choose the right kind of exercise.
Here is some basic information about two types of exercise that provide an effective means to burn calories and lose weight.
Aerobics
Aerobics means “with oxygen” in Greek. Aerobics are generally endurance-based exercises. These exercises can get our cardiovascular system pumping.
Aerobic exercises include:
- Walking
- Running
- Sprinting
- Swimming
- Cycling
- Jumping jacks
- Rowing
When done consistently, aerobic exercises help you burn calories at a steady, sustainable rate. A reasonably paced walk will burn about 340 calories in an hour, while a moderately paced run can burn well over 600.
An hour and a half of walking will net you over 500 burned calories, which should be a sufficient rate to burn a pound a week.
Depending on the intensity level of your aerobic exercise, you can increase the calorie you burn and thereby increase your potential to shed weight.
Anaerobic
Anaerobic means without oxygen. These types of exercise use energy stored in the body like carbs and fats to sustain performance. Increasing your muscle mass can help you burn more calories.
Here are a few examples of anaerobic exercises:
- Push-ups
- Pull-ups
- Strength training
- Sit-ups
- Curls
- Calisthenics
- Squats
Doing 100 sit-ups a day doesn’t just burn calories. You’re also building abdominal muscles that use more calories going forward. The more anaerobic exercise you do over a consistent basis can help you get the lean muscle you need to burn calories and lose more weight.
What Kind of Diet Promotes Weight Loss?
Being more selective with your diet is a great way to reduce calories and promote weight loss. Taking the time to assess your caloric intake and making the necessary adjustments that reflect your weight loss goals can be one of the most effective ways to shed some pounds.
For even more effective diets, don’t just be selective about your caloric intake, but change your eating habits to promote healthy eating. Pass over the sugar snacks in exchange for better-for-your-body foods, like fruits and vegetables.
The combination of a lower-calorie diet, and one that removes certain items like fatty foods, may help you speed up your weight loss goals. From keto to the Mediterranean diet, there’s a diet out there for every kind of weight loss program.
How Can You Choose a Diet That Works?
Finding a diet that you can manage is the key to achieving your weight loss goals; picking the right one means you’re sticking to it.
Skip the fad diets and crash dieting. Make lifestyle changes necessary to support weight loss in a healthy way.
Whatever your diet, make sure that you’re still getting the nutritional intake you need to support a healthy body. Diets are long-term weight loss strategies meant to last well beyond a month. Nutritional deficits can set you back on your wellness goals.
If you plan on making any dietary changes, consider reaching out to a registered dietitian. If you have any medical conditions, it’s especially important to get a second opinion before making any drastic changes to your meal plans.
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting or IF presents you with a different way to reduce your calorie intake. Intermittent fasting helps you reach calorie deficit without necessarily making any significant dietary changes.
This practice advocates for a day or two of fasting or a reduction of meals throughout the day.
One study found promising results simply by stopping meals after 3 pm. Some people believe it helps them limit their random snacking.
These people believe it gives their body the opportunity to burn energy and help shed a little weight in the process when part of a healthy diet.
The more you practice intermittent fasting throughout the month, the better able you may be to manage your cravings for snacks.
Practitioners of IF have reported a lowered appetite as they adjust to these bouts of fasting. Fasting every other day garners similar results to a restricted meal plan and could lead to a reduced appetite.
What Is a Juice Cleanse?
Juice cleanses are an increasingly popular means to achieve rapid weight loss. They strike a balance between intermittent fasting and diet.
In a juice cleanse, you use nutrition-rich juice as a meal replacement for solid foods. While reducing your calories with the juice, you can still get a dense nutritional boost that can support you along your weight loss journey.
At PUR, we offer a range of options for your cleanse, so you find the one that suits you best. Every one of our sustainable, vegan-friendly juices comes in a three, five, or seven-day cleanse.
Our Powerhouse Juice Cleanse is packed with protein, so you can also sustain a higher degree of physical activity over the course of your cleanse.
How Can Cleanses Help You Lose Weight?
Juice cleanses are a straightforward, low-calorie option that retains high nutrient density. A cleanse can help you achieve a caloric reduction that promotes weight loss.
Beyond caloric restrictions, juice cleanses may promote weight loss by supporting your microbiome.
Juice Your Way Toward Your Weight Loss Goals
A fruit or veggie juice gives you a nutritious and delicious way to lose weight.
Whether it’s a full cleanse or a bottle of juice at lunchtime, PUR Cold-Pressed has nutrient-packed juices that can help get you on the road to getting healthy.
Check out our full inventory of juices — you’ll love our preservative-free, all-natural flavors.
Sources:
I Want to Lose a Pound of Weight. How Many Calories Do I Need to Burn? | USDA
Calorie Burn Rate Calculator | University of Rochester Medical Center
Intermittent Fasting: the Positive News Continues | Harvard Health Publishing
Health Benefit Vegetable and Fruit Juice-based Diet: Role of Microbiome | NIH