Weight loss is a common goal, whether you’re attempting to improve your health or lose weight for a special occasion. Now the question is that how long does it take to lose weight?
The answer depends on various factors, including your starting weight, diet, and exercise routine. You should be informed of what constitutes a healthy weight reduction rate in order to set acceptable expectations.
The elements that may impact how long it may take you to lose weight are discussed in this article.
How to lose weight:
“When you regularly eat fewer calories than you burn each day, you start to lose weight.”
The truth is that excess weight begins when you consume more calories than you burn. Your daily caloric intake is determined by the total quantity of calories you consume from all sources. Monitoring your daily basal metabolic rate, commonly known as energy expenditure, is a little more difficult.
The three main components of calorie expenditure are as follows:
- The first is known as Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). It is comprised of the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the lowest amount of calories your body requires to ensure good vital processes and metabolisms along with minimal everyday routines.
- The second component is known as the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), which is the extra energy required to break down, assimilate, and utilize the nutrients you eat. TEF is raised by greater meal proportions.
- The third factor is the Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA), which is the number of calories expended during a workout. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) is the number of calories spent during light tasks.
You must sustain a steady calorie deficit to lose pounds. When you expend more calories than you ingest, your body will draw on the energy reserves held in your fat deposits to meet your needs. When you consume more calories than your body requires, you will begin to acquire weight.
Why the Weight Loss journey for everyone differs:
The weight loss journey varies from person to person because of their metabolic rates, genetics, diets, and other factors. Many of us eat fewer calories and get rapid weight loss results.
Many follow weight loss programs and follow up those plans to get a much better physique and weight loss occurs. But many of us have several questions; how much weight can we lose? How to get rapid weight loss? How many calories should we intake?
To answer all these questions we will study those important factors that play major roles in weight loss.
Factors that influence weight loss:
The pace at which you shed pounds is influenced by several things. You have little influence over many of them.
Gender:
Your ability to reduce weight is significantly impacted by your fat-to-muscle ratio. Males will find it simpler to lose excess weight, but our physiological factors are not as simple as this. Men have a 5% to 10% greater resting metabolic rate than women of equal stature. This is due to fat tissue being less biologically active than muscle tissue in women. This implies women typically burn 5–10% fewer calories than males.
Age:
Aside from other physical changes, aging is accompanied by changes in body composition, which include a rise in fat content and a loss in muscle mass. This modification, together with other elements like the decreasing calorie requirements of your main organs, lowers your RMR.
Water Consumption:
Even though its impact is indirect, water does play an important role in weight loss. Drinking extra water aids with portion management and increases lipolysis (fat tissue breakdown).
According to research, dehydration can cause hormonal changes that increase the possibility of obesity and related disorders. The suggested daily intake is 2L, however, the precise quantity your body requires will depend on a number of factors.
Sleep:
Sleep is frequently neglected while being an essential element of weight reduction. Chronic sleep deprivation can drastically slow down weight loss and slow down how quickly you lose weight.
- Sleep deprivation has been found to boost your craving for high-calorie, low-nutrient items like cookies, cakes, sugary drinks, and chips after just one night. In a 2-week trial, individuals on a calorie-restricted diet were randomly assigned to sleep 5.5 or 8.5 hours per night.
- In comparison to individuals who slept 8.5 hours per night, those who slept 5.5 hours each night shed 55% less body fat and 60% more lean body mass.
- Consequently, type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and several malignancies are all closely associated with chronic sleep deprivation.
Diets:
Low-CARB diets and low-KETO may help you lose weight more quickly at first, but studies show no appreciable changes in weight reduction over the long run. Your capacity to maintain a calorie-reduced, healthy eating pattern is what counts most.
However, many people find it challenging to maintain an extremely low-calorie diet for an extended length of time, which is why most diets fail.
Stress:
Another element that may influence your weight reduction rate is psychological stress. Stress can impair your sleep, increase your appetite, exacerbate your desires, and lessen your drive to exercise.
Simultaneously, there is emerging evidence that portion control can decrease food cravings and boost your chances of reaching your weight loss objectives.
Hormones:
Certain hormonal imbalances will affect the rate at which you lose weight. A notable example is hypothyroidism, a disease in which the thyroid gland does not generate sufficient metabolism-boosting substances, which can lead to weight gain. Higher threshold thyroid hormone levels have been associated with better weight loss results.
Safe weight loss rates:
While the majority of individuals desire quick, rapid weight reduction, it’s crucial to avoid losing too much weight too soon. Your risk of gallstones, dehydration, and starvation may all rise if you lose weight quickly.
Additional negative implications of quick weight reduction include:
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Constipation
- Hair fall
- Irregular menstrual periods
- Muscle wasting
Being consistent is the Key:
Weight reduction isn’t always an easy option, but it doesn’t mean getting started has to be. To get started, take these steps:
- Make a weight-loss commitment to yourself.
- Determine your starting points by taking into account your height, weight, risk factors, nutrition, and lifestyle.
- Set concise, attainable goals that allow for tolerance.
- Learn how to educate and sustain yourself.
- Keep track of and reward your success over time.
Conclusion:
When you take low calories than you expend, you lose weight. Your beginning weight, gender, age, sleep, and the size of your calorie deficit are just a few of the many variables that influence how quickly you lose weight. A safe and long-term strategy to accomplish your goals is to aim to shed 1-3 pounds (0.45-1.36 kg) per week.