A safe, sustainable pace is about 0.5 to 1 percent of your bodyweight a week, roughly 2 to 4 kg a month for most people. The first week often shows more because of water. Losing 10 kg in a month is not realistic as fat loss.
"How to lose weight fast" is one of the most searched questions there is. The honest answer is good news, if you know what the scale is really showing.
What is realistic?
- First week: 1 to 3 kg is common, but much of it is water and food in your gut, as you eat fewer carbs and less salt.
- After that: about 0.5 to 1 percent of your bodyweight a week is a fast but safe pace. For someone weighing 90 kg, that is about 0.5 to 0.9 kg a week, or 2 to 4 kg a month.
- Larger bodies often lose faster at the start, which is normal.
Why not 10 kg in a month?
One kilogram of body fat stores about 7,700 calories. Losing 10 kg of fat in 30 days would need a deficit of over 2,500 calories every day, more than many people eat in total. Diets that promise it mostly remove water and muscle, and the weight returns quickly.
The diet that takes weight off fastest is rarely the one that keeps it off.
The fastest approach that works
- Eat 500 to 750 calories below your maintenance. Work out maintenance with a calorie calculator, then subtract.
- Eat protein at every meal, about 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg of bodyweight a day. It protects muscle and controls hunger.
- Lift weights two to four times a week, so the weight you lose is fat, not muscle.
- Walk more. Adding 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day burns roughly 150 to 200 extra calories.
- Cut liquid calories: sweet drinks, juices and sweet coffee add up fast without filling you.
- Sleep 7 hours or more. Short sleep raises hunger.
How to read the scale
Weigh yourself in the morning, three or more times a week, and compare weekly averages. Single days can jump by a kilo because of salt, water and food.
When faster is not safe
Very low calorie diets (under about 800 to 1,000 calories) should only be done under medical supervision. Talk to a doctor first if you are pregnant, have diabetes, a heart condition, or a history of eating disorders.
Sources
- How much of a calorie deficit each kilo of weight loss takes: Hall, 2008
- How weight changes with a calorie deficit over time: Hall et al., 2011
- Slow against fast weight loss, and muscle and strength: Garthe et al., 2011
The takeaway
Aim for 0.5 to 1 percent a week: about 2 to 4 kg a month for most people, mostly fat, and much more likely to stay off. Shulah sets your calories from your body and the pace you pick, and keeps your food, steps and weight in one place.