What Is a Healthy Weight Loss Rate?

October 20, 2010

Health & Motivation

We all want to lose weight fast. Unfortunately fast weight loss isn’t healthy at all. Plus you don’t get to keep the results of your efforts for too long. Why so? Well because when you lose weight fast you actually lose muscle mass not your fat. This is not ideal.

Studies after studies have showed that a slow weight loss rate leads to massive fat loss while at the same time preserving your muscle mass. You see, when you starve your body you force your body to tap into a fast supply of energy. And that energy unfortunately is your muscle mass. The human body has a much easier time breaking down muscle fibers for energy than it has breaking down fat cells.

But what is a healthy weight loss rate. Most scientists agree that you shouldn’t lose more than 1% of your current weight per week. That means that if you weight 200 lbs you shouldn’t lose more than 2 lbs per week. To really be on the safe side you should avoid losing more than 0.5% of your current weight each week.

If you take the time to do the math, it will take a while until you reach your desired weight. But don’t get discouraged. There is a silver lining. By taking it slowly and getting used to your new healthy lifestyle, you will never have to lose weight again. You will keep your hot body forever once you achieve your weight loss goals. And that is a whole lot better than losing weight fast and gaining it right back again over and over again.

By losing weight slowly you also get to preserve your muscle mass. Maybe even increase it by exercising. Your muscles burn a whole lot more energy each day than fat does, helping you maintain your weight much easily once your excess fat is off.

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