Losing weight is one of the most tedious tasks for a human to be indulged in. As easy as enjoyable it is to gain weight, losing it is the exact opposite of it.
You have to put in a ton of loads of effort and face too much exertion to lose a little weight. Losing weight isn’t easy but it is quantifiable.
So in today’s article, we will read about the realistic scope of how much weight we can lose in a month and how to lose it.
How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way?
- It is most indefinite for you to have heard that losing weight can be unhealthy or there might be some exercises or methods of doing it or mere habits that are making losing weight unhealthy for you.
So first off let’s talk about the healthy ways and some tips that you need to keep in mind to shed some pounds healthily, not compromising it. - Do not at any cost skip breakfast since doing so makes you skip the important nutrients you need for the day and makes you snack more throughout the day.
Also, eat regular meals which means that you should eat at regular times of day and not randomly since this will rather help you lose weight fast as it converts to power you need throughout the day. - Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables with ample amounts of water because these are the food items that are going to give you the gift of loads of energy in fewer calories.
These could provide you with fiber, vitamins, and minerals and keep you hydrated. - Use a smaller plate to have your meals and eat as much as your stomach needs, remember you don’t have to overeat or undereat.
You have to eat the appropriate amount of food that your stomach wants, which you can fill in 2 small plates instead of wasting food on one big plate or even over-eating it. - Do you consume alcohol often? If so, you need to reduce your alcohol consumption since that is also a factor affecting your health as well as your weight giving you more calories than a chocolate bar.
Also do not stock up on junk food. Always try to avoid the consumption of junk food when aiming at weight loss while you still can have a little of it casually on cheat days but do not do that very often.
What Is Yo-Yo Dieting?
Yo-yo dieting is famously known as weight cycling which means cyclical loss and gain of weight.
Basically what we do in yo-yo dieting is that we lose weight by staying committed to the calorie deficit meals but once the target weight is achieved, we go back to the weight gaining stage.
In this stage we usually consume excessive calories, regain the weight, and then again go back to the dieting stage, as much stupid as it sounds, it, is.
This process of dieting to gain to then starting dieting after that is a little disruptive and could be bad for you.
This type of dieting causes increased levels of appetite and hence, more weight gain. As you tend to eat more after staying calorie deficient for quite a time.
The high intake of calories could lead to an increase in body fat percentage and muscle loss. Henceforth, this results in increased risk of condiitons such as fatty liver, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart diseases.
So, it is better to avoid this type of dieting since it can only cause harm in the long term and not sustainable development of your body.
How To Choose A Plan For Healthy Weight Loss?
Now we know that the most common type of weight loss plan is a hoax and rather is harmful to our health.
This brings us to the next question – how do we choose a plan that is healthy for weight loss? Normally, people prefer taking advice from a diet expert like a dietician for such queries.
Since getting a diet plan is dependent on many factors about your health and routine which are vital for choosing an effective and healthy diet plan.
This note points to the fact that diet plans vary from person to person, that is, a diet plan that works wonders for a person may not give results to another person following the same diet.
So here, we will not be given a diet plan but rather suggest vital tips to keep in mind while making your diet plan which can turn out healthy for you and not degrade.
- The very first and foremost thing to focus on is that you have to involve your doctor in the decision-making of your diet plan.
Since he is the only expert fully aware of every health-related factor to be taken into notice while deciding your diet.
If you don’t have a doctor consult a dietician and tell them everything about health in detail to get the right healthy diet for yourself. - Now you have to consider your personal needs which means you need to take note of every single thing before taking a diet.
This involves analyzing all the diets you have tried, deciding on your dietician, and finalizing your budget, and other health-related factors. - Now keep in mind that just dieting will not entirely help you lose weight, especially as quickly as in a month. So, instead of cutting off from food, try a variety of foods in appropriate quantities.
This way dieting will not feel like a burden but a fun and easy journey to follow. Remember to keep a calorie count and add the required nutrition to your diet.
Apart from dieting, physical activities are important[1] too to gain effective weight loss results. - Go through all the options you have in hand and read thoroughly all the dieting plans in front of you.
Take your time to compare everything in the plan including the expenses compatibility to your budget and then make a wise choice by choosing the right plan out of all given. - The last step, evaluate your success once you have achieved the goal. Analyze everything you did throughout your weight loss journey, the time it took, and all the calories you burned.
Keep a weekly track of your vitals to judge your path to losing weight to help your dieting or exercise routine in the future.
Is It OK To Lose 20 Pounds In A Month?
While quantifying weight loss is possible and necessary, judging the weight loss quantity is a little tough.
Yes, it is possible to lose 20 pounds in a month but it is unhealthy and alarming(in some cases) to lose such a drastic amount in such a small amount of time.
The one possible way to lose this amount of weight is when you are on a medically prescribed plan for medical reasons, but in general, losing 20 pounds in as short as a month is not recommended.
Neither any form of healthy diet nor any sort and intensity of exercise can make you achieve this mark and so such immense amounts of exertion won’t be healthy for your body.
It is suggested to rather keep a realistic goal.
Is It Realistic To Lose 10 Pounds In A Month?
Losing 10 pounds in a month is one of the most realistic and sensible weight loss goals to have while dieting.
It is mostly recommended by dietitians to keep 10 pounds worth of weight loss as your goal since losing this amount of weight is possible at the right speed instead of burdening your body with excessive exertion.
To do so you would need to focus a lot on cardio and manage[2] your carbs by cutting on refined carbs. Also, remember to chew slowly and keep in mind to eat a high-protein breakfast[3].
Conclusion
To conclude, we found out about the importance of dieting and physical activity in losing weight with it. We have studied how your dieting can be harmful to your health with many more options to choose from.
There are several tips to keep in mind while choosing or making a suitable diet plan which must also involve physical activities which help in drastic weight loss at a normal pace.
We then discussed the weight loss goals and how you should select them to achieve your target in a healthy and fast way. All in all this article covers a brilliant question – How much weight can you lose in a month?
References/Sources
Working4Health prefers using primary and verified references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and our primary references include peer-reviewed researches, academic and medical institution studies.
- Clara Di Germanio, Andrea Di Francesco, Michel Bernier, and Rafael de Cabo*. Yo-yo dieting is better than none. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2018 Nov; 26(11): 1673. doi: 10.1002/oby.22335.
- Carla E. Cox. Role of Physical Activity for Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance. Diabetes Spectr. 2017 Aug; 30(3): 157–160. doi: 10.2337/ds17-0013.
- Shaoyun Wang, Lijuan Yang, Juming Lu, Yiming Mu. High-protein breakfast promotes weight loss by suppressing subsequent food intake and regulating appetite hormones in obese Chinese adolescents. Horm Res Paediatr. 2015;83(1):19-25. doi: 10.1159/000362168. Epub 2014 Jun 11. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24923232/.
- This article is written for informational purposes only.
- Under no circumstances do we intend to provide medical advice, cure, or treatment using this article.
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Louise Rodriguez is a full-time health and fitness writer. She considers herself a gym rat and takes pride in showing her biceps. She dedicates most of her time to her health. With the time left, she spreads information regarding health and fitness among the masses. Harry Potter is her first love.