• Contact
  • Write for Us
  • About CWL Movement
  • CWL Program Testimonies
  • Free CWL Program for Men
  • Free CWL Program for Women
  • Archives

Correct Weight Loss Blog

This time, do it right

  • Fundamentals
    • Myths
  • Food
    • Nutrition
    • Supplements
  • Exercise
  • Rest
    • Meditation
    • Sleep
  • Self Help
    • Motivation
  • Measuring
  • Health
  • Reviews
    • Diets
  • Tips & Tricks
    • How to
    • Lists Rules & Steps
You are here: Home » health optimization » What is Healthy Weight Loss per Week

What is Healthy Weight Loss per Week

By Paramjit Sidhu

healthy weight loss per weekHealthy weight loss is a very abstract term for dieters. This is because every dieter wants to lose weight healthily but very few really understand or know what it is. Try asking a dieter what it means and you will probably get some blank stares. Without a proper understanding of the concept, dieters are struggling with what  healthy weight loss per week should be.

Table of Contents for Article

  • 1 Defining healthy weight loss
  • 2 Your body’s fat burning ability
  • 3 Healthy fat loss per week
  • 4 What happens during healthy weight loss
  • 5 What is healthy weight loss per week
  • 6 Measure the rate of fat loss
  • 7 Healthy weight loss is pure fat loss

Defining healthy weight loss

The goal of any weight loss initiative is to lose body fat. Healthy weight loss is when all of your weight loss results from losing fat. This is the ideal condition but is seldom the case. Most of the time, there is some amount of muscle and water loss. Muscle loss is detrimental to long-term sustainability as it adversely affects your metabolism and hormonal balance.

Dieters need to firmly understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss to achieve sustainable and healthy weight loss.

Your body’s fat burning ability

Your body burns fat in tiny power plants in the cell called mitochondria. Fat is transported to the mitochondria where it is metabolized into energy. The number of mitochondria in the body are physically limited. Your fat burning rate is obviously limited by the physical quantity of mitochondria in your body.

The body can generate more mitochondria if it recognizes that it needs more energy. This happens over time and can often be stimulated by exercising. Aerobic activity is one way to increase mitochondria density in your cells.

Healthy fat loss per week

The American College of Sports Medicine advocates 2 to 3 pounds of fat loss per week. Most experts will also agree that your body cannot burn more than this in a week. This is the determining factor of healthy weight loss per week. The exact fat burning rate may vary according to your body size and activity limit but it will not be very far from this number. As you can see, the physical quantity and efficiency of the mitochondria in your body will ultimately decide on the fat burning rate. This is also what ultimately decides the healthy weight loss per week.

Some obese people can lose fat equivalent to 1 % of their body weight. Unless one is 300 pounds and more, this too does not far exceed the 3 pound fat loss limit per week.

What happens during healthy weight loss

Healthy weight loss requires a holistic approach. As this holistic approach should include regular exercise, dieters tend to not only lose fat but also build muscles. Losing fat and building muscles is one of the main characteristics of healthy weight loss. Dieters especially women, should not be intimidated as the body builds more muscle. This additional muscle is what gives women the coveted hourglass shape and men the V-shaped torso.

What is healthy weight loss per week

As mentioned earlier, healthy weight loss constitutes the process of losing fat and building muscles. This process happens simultaneously. As such, there could be times when there is only a small weight loss even though there is a large fat loss. This could happen when the weight attributed to fat loss is compensated by the weight of new muscles.

In some instances, there could also be no weight loss or even a slight weight gain. This is most prominent in people who have not exercised. Dieters do not have to be intimidated by this occurrence as it mostly happens in the early phases of healthy weight loss.

The point is that there is really no way of knowing what is healthy weight loss per week. If you are experiencing healthy weight loss, you will be losing fat and muscle. If you are losing fat and muscle, you cannot reliably measure the rate of weight loss.

Read this article to get a more in-depth understanding about weight loss, fat loss and muscle loss.

Measure the rate of fat loss

Healthy weight loss cannot be measured. You know that you are experiencing healthy weight loss if your body fat percentage is reducing. As such, you should be measuring body fat loss instead of weight loss. As long as you are dropping body fat, you are getting healthy weight loss.

You can measure and track body fat loss by using a body-fat caliper. Read this article about how you can take effective fat loss measurements.

Healthy weight loss is pure fat loss

Focus all your efforts on getting pure fat loss. You must make sure that you lose minimum muscle or water. You could achieve this by following the 7 keys of correct weight loss. This is a holistic approach to losing weight and if you follow the recommended steps, you should be getting effortless weight loss.

In summary, you have to make sure that all of your weight loss is resulting from fat loss. If this is indeed the case, you can only lose up to a maximum of 2 to 3 pounds in a given week. This is also the answer to the proverbial question of what is healthy weight loss per week.

+1
Tweet9
Share
Pin1
Share
Stumble138
Shares 148

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: healthy weight, healthy weight loss

Comments

  1. Lynn Madore says

    May 2, 2011 at 6:32 am

    I really like this article. Can you explain how to measure your body fat using calipers?
    Thanks,
    Lynn

  2. Dr Tom Halton says

    May 11, 2011 at 12:00 am

    Great post,
    I have my female weight loss clients shoot for 3/4 of a pound per week and my males shoot for 1 pound per week. This may not seem like much but it adds up. I think a huge problem for those seeking to lose weight is a very unrealistic goal for weekly weight loss that is promoted by fad diets and tv shows. I’ve actually had clients think they were failing if they were losing one pound a week, which is great weight loss in my book!

    Dr. Tom Halton

  3. Christopher Hart says

    May 24, 2011 at 7:41 pm

    Great articles!Losing weight is really hard thing to do but and this site is great help to attain it. Thank you for posting the healthy tip in losing weight.

  4. Paramjit says

    May 27, 2011 at 10:40 am

    Thank you for your comment Dr Tom. You are absolutely right that the slow and steady weight loss adds up. before you know it, it has become quite substantial.

  5. Brendan Hayes says

    June 8, 2011 at 10:51 pm

    It’s good to see someone writing about this subject who is promoting HEALTHY weightloss rather than faddish fashion diets which can do more harm than good. If those people seeking sensible weightloss could be encouraged to do so for the long term benefits to their health rather than trying to look like the latest Hollywood icon, l believe their results would be longer lasting. For example there is an established link between obesity and asthma, so such a sufferer may quickly discover the health benefits of reducing excess weight.

  6. Healthy weight loss per week says

    July 8, 2011 at 4:06 am

    Nice Post. I think Healthy weight loss per week is a pretty steady method to attain a sure result, even it take some time. Once a appreciable weight loss is seen the one can stick to the same lifestyle and can easily maintain them without any difficulty.

  7. Alex says

    July 10, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    I read and talked to some people on the biggest loser club that said that the meal replacements they use can help you in your weight loss programs but i am wondering if you can really replace them with food after you reach your optimum weight, i mean you can lose 3 lbbs per week for a while but wont you put them back on?

  8. Paramjit says

    August 11, 2011 at 11:11 am

    The meal replacements may give you a quick boost in confidence. Some people need some weight loss to psychologically keep them on their diet. But it cannot be useful in the long run. People who focus their efforts on these meal replacements will definitely gain all of their weight and more back.

  9. Paramjit says

    August 11, 2011 at 11:15 am

    Spot on. Its all about lifestyle. We need to adapt to a lifestyle that can give the steady and continuous weight loss.

  10. New Life Nutrition says

    September 14, 2011 at 6:44 pm

    I personally think that losing weight is really hard thing to do. But taking daily exercise can gain more weight loss a week. It is better to promote HEALTHY weight-loss rather than taking some medicine or hard diet that can harm your health at sometimes. Thanks for sharing this helpful information it’s been a great help.

  11. Erminia Parks says

    February 20, 2012 at 8:42 pm

    I am aiming to lose weight naturallyfor a while now. I tried just about everything, all kind of exercising, the worse diets ever and not much was successful. I basically lost a few kilos. You have a really goodand advantageous content here and i am very confident at this point.

  12. weightlossinweek.com says

    October 1, 2012 at 5:09 pm

    Only healthy weight loss results into permanent weight loss. So always try to lose weight in healthy way. Thanks for sharing this post.

  13. lose belly fat says

    May 27, 2013 at 11:13 am

    A couple pounds a week so be okay for healthy weight loss as long as it is natural. You don’t want to waist your time with diet pills and useless supplements.

About the Correct Weight Loss Blog

If you lose weight correctly, you only need to lose weight once. If you do it incorrectly, you will spend your whole life chasing after it. That's what this blog is all about. It is a resource rich blog that provides you all the information you need to make sound decisions about losing weight.It provides you with solid scientifically based information that you can use in your everyday life. Sign up for our feed and be informed about the latest information, weight loss programs and offerings from this blog.This time do it right!

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive latest email updates

Top Posts (Last 48 hrs)

  • When to Drink Protein Shakes for Effective Weight Loss
  • Target Heart Rate for Weight Loss - What You Should Know
  • How to Measure an Attractive Body for Men
  • 4 Things You Absolutely Must Do to get a Flat Stomach
  • Laxatives to Lose Weight
  • Too Much Sleep Makes it Difficult to Lose Weight
  • Apple Cider Vinegar Weight Loss
  • Cinnamon for Weight Loss - What scientific research says
  • How to Get Beautiful Body Shape
  • 5 Things You Must NOT Do to Get a Flat Stomach

About Suresh Velauthan

XXXSuresh is passionate about Holistic Wellness encompassing a balanced approach between body, mind & heart .

About Paramjit Sidhu

XXXParamjit Sidhu is passionate about getting the message out there on how to achieve healthy and sustainable weight loss.More about me.

Copyright © 2018 · Metro Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in