How much weight loss is dangerous?

The goal of weight loss is difficult and requires patience, whether you are an amateur athlete, fitness athlete, or active person.

It is understandable that many people are currently obsessed with weight loss as quickly as possible, even at the expense of their own health.

However, for weight loss to be healthy and lasting, it is recommended to go slowly if you are overweight. This means losing about half a kilogram per week; any greater difference in weight over one week is considered too fast and may lead to health problems.

The only exception is during the first 7-10 days of a new diet and exercise program, which may be due to water loss and not necessarily weight loss resulting from a reduction in body fat.

Weight loss: are you going too fast?

There are several consequences, including making the process more difficult because you will lose lean muscle mass, slowing your metabolism.

This also reduces your ability to burn calories, and you will be left feeling very hungry, making your diet highly frustrating.

There is also a risk of developing nutritional deficiencies, such as a lack of iron, vitamin B12, and vitamin D, among other nutrients. This can cause hair loss, weak and brittle bones, and impaired immune function, which can also lead to injuries and illness.

Other symptoms you may experience include extreme fatigue, muscle cramps, dizziness, severe irritability, lack of sleep, and diarrhea.

From every perspective, trying to speed up the natural process makes things more difficult than necessary and harms your health in the process.

This is why most crash or fad diets result in dramatic initial weight loss, followed by subsequent weight gain.

Weight loss: are you doing it healthily?

In any case, you should avoid extreme weight-loss programs and focus on training while following eating habits that produce gradual, consistent results.

Although it may take you longer, it will be much easier for you to maintain your new weight in the long term.

Think in terms of habits, not diet plans, and follow these tips to lose weight at a sustainable pace:

• Follow a balanced diet that includes carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Try the 40/40/20 rule: 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein, and 20% fat.
• Consume plenty of protein-rich foods to build and maintain lean muscle, especially at breakfast, which helps preserve your resting metabolic rate and increase your ability to burn calories.
• Add a good fat burner to your diet, and perhaps an appetite suppressant if you cannot resist cravings.
• Reduce sugar and refined starches, and add vegetables and fruit to your daily diet, as the fiber in these foods helps keep you full and improves your digestion.

Weight loss: What really happens?

Although body weight is often used as an indicator of physical progress, many people confuse it with an indicator of their overall health levels.

To better understand how much weight lost in a month would amount to healthy body-weight loss, we could say that 500 g per week would amount to about 2 kg if you follow a mindful and achievable program.

Although it is an achievable goal (2 to 2.5 kg), the brain (the mind) and the system (the body) do not always work like a spreadsheet.

If weight loss is actually happening more slowly, you need to understand and listen to your body, because if you want to speed it up, you could be increasing the pressure on your organs and internal functions.

The kidneys in particular would be subjected to a high degree of stress, as toxins would be eliminated during weight loss, negatively affecting kidney function.

On the other hand, a high-protein diet (without protective herbal supplements), which may be the dietary foundation of an active person or athlete trying to lose weight, would place additional pressure on kidney function.

Obviously, each person’s body composition and health status vary. A high-performance bodybuilder is not the same as a 75 kg woman who wants to look great in the summer.

During a cutting phase, some people may even lose 5–6 kg; however, this may NOT BE CONSIDERED HEALTHY, either because of excessive use of compounds or because it is a sporting or aesthetic goal that could not be repeated for life…

Overall health always takes its toll!

Keep in mind that weight loss is not linear; you may burn fat one week and then nothing the next, which shows how the body works.

When losing weight, should you measure BMI or weight?

When asking ourselves, “Which is a better indicator of your health?”, we could consider body mass index and weight to measure physical fitness.

Although they are considered separate parameters, we hope to help you understand the difference and relate it to healthy weight loss. These are indicators of our overall levels of health, well-being, and fitness.

However, these values are affected by a variety of factors, ranging from age and dietary habits to exercise frequency and lifestyle.

BMI is the method used to measure obesity. It is calculated based on the weight-to-height ratio and helps assess the risk profile for diseases.

The normal range is 18.5 to 24.9 for adults. For example, let’s say a 25-year-old has a normal BMI of 22, but the same will not happen when that person turns 40 or 50.

Body weight, on the other hand, can be regulated and maintained across all age groups. Although increasing age can affect body weight, it can still be kept under control through regular exercise and a balanced diet.

Body weight consists of the weight of muscle, fat, bones, and water content.

What is a better indicator? Body weight is a better indicator than BMI, since it is not subject to massive fluctuations as one ages.

However, these two indicators are linked, and it is wise to keep them under control. Tracking healthy weight loss also depends on them, not only for current well-being but also for longevity.

Weight loss: how can you avoid losing muscle?

One reason the answer to “how do I lose weight?” is so complicated is that it is actually the wrong question.

Why? Because the scale reading does not describe one thing; it describes two things: fat mass and fat-free mass. So, the question we should ask ourselves is: “how can we achieve weight loss while maintaining or increasing fat-free mass?”

• Fat-free mass includes your muscles, organs, bones, and connective tissue. It also includes water weight. In other words, this is what would remain if you removed every fat cell from your body.
• Muscle mass is a major component of fat-free mass and should weigh more. In addition, muscle mass has a significant positive impact on metabolism, or “metabolic rate,” which is the number of calories your body burns to obtain energy.

The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn, even when you are not exercising.

However, muscle is also the physical engine that propels you through activity, both in the gym and in life. It also helps support and strengthen the joints, helping improve balance and reduce the risk of injury.

Maintaining it should be a high priority, especially when you are dieting, whether you are a bodybuilder or not.

Weight loss: should you maintain your fat?

Now let’s talk about fat. It has a bad reputation, but your body needs it too! There is an essential amount that every body needs to stay healthy.

That amount will vary according to body type, age, sex, physical activity level, and fitness goal.

For the general population, the levels accepted as “healthy” are 21 to 32% if you are a woman and 8 to 19% if you are a man

To be clear, you can be above the “healthy” range and still be healthy, or below it and not be healthy, but it is a parameter to aim for.

Spending most of your life at higher levels can put you at risk of weight-related health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

While keeping fat at lower percentages may be fine for brief periods, it can be very difficult to maintain and is not ideal for long-term health, and this includes fitness athletes or bodybuilders, who do not always understand that health is vital for continuing to make progress.

For example, whether or not you are on a keto diet, one of the best options is to choose MCTs, which are great for meeting your needs, especially when you are consuming fewer carbohydrates.

Weight loss: what about hormones?

The numbers do not lie, except when it comes to losing weight. For years, researchers claimed that weight control came down to a simple equation: eat less, lose more.

It sounds logical. But today we know that achieving weight loss is not just a matter of mathematics. If it were, we would all have the ideal physique.

But why is weight loss such a major challenge?… one major reason is your hormones…

Our bodies are evolutionarily programmed to hold on to fat to protect themselves against hunger and starvation.

So, although you may want to lose weight quickly, your body has entirely different plans.

And it really does not matter which diet you choose, whether keto, paleo, intermittent fasting, or the old-school calorie-reduction diet, rapid weight loss sets off alarms telling your body to restore the status quo—soon.

As soon as it receives the SOS, your body springs into action, releasing a burst of hormones designed to make you regain weight. The next thing you know, the weight you worked so hard to lose starts coming back.

One smart way to control hormones and stay satiated is to have some protein shakes at some point during the day, in any of their forms.

But how do hormones work?

To understand how hormones work to promote weight loss, you must develop strategies to avoid them.

You cannot stop thinking about food: when you do, the hormone ghrelin is activated, sending hunger signals from your gut to your brain and causing cravings.

Once you start eating, it is hard to stop: this is where leptin comes into play, whose function is to conserve energy. When you have enough body fat, you produce a lot of leptin, so you feel full easily… but if you do not add healthy fats to your diet, you may not be able to stop eating…

You may want to eat more often: do you know how slow-digesting nutrients, such as protein and fiber, keep your stomach full between meals? There is a hormone in the small intestine, called cholecystokinin (CCK), that does the same thing. CCK works by slowing the rate at which food empties from the stomach, and unless you start losing weight, CCK begins to become unbalanced.

Your metabolism slows down: hormones are not only about appetite or hunger. They also influence calorie burning; leptin, for example, in addition to helping you eat less, also keeps your thyroid—and therefore your metabolism—in top shape. But when leptin levels drop after rapid weight loss, metabolism often slows down too, meaning you will have to eat less to maintain your new weight.

Your stomach could enlarge: this is the “ultimate paradox.” Stress makes us want to eat more. At the same time, dieting is stressful because it increases cortisol (the stress hormone). And that can have some unwanted consequences, such as increasing abdominal fat and breaking down muscles, another blow to the metabolism.

That said, do some hormones improve?

Despite these changes, “weight loss is not always harmful” to hormones.

Some hormones improve after weight loss, helping you improve your health.

For example, losing weight can:

• Reduce estrogen, which can protect you against diseases, especially when you are an active woman.
• Increase testosterone, helping maintain muscle mass and bone density. It can also improve sexual desire in all genders and increase sperm count if you are male.
• Improve insulin sensitivity, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes (or helping people living with type 2 diabetes better control their blood sugar) or developing muscle in an ideal environment.

Weight loss: less laborious?

Alongside following the diet you want to follow, which should consist of delicious foods or recipes, you should consider the calorie load and nutrient density.

That said, regardless of which foods you prefer, there are some exercise routines that can help you start the healthy weight loss process.

Incorporate strength training at least 3 days a week, which will help you maintain muscle mass to burn fat and prevent your metabolism from slowing down while you try to achieve healthy weight loss.

Incorporate some form of cardio. Add routines that combine HIIT and cardio, or Tabata or EMOM, for at least 30 minutes, 4 days a week.

Remember also that if you want to avoid high-impact exercises, there are certain low-impact intensity exercises (LIIT) that, when done correctly and with the right form and speed, will help you achieve your goals.

On the other hand, yoga is also an excellent way to stay fit, because it will not only keep you in good physical shape, but the poses will also keep you energized and even tone your muscles.

If you focus on taking things slowly and gradually while following a sensible diet and habits that include exercising regularly, you can reach a healthy body weight that is sustainable over time.

Finally, stretch after exercising and always stay hydrated. You can drink as much liquid as you like, from juices, coconut water, and lemonade to the occasional protein shake, which will undoubtedly boost healthy weight loss.

A good level of electrolytes and nutrients will keep you happy and in ideal physical condition.

Remember, fad diets don't work!

Research tells us that restrictive fad diets do not work when it comes to weight loss.

In fact, they inevitably make the process more difficult by putting your body, particularly your hormones, into protective mode.

While it may seem tempting to follow the latest intermittent fasting trend or the ketogenic diet, it is much better to follow an eating pattern that makes you feel good at the end of each day, without deprivation, and that is supported by research, especially because of its ability to help you lose weight and keep it off long term.

The Mediterranean and DASH diets are two of the best options to help you with weight loss and live a healthier, more comfortable life; they are also full of delicious dishes… you know that, right?…

How does successful weight loss happen?

You simply have to analyze things and start reasoning from an objective perspective… don't listen to others!…

Prepare for success

• It is essential to have realistic goals and expectations before embarking on your weight-loss journey.
• Tracking your goals is very useful; this involves planning your meals and workouts.
• Once you have built your confidence by achieving a few small goals, you can start aiming higher with bigger challenges, from walking 5 km to moving from walking to doing HIIT with weights.

Prepare for setbacks

• Of course, progress is anything but linear; there will be times when you reach a plateau or even regain a few hundred grams, despite your best efforts.
• But knowing and accepting that this helps you stay on track.
• Although the number on the scale may take time to change, celebrate how your clothes fit differently and how you can lift heavier weights or jog for longer.

Focus on the basics

• Do not abandon the fundamentals of weight loss in search of a magic wand.
• Keep in mind that eating more nutrient-rich whole foods, exercising regularly, sleeping well, and making time for self-care are essential parts of the weight-loss equation.
• If you are not losing weight with your current plan, take a close look at your habits and consider seeking help or advice.

Listen to your body

• When you are working on changes to your diet and lifestyle, «there is a normal amount of hunger that comes with reducing your intake, but you should never feel obsessively hungry».
• Honor your hunger signals with healthier options”.
• To avoid overeating, certain mindful eating techniques can also help.

Conclusions

While your goal may be to see the number on the scale decrease, it often does not accurately reflect what is happening in your body, and you know it.

Regardless of your fitness level, the scale can fluctuate by 2 kg or more in a single day, depending on factors such as how much water you drink and the food you eat; however, these changes do not mean that you have suddenly gained 2 permanent kg of fat.

Depending on how many calories you cut from your diet and how much exercise you do, 500 g per week is a reasonable goal.

Without a doubt, you should pay attention to what the mirror says rather than the scale, keeping your approach consistent, which will eventually pay off.

Slow loss is always the best option… think of it this way… you did not gain the kilos in a few weeks, and you will not lose them in that time either…

Therefore, train as if you were trying to gain muscle, even when the goal is to lose weight. That means using weight training or your body weight.

It can also benefit you to take weekly progress photos; that way, you will notice those small changes and feel motivated to keep going. Obviously, it can be useful to track your body fat percentage or MIC along the way, but it is not essential.

Finally, listen to your body—how it feels and how it is responding to your diet, sleep, and training—and remember that if you become stressed, you need to change your habits to achieve healthy and effective weight loss.

If you want to do it this way, you can burn fat while losing weight with this metabolic circuit that we have prepared for you at MASmusculo.