In a personal weight loss program, what should be your weight loss goal per week?

By the time a person finally admits they are, indeed, overweight and need to lose weight, their desire is often to shed a lot of pounds quickly.

That can be unhealthy, and thus, unwise.

Multiple studies show that people who lose a lot of weight quickly not only will usually regain that weight once they conclude a “diet” or weight loss efforts, but many actually gain more weight than they lost. That’s because if you don’t feed yourself well consistently, and just exercise at a level you either cannot or will not maintain permanently, then once you return to your old eating habits and lack of exercise — habits which caused you to be overweight in the first place — then returning to the old bad habits will, once again, yield the old, bad results (or worse).

If you want to lose weight in a healthy way and keep the weight off, you should set a goal of losing between one to two pounds per week. More than that will likely result in unsustainable activities in keeping the weight off.

Here’s what a lot of people don’t want to hear but need to hear: Weight loss should come from a permanent lifestyle change in improving your nutritional habits and adopting a lifelong practice of properly and effectively exercising your body.

What often happens is something comes up that makes you panic with a desire to lose weight quickly — you’re invited to participate in a wedding, you get an invitation to a high school reunion, etc. — and you want those wedding and reunion pictures to show a slimmer, trimmer you. So you starve yourself for a few months, and nearly injure yourself exercising in ways and volumes never done before, to accomplish that new, improved you in the photo. But for most of those people, within six months to a year later, they are as overweight as ever, if not more so.

If you want to lose weight to be a better steward of your body, to improve your fitness and health, or just to be at a “healthier” weight for your body, then you likely need to make lifelong changes in your lifestyle, and do it by losing no more than a couple pounds per week. By changing your weight, fitness, and overall health by eating better and routinely exercising your body, you’ll be better able to keep the weight off and enjoy the benefits of the weight loss and change in lifestyle.

One other note, since this is national Sleep Awareness Week, a consistent pattern of poor sleep, or lack of sleep, can sometimes significantly impede, slow, or stall your weight loss efforts. In addition to adopting a healthy diet and regular exercise, getting adequate quality and quantity of sleep will better enable your body to make the positive changes you’re working toward.

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