Many people are currently trying to lose weight because they have multiple motivations, such as their appearance and health.
Knowing what a healthy weight loss rate is will help you set realistic expectations.
If you’re one of those working to lose weight, this article is perfect for you. Here we will determine the factors that affect the rate in which you shed extra pounds.
How to Lose Weight
Imagine eating fewer calories than you actually burn each day. It’s hard right? But it actually yields the best result—weight loss. If you are consistent with this, you’ll end up realizing that it’s worth it.
Any food or beverage you put into your stomach contributes to the increase of your overall calorie intake.
This means your energy or calorie expenditure, which refers to the number of calories you burn each day, is a bit more complicated. It is composed of the following major components.
Thermic effect of food (TEF). This is defined as the energy required in nutrient digestion, absorption, and disposition.
Resting metabolic rate (RMR). This refers to the energy required to maintain normal bodily functions, including pumping blood and breathing.
Thermic effect of activity (TEA). This refers to the energy expended during exercise. It can also include non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which refers to the calories used for everything that we do other than sports-like exercise. This includes fidgeting and yard work.
You are likely to maintain your body weight if the number of your calorie intake is equal to the number of calories you burn.
If you’re working to lose weight, creating a negative calorie balance between your calorie intake and calorie expenditure will absolutely provide results. To do this, you must limit your calorie intake or increase your activity to burn more calories.
Factors that Affect Weight Loss
There are several factors that can influence the rate of weight loss, and most of them are uncontrollable.
Age
Aging comes with many bodily changes, such as a decrease in muscle mass and increase in fat mass. These changes, along with the reduced calorie requirement of your major organs, contribute to a lower RMR.
In fact, a study has found that adults aged over 70 can have 20–25% lower RMRs compared to young adults. The reduced RMR makes weight loss difficult for adults.
Gender
Your fat-to-muscle ratio influences your ability to shed extra pounds.
Women typically have a higher fat-to-muscle ratio than men; thus, their RMR is also lower by 5–10% compared to men of the same height.
In other words, they burn 5–10% fewer calories than men at rest. It can be concluded that men tend to lose weight quicker than women eating the same amount of calories.
Calorie deficit
Working to lose weight means creating a negative calorie balance, and the extent of this calorie deficit determines the rate in which you lose weight.
For instance, eating 200 fewer calories per day for two months will likely result in lower weight loss than consuming 500 fewer calories per day.
However, do not reduce your calorie intake too much. Otherwise, you can be at risk for nutrient deficiencies. It is also unsustainable, and you might lose weight in the form of muscle mass rather than fat mass.
You can use a calorie deficit calculator or food calorie calculator to ensure you are within the recommended range of calorie intake.
Sleep
Sleep is an important component of weight loss.
Frequent lack of sleep can sabotage your weight loss efforts.
In fact, studies found that even a night of sleep deprivation increases your desire for nutrient-poor, high-calorie foods, such as chips, cakes, cookies, and sugary beverages.
Additionally, frequent sleep deprivation is also associated with obesity, heart disease, certain cancers, and type 2 diabetes.
Other factors
Aside from the abovementioned factors, there are several other factors affecting your weight loss rate.
Genes and family history. Genes and family history may affect the rate in which a person loses weight.
Medical conditions. Medical conditions, such as depression and hypothyroidism, a common condition in which your thyroid gland doesn’t create and release sufficient metabolism-regulating hormones, can encourage weight gain and slow weight loss.
Yo-yo dieting. Yo-yo dieting involves losing and regaining weight. This can reduce RMR, making weight loss increasingly difficult with every attempt.
Medications. Certain medications, including antidepressants and other antipsychotics, can hinder weight loss and promote weight gain.
Best diet for weight loss
There are a wealth of weight loss diets that promise impressive and quick results, making it confusing to choose the best one for you.
Truth is, no diet is superior to the other. The best diet for weight loss is the one that works for you. Your ability to stick to a healthy, low-calorie diet is what matters most.
However, it is important to note that adhering to a very low calorie diet can be unsustainable to many people, thus failure to lose weight.
Moderately reducing your calorie intake and following a diet according to your health, schedule, or preference with a registered dietitian can increase your chances of success.
Combined with exercise, diet can prevent or minimize muscle loss and maximize fat loss.
Eliminating nutrient-poor, highly processed foods and focusing on health, whole foods, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and proteins, can promote weight loss and improve your overall health.
Safe rates of weight loss
It is natural for people trying to lose weight to want to see quick results. However, it is important to note that you should not lose too much weight too quickly, as it can increase your risk of dehydration, malnutrition, and gallstones.
Other adverse effects of rapid weight loss include constipation, irritability, headaches, fatigue, hair loss, menstrual irregularities, and muscle loss.
Results often become obvious at the start of the program, but experts recommend losing about 1% of your body weight per week.
Since weight loss is not a linear process, expect that there will be days that you will lose more weight and days where you lose less or none at all. To stay on track, it is important to weigh yourself regularly or use a food diary.
In fact, people who follow self-monitoring techniques, such as recording weight and dietary intake, have been shown in some research to be more successful at losing weight and keeping it off than those who don’t.
Conclusion
Consuming fewer calories than you actually burn each day can result in weight loss. Using a calorie calculator can help you determine whether you are having that negative calorie balance between your calorie intake and calorie expenditure.
There are several factors that affect the rate in which you lose weight, including age, gender, and sleep, as well as the extent of your calorie deficit.
Losing about 1% of your body weight per week is a safe and sustainable way to see best results.
