How to Safely Lose 1kg a Week: Expert Advice

Losing 1 kilogram per week is a healthy and sustainable rate of body fat loss, according to health experts. Losing more than 1 kg per week is considered too fast and unsafe. Therefore, 1 kilogram (kg) equals 2.2 pounds (lb), which means that if you lost 1 kg per week, you would lose 4 kg (8.8 lb) per month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people lose weight gradually, about 1 to 2 pounds per week.

This equates to between 0.45 and 0.9 kilograms of weight loss per week. There's no shortage of dramatic weight loss transformations on Instagram, making losing 2.5 kg a week seem pretty easy. But losing that kind of weight in just seven days can be unhealthy, and even impossible, for some people. All dieters want to know how much weight they can lose in a week, but there is no safe limit according to Dr. Konstantinos Spaniolas, Associate Director of the Center for Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss at Stony Brook University. This is because a variety of factors affect how quickly pounds are lost, including starting weight.

The more excess weight you have to lose, the greater the percentage of weight loss that will come from fat, says Kevin Hall, Ph, D. Let's say you start at 136 kg, a fat loss goal of one percent per week means you'll lose 1.3 kg in a week, Perry says. But if you're just looking to lose 4.5 kg from a relatively slim frame, you'll probably find it harder to retain muscle mass. Protein provides essential amino acids that the body uses to produce muscle. Shorter and you'll lose more muscle.

Spaniolas recommends eating. Not getting enough sleep causes hunger and metabolism hormones like leptin and ghrelin to go out of control, says Perry. In a small study published last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine, volunteers on a low-calorie diet slept 5.5 or 8.5 hours a night. In two weeks, both lost a little more than 2.9 kg, but those who slept the most lost twice that amount due to fat. The smaller you are, the fewer calories you burn, says Freedhoff. But there are even more complex hormonal and metabolic changes at work, which makes it harder to burn fat the more time you waste.

Scientists are still working to understand the mechanisms, but research has shown that people who have lost weight burn fewer calories than people who have never dieted. Spaniolas says that correctly estimating how many calories your body needs is complicated, but he recommends using a table or calculator from the National Institute of Health. From there, you can skip around 500 calories a day to lose weight, but you shouldn't lose much to begin with. And yet, he says it may not be easy to maintain this calorie reduction if you're already slim and need fewer calories to start with. As one of the biggest stars in the world with the type of voice that is instantly recognizable, Billie Rebel Wilson details her 'year of health' for the latest installment of the Apple Fitness+ 'Time to Walk' audio experience Feed your inner athlete - and turn on your fitness - with this expert advice. The sweet health pledges of juice cleanups have proven to be anything but. So why is this discredited diet method returning to our social networks? Experts remind us of the dangers. Slowly changing your eating and exercise behaviors will help you lose weight and keep it off in the long term.

Losing weight is difficult, but maintaining that weight loss can be even more difficult, especially if you don't lose weight sustainably and consistently. Forget about detox tea ads and actively escape the “fat burning” supplement section of any shady internet site that has cornered you: we're about to give the science-backed expert advice on how to safely lose 1kg a week. Whether a special occasion is coming up or you just want to feel healthier, sometimes you might want to lose weight fast. Most studies show that people who lose weight at a slow but steady pace are more likely to lose weight in the long term (15, 16, 1). According to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, sweating before eating your morning plate of oatmeal might be the best option if you're trying to lose fat as you can burn almost 20% more if you exercise on an empty stomach. Depending on what you're trying to accomplish (losing, maintaining, or gaining weight), the way you manipulate your macros can be a big advantage. These foods contain fewer calories per gram and are also quite satiating, which can help you lose weight (3).

The idea of eating fewer calories to lose even more weight as quickly as possible may be appealing, but it's not healthy and won't help you achieve your goals. People often prefer the option of eating a very low-calorie diet, as it is often easier to lose weight through diet than by exercising (4). However, if you just started a diet or exercise plan, you can lose a lot more than 2 pounds (0.9 kg) in the first week.

Scotty Lancour
Scotty Lancour

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