Sustainable weight loss which works

It’s that time of year again.

January is the busiest month of the year in the fitness industry, as millions of people around the world take the decision to lose weight and get into shape.

Roller coaster weight loss (lose it, gain it back, lose it, gain it back) can be demoralising and unhealthy - but it’s very common. And it’s often the result of people trying to lose weight too quickly.

Everyone has a fantasy that they’re only 2 or 3 months away from getting themselves back into shape. But if you’re 2 or 3 stone overweight, to lose that weight permanently, you’ll need to take if off at a sensible pace of roughly 1 pound per week.

And we’re not talking about that first half a stone you’ll lose in the first week or so on a low-carb meal plan. That’s just the natural shedding of water weight that happens when you stop eating so many carbs.

If you want to lose 40 pounds of fat - and keep if off - you’re going to need to plan for 40 weeks to lose it. I know that’s hard to hear, but it’s the best way to achieve long term results. I was 4 stone (56 pounds) overweight, and it look me around 18 months to lose it. But that was three years ago and I haven’t put any weight back on since.

I’m not saying you can’t drop fat more quickly than a pound per week. But what I am saying is that if you do it too quickly, that weight loss may not be permanent. 

Remember: a-pound-a-week means that you’re not dieting, you’re making sustainable changes to your lifestyle.

Here’s how it works - reduce your daily intake by 200 calories, and exercise daily to burn another 300 calories.

Shaving 200 calories off your daily intake is not that much - one average bag of crisps is 185 calories and a standard Mars bar is 230. A flat white coffee is around 230 calories too. You’ll notice it, but it won’t be painful.

And exercising enough to burn 300 calories each day is also very realistic.

One of the most convenient ways to get a 300-calorie daily workout is simply by walking your recommended 10,000 steps. You can also try jogging for around 3 miles (running burns roughly 100 calories per mile) or if time is short a 15-minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout will do the same. And you don’t need to join a gym to do any of them.

500 calories a day x 7 days = 3,500 calories a week = 1 pound of body fat. It’s a simple formula that’s very effective.