Going on a diet is tough work
and requires lots of motivation and effort. That being said, it's important to
be careful with how much you're losing each week and what actions you're taking
to get results. If you embark on an extreme diet plan, you may be putting your
body at a disservice. It may even drive you to quit early, thereby gaining back
whatever you lost. (And maybe more.)
Good news — we had Christopher
Hollingsworth, MD, from NYC Surgical Associates explain what can
happen if you see the scale dip too low, too quickly. He also provided us with a
few tips for losing weight the right way — as well as keeping it off.
What's A Good Amount To Lose?
Instead of thinking about
weight loss in pounds, Dr. Hollingsworth recommends looking at the percent of
bodyweight lost. A safe metric to aim for is a loss of five to 10 percent of
your bodyweight over a three-month period. Anything more than that puts you at
"risk for having some problems associated with weight loss," he says.
"Once you have lost more than 10 percent of your bodyweight within three
months, you are most likely going to have significant issues."
Dr. Hollingsworth's approach
is different than the popular opinion of losing up to two pounds per week. He
says it's important to keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all approach
to determine the specific number of pounds since everyone is different. For
instance, when keeping bodyweight percentage in mind, the healthy weight loss
range will be larger for an overweight individual than someone who is not
considered overweight.
