If you’re starting a weight loss journey, setting goals is usually part of the process to help you stay motivated. Your goal may be to achieve a certain amount of pounds lost, or you may have a deadline or event that you are looking to finish your weight loss by. If you are looking to lose weight over the next month, you may be curious how much you can safely lose. The short answer? Too many factors at play to give you a clear-cut answer, and it’s highly dependent on individual factors. “There’s really no one-size-fits-all approach to how much weight an individual can lose,” says Seattle-based registered dietitian nutritionist, Ginger Hultin, MS, RDN, CSO, owner of ChampagneNutrition® and author of Anti-Inflammatory Diet Meal Prep and the How to Eat to Beat Disease Cookbook. “This needs to be based on a personalized approach. There are a lot of factors at play for how quickly a person will lose fat if that’s the goal—their age, sex, muscle and fat mass, baseline metabolism, hormones, medications, genetics.” She adds that while the term “weight” can be a lot of things—fluid, fat, and muscle—most people when trying to lose weight are looking to lose fat. And to do so, we do need to get away from the old “calories in vs calories out” approach. “That often sends people into crash dieting or caloric restriction, which can actually work against you. Doing this can cause the body to sense it’s in a time of fast and needs to conserve energy. That’s right: The body wants to hold onto fat mass, not let go of it!” she says. “That creates an unhealthy cycle of restriction and feeling deprived and then swinging back to a higher intake and weight gain—often more than you started with.” However, if you are looking to lose weight in one month in a healthy way, there is a recommended amount. “About one to two pounds per week is a safe bet for losing weight without any medical supervision,” says Jonathan Valdez, RDN, registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Genki Nutrition and Media Spokesperson for New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “If you’re heavier for your height, you may be able to lose more weight in a shorter time. The reason why 1-2 pounds is safe is so you don’t run the risk of having electrolyte imbalances, gallstones, malnutrition, hair loss, and dehydration.” If you are looking for support during a healthy weight loss journey, reach out to a therapist, doctor, and/or registered dietitian for support to address your relationship to food, and also how to change body weight or other markers the right way, adds Hultin.
How to lose weight safely in one month
If you are looking to lose weight in just one month, here are five tips from experts for how to safely and efficiently start.
Exercise at least 150 minutes per week
“Exercise helps you burn calories, develop muscles that increase your resting metabolic rate, decrease stress, fights depression (that may compromise sleep, exercise, and balanced eating), and help you sleep better at night,” says Valdez. It can also help you keep weight off long-term. “An active lifestyle is highly correlated with people who lost weight and kept it off long-term, so even if it’s month one, aiming for 10,000 steps per day or more is a great place to start,” adds Hultin.
Consider a plant-based (vegan or vegetarian) diet
“Plant-based diets are associated with lower BMI in many large, human studies,” says Hultin. “Vegan diets, in particular, have proven effective for weight loss. Bonus! There are also huge benefits to health including a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer as well.”
Get at least seven hours of sleep
“Sleep helps you recharge for the next day, helps repair muscles from working out, helps youlose a higher percentage of fat versus having poor sleep, and keeps the cravings for less healthy options at bay,” says Valdez. Adds Hultin, “Studies clearly show a correlation between sleeping six hours or less per night and a higher BMI. Instead of drastically cutting calories, consider supporting your body with quality sleep for both weight as well as many other health parameters!”
Manage stress
“Stress can be good for the body, but too much stress releases cortisol, which can stimulate excess fat in the abdominal area along with cravings for sweets, salty, and/or fatty foods,” says Valdez. “In other people, stress may not provide an appetite at all, which can lead to malnutrition if prolonged.”
Eat a balanced diet
“MyPlate (the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans) may be the easiest to follow. Ask yourself: Are most of your meals half fruit/vegetables, one-fourth lean protein, one-fourth whole grains, and do you get in two to three servings of dairy or fortified soy [or other plant-based] milk? If not, then you have some work to do,” says Valdez. “It doesn’t have to be all the time, but it should be most of the time.” Next up: The 15 Best Workouts for Weight Loss, According to Trainers
Sources
Ginger Hultin, MS, RDN, CSO, owner of ChampagneNutrition® and author of Anti-Inflammatory Diet Meal Prep and the How to Eat to Beat Disease CookbookJonathan Valdez, RDN, registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Genki Nutrition and Media Spokesperson for New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
