How Much Weight Can You Lose in a Month? Find the Answer Here

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When it comes to losing weight, we tend to want to see results quickly.

Seeing the pounds fall off is a great motivator to stay on track, but rapid weight loss can be bad for your health and will likely lead to weight regain.

Fad diets, weight-loss teas, and other means of rapid weight loss are usually too good to be true. Worse, they can leave you hungry, tired, and lead to building unhealthy habits that work against healthy weight loss.

So, how much weight is a healthy amount to be losing each month? Is there a magic number of pounds you can shed? And, does it differ from person to person?

While you may want to lose more than this amount, perhaps for a specific event, the likelihood of you keeping the weight off is reduced the more you lose in a short space of time.

The best kind of weight loss is sustainable, so sticking to the 4–8 pound limit is the best way to avoid regaining the weight you have lost and sometimes even gaining more weight back.

This article looks at healthy weight loss and the different limits for weight loss in a month.

Healthy Weight Loss per Week

Healthy weight loss means the kind of weight loss that can be sustained and will not lead to yo-yo dieting. Though seeing results is a good motivator, you shouldn’t push yourself to lose too much weight too fast. This means sticking to the recommended 1–2 pounds per week.

This is a manageable amount that can be sustained by building healthier habits rather than crash dieting. A crash diet may produce faster and more noticeable results, but it is unlikely that you will remain that weight once your diet is over.

Cutting your body weight by even 10% can see improvements in your physical health, so while you may not see physical changes in the mirror after a few weeks of losing 1–2 pounds per week, you will likely start to feel better.

What Is Considered Rapid Weight Loss?

Rapid weight loss is usually considered anything more than 2 pounds per week for a sustained period.

While this amount of weight loss will produce noticeable results more quickly, it is extremely unhealthy for your body.

In fact, losing weight too quickly can actually lead to negative side effects like loss of muscle mass, nutrient deficiencies, minor hair loss, and a noticeable drop in energy levels.

Not all fast weight loss is bad. In the initial stages of a healthier diet and an exercise regime, you may notice considerable weight loss, but this will likely slow as your body gets used to the change.

This is completely normal and is linked to a drop in what is known as “water weight.”

Even though seeing results may help to keep you motivated to lose weight, it is healthier to lose weight at a steady and sustainable pace rather than dieting.

How Much Body Fat Can You Lose in a Month?

It is more difficult to measure the amount of body fat we lose which is why sticking to the four to eight pounds per month limit is a good measure of healthy weight loss. This amount of weight loss translates to about 2% body fat per month.

Losing body fat won’t necessarily shrink the number on the scales, though. When you lose weight, you lose body fat as well as muscle mass and organic matter.

It is possible for you to lose fat and not lose any actual weight because the fat may be replaced by muscle mass due to strength training.

Indeed, you may experience weight gain while also experiencing loss of body fat, depending on the kind of exercise regime you are following.

5 Tips on How to Lose Weight in a Month

When it comes to your weight loss journey, you are likely to spend more than one month losing weight before hitting your goal.

Nevertheless, there are ways that can support you losing one to two pounds in one month, which will make it easier.

These ways include monitoring your caloric intake and changing your eating habits, as well as exercising more and avoiding very low-calorie diets.

To find out more about losing weight in one month, check out our tips below.

#1 Start fasting

Intermittent fasting has been proven to be effective for weight loss. By fasting throughout the day, you will reduce your caloric intake and build healthier habits when it comes to eating.

There are lots of different methods of intermittent fasting, including fasting for whole 24-hour periods and skipping meals when it feels right, though most people start out fasting during sleeping hours.

Different fasting methods work differently for different people, which is why using an app like DoFasting to find the best method for you is great if you’re looking into intermittent fasting.

#2 Nutrition is important

When it comes to diet, the best kind is one that is full of whole and healthy foods.

Start by making healthy swaps. Choose whole grains over highly refined and processed foods and cut down on sugary beverages and snacks.

You should ensure you are hitting all of your vitamin and mineral quotas for the day, too, by eating lots of fruit and vegetables.

Healthy fats are also essential for good overall health. You can find healthy fats in things like extra virgin olive oil, nuts, and seeds. It is important you eat these in moderation, though, as they are still fats.

#3 Develop healthy habits

Healthier habits mean choosing the best and healthiest food options as well as avoiding overeating and snacking too much.

#4 Stick to your plan

Sticking to your plan is probably the most important weight loss tip there is. Once you’ve got your plan in place, you need to ensure you stick to it.

Good motivators for sticking to your plan can include setting small goals so that you feel motivated by small wins and not letting small setbacks get you down.

It is important to understand that your weight loss journey will likely have its ups and downs but that sticking with it, building a healthier lifestyle, and changing your relationship with food will benefit you in the long run.

#5 Stop dieting

And lastly, stop crash dieting.

Dieting has been found ineffective when it comes to sustained and healthy weight loss. Most diets involve restrictive eating that has people ignoring hunger cues and making themselves uncomfortable for very little actual weight loss.

Diets that involve cutting out more and more calories are likely to make people want to give up because they feel deprived and exhausted.

Dieting is also completely unsustainable, and those who crash diet are more likely to gain the weight back after stopping their diet.

Weight-loss diets are an ineffective tool for long-term, sustained weight loss, and so, if your goal is to permanently lose weight, a diet is not the way to go.

The most effective way to lose weight is to eat at a calorie deficit while still allowing yourself your favorite foods in moderation.

Conclusion

How much weight can you lose in a month? A healthy amount of weight to lose in one month is between 4–8 pounds, and losing weight too rapidly may cause negative side effects.

To lose weight in a healthy way you should eat a balanced and nutritious diet that focuses on whole foods rather than refined and processed foods. You could also try fasting – a proven method for sustained weight loss.

Sticking to your weight loss regime may be difficult if you don’t see noticeable results quickly and so setting small goals and understanding there will be setbacks can help you stay on track.

Healthy weight loss is about building healthier habits so that once you have lost the weight, you can keep it off.