Weekly Weight Loss

How Much Weight Will I Lose?

Hey Beth,

I wanted to know about weekly weight loss. How much weight I will lose in a week?

I run 5 km a day and including my daily steps I usually cover 8-10 km. I eat around 600-800 calories a day.

Do you think this is a healthy way to lose weight?

Thanks

Sharon

(New Jersey)

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for your question.

First of all, I wanted to say much respect for running 5km. Running isn’t a favourite of mine and I think it’s amazing when anyone can run more than 400 metres in one go. So, well done you.

Now on to your question. 

Weekly Weight Loss: How Much Will You Lose?

The normal advice is to aim to lose 1-2 pounds every week.

Whilst, you might want to lose more, losing 1-2 pounds means you’re making healthy changes that you will be able to sustain.

Remember… getting the weight off initially is not the hard task, keeping it off is. You want to make sure that everything you are doing you will be able to sustain in the long term. That means you’ll be able keep the weight off.

Having said that, the figure of 1-2 pounds a week will fluctuate depending on where you are on your journey. 

When you first start out you will probably lose more. That’s because you have more to lose and making even the smallest, healthy change will probably result in a big loss on the scales.

As you move through your journey and your weight decreases, your body will become accustomed to your new healthy lifestyle, so your loss each week will probably slow down and you may even hit a plateau. But that’s ok. Don’t see it as something to avoid, a delay in getting to your goals.

Personally, I think a plateau is a way of your body resetting to a new weight. And it gives you the chance to make sure you can keep the weight off.

So, aim for a loss of 1-2 pounds each week. If you lose more, that’s a bonus. If you lose less, re-evaluate what you have done and make tweaks where you need to.

Weekly Weight Loss: Is Your Plan Healthy?

Your question also asks whether your plan/what you ae doing is a healthy way to lose weight.

As I understand it you are currently covering 8-10km a day, 5km of which is running the rest is walking, and consuming 600-800 calories.

I have to say that I am more than slightly concerned about this.

There is a caveat though, if you are morbidly obese and have been advised by your doctor to get the weight off as quickly as possible, for health reasons, then you must follow your doctor’s advice. They should be providing you with support and keeping an eye on your health throughout this journey.

However, if this isn’t the case I would ask why you are taking such drastic measures to lose weight. And yes, what you are doing is drastic.

600-800 calories a day would be classed as an extremely low-calorie diet and they can have severe impacts on your health.

Fatigue, muscle loss, hair loss, irregular menstrual cycle, gallstones. They are just a few conditions you can expect on a very low-calorie diet.

I would also be concerned about the amount of exercising your doing on this small number of calories, especially as it’s long distance endurance training. And it’s every day.

You have to give your body time and the right nutrients to recover. If you don’t, you’ll be at risk of injury as well as the fatigue etc. mentioned above.

So, I ask, why are you taking such drastic action?

Have you reduced your calorie intake to so little because that’s where you need to be to lose anything?

If that’s the case your metabolism may have slowed and you’ll need to do some repair work. Do let me know if this is the case and we can work out a plan to get your metabolism in check.

If you’ve decided to cut your calories so much because you think that’ll have the quickest results, I’m going to say, you might want to give that a second thought.

Remember, healthy, small changes you can stick to are the key to long lasting results.

Reduce your calorie intake slowly. Maybe 100 at a time. Stick to that level until your weight loss starts to slow. And then reduce by another 100 calories.

Small changes you can stick to.

Weekly Weight Loss: Your Training

I also wanted to quickly mention your training. I know it wasn’t part of your question.

It is really great that you have found something you want to do every day. It is always easier when we enjoy exercise.

I would, however, put in some variety to your 5km runs by varying the speed and intensity.

If you’re looking to improve your speed, adding in a high intensity interval session would be a really great way. This shouldn’t be over 5km though. Pick a distance, or a time limit where you sprint, and then rest for the same time/distance.

For example, Sprint for 80-100 metres and walk back to the start. Do that 10 times.

I’d also suggest doing at least one easy run a week. And by easy, I mean a run where you can hold a conversation. Running 5km everyday at a hard pace could quickly lead to injury. And I’m sure you don’t want that?

With all of that in mind I also wanted to reassure you that there is nothing wrong with having a rest every now and then either. Doing nothing but going for a walk, having a stretch, having a nice hot bath, will do wonders for your training, your body and your wellbeing overall. Don’t worry, your body will still be burning calories.

Weekly Weight Loss: Summing Up

In short, for your weekly weight loss you should aim for 1-2 pounds each week, by making small changes that you can stick to.

Cutting your calories too low, too quickly, will result in weight loss, but probably not lasting weight loss, and may impact your health, and your ability to lose weight in the future.

Small changes you can stick to.

Give your body what is needs to feel amazing. What is needs to recover. Time and the right nutrients.

Don’t rush the process.

It is tempting, believe me I know. But taking your time will make sure your results are permanent.

I hope that helps. But if you have any other questions, please let me know.

Thanks

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