You’ve seen the T.V. spots. You’ve read the ads online and in magazines. “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!” or “Lose 10 pounds in 1 week!” the headlines read. Is this realistic? Can you really lose 30 pounds in 30 days? What miracle weight loss product or technique can provide weight loss at such a high rate of speed?

In order to lose 30 pounds in 30 days, one would need to lose an average of a pound per day or 7 pounds per week. Some products, diets and weight loss systems claim to enable that kind of weight loss. Usually there is a unique ingredient, product or technique that claims to take the weight off like no other product or technique can. And there is inevitably a hefty price tag associated with the product or service. The truth is there is one and only one proven way to lose fat. The FDA’s report “Calories Count: Report of the Working Group on Obesity”states:

Fundamentally, obesity represents an imbalance between energy intake (e.g., calorie intake) and energy output (expended both as physical activity and metabolic activity; see text box on Calorie (Energy) Balance at Appendix B). Although there is much discussion about (1) the appropriate makeup of the diet in terms of relative proportions of macronutrients (fats [lipids], carbohydrates, and protein) that provide calories and (2) the foods that provide these macronutrients, for maintenance of a healthy body weight it is the consumption and expenditure of calories that is most important. In other words, “calories count.” (Emphasis mine)

Let’s examine the 30 day claim a little closer. One pound of fat is equal to about 3500 calories. Said another way, to lose one pound of fat, we must create a caloric deficit of about 3500 calories less than we burn. As an example, a 40 year-old male that weighs 250 pounds, is 5’10” tall and exercises 3 to 5 times a week burns about 3300 calories per day. To calculate this for yourself, see my Basal Metabolic Rate calculator at Fitness for Everyman.com. If we follow the logic through to completion, it’s easy to see that the average male described above could not lose weight at such a high rate. He would have to eat nothing at all for the 30 day period. Even if someone can lose weight at a very high rate (more than 1 to 2 pounds per week is a high rate of weight loss), there are drawbacks. The goal of weight loss should actually be fat loss. When we lose weight at an accelerated rate, we lose more than fat. We lose water weight (which is temporary) and may lose muscle. Losing muscle is ultimately detrimental to weight loss because each pound of muscle burns extra calories, without doing any extra exercise.

If weight loss of 30 pounds in 30 days is not a realistic goal, what is a good target rate of weight loss? Evidence shows that losing 1 to 2 pounds per week helps to guarantee that the weight stays off, permanently. To lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, we need to cut our calories by about 500 to 1000 calories a day. But there is something else we should pay attention to – our Basal Metabolic Rate. BMR is the measure of calories we burn in one day if we are inactive. We should not eat less in a day than the number of calories we would burn at our BMR (see my calculators at Fitness for Everyman.com to find your BMR). Another guideline might be to eat as we will eat at our goal weight. If we do that, we will eventually arrive at our goal weight and will never have to go on a diet! We simply begin eating (and exercising) now like the person we want to become in the future.

So don’t be sucked in by wild claims of fast and easy weight loss. It likely took years to gain the weight and it will not all fall off in 30 days. If you make a solid, common-sense plan for weight loss that is reasonably aggressive, you will multiply your chance of continued success. A good weight loss plan includes a healthy, nutritious diet plan combined with sensible exercise. Be patient, use good sense and you’ll achieve your goal in a healthy way. Visit me at FitnessForEveryman.com for more fitness and weight loss tips.