Lose weight! Lose weight! Lose weight! How many pounds can you lose in a week?

A friend who has gained weight for over 20 years is about to get married. To take beautiful wedding photos, she is determined to lose weight. She came to me and asked, "Hey, do you have any methods to help me lose 20 pounds in a week?" After she finished asking, I was silent. I didn't have any such methods to recommend to her, nor did I suggest she try any so-called rapid weight loss methods. As a friend, rather than seeing her marry while being thin, I would rather see her marry healthily. Because losing weight too quickly is definitely not a good thing!

Why is losing weight too quickly not good?

1. Fast weight loss is harmful

Letting the air out of a balloon makes it松弛, wrinkled. Rapid weight loss is like letting air out. When body fat drops too quickly, the skin will become松弛, rough, and may also lead to hair loss, constipation, and other problems.

Most rapid weight loss methods start by significantly reducing calorie intake. Excessive reduction in calorie intake can lead to temporary liver and kidney dysfunction or affect digestive function. Additionally, some people may resort to extreme diets to lose weight quickly. Long-term diets can easily lead to anorexia.

2. Fast weight loss leads to quick rebound

When you lose weight too quickly, you lose a lot of muscle, fat, and water. A decrease in muscle mass affects the body's metabolic rate. When the metabolic rate decreases, even if you eat a little more or move a little less, the weight you lost will come back quickly. Moreover, the body has a certain inertia to weight. After losing weight, the body's memory still lingers on your previous weight, and then gradually causes your weight to return to its previous level. To combat this inertia, slow weight loss is the way to go, allowing the body to gradually adapt to your new weight.

So, how many pounds should you lose in a week?

It's unrealistic to lose dozens of pounds in a week. So, how many pounds is reasonable to lose in a week? Let's calculate it together today.

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" published by the Chinese Nutrition Society states that reducing calorie intake by 300-500 calories per day through dietary adjustments can help with weight loss. Additionally, the book suggests that "overweight or obese individuals should accumulate 8,000 to 10,000 steps in activity per day, including 2-3 sessions of resistance muscle exercise per week."

Let's do a simple calculation:

Dietary calorie reduction: 500 calories

Calories burned by 10,000 steps per day: 240-300 calories

Calories burned by 20 minutes of moderate-intensity resistance exercise every other day (conservative estimate)

500 + 300 + 200 = 1,000 calories

Based on this calculation, on top of daily basic activities, we can roughly reduce an additional 1,000 calories per day, which adds up to about 7,000 calories per week. Data shows that to lose one pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories. Therefore, we can conclude that losing 2-3 pounds per week is relatively normal.

How many pounds do you need to lose to look slimmer?

People who are losing weight weigh themselves daily, remembering the exact number after each loss. However, in others' eyes, if you don't look slimmer, it's as if you haven't lost any weight at all! So, how many pounds do you need to lose to actually look slimmer? Well, it mainly depends on your face.

Researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada conducted an experiment using image models to show how changes in BMI affect facial appearance. The experiment used the same face but changed the BMI value, and then asked participants to judge which face looked lighter in weight and which was most attractive. The results showed that when the BMI changed by 1.33 (1.34 for men, 1.31 for women), participants could detect the difference between the two photos.

BMI stands for Body Mass Index, which is currently the most commonly used standard to measure human body fatness and health. In China, a BMI between 18.5 and 23.9 is considered normal, below 18.5 is underweight, ≥24 is overweight, and ≥28 is obese. The formula for calculating BMI is BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height (m)²

Based on the University of Toronto's research, let's calculate how many pounds you need to lose to see the changes on your face. Assuming you need to lose N kilograms, you can calculate that N = 1.33 × height (m)². For example, if you are 1.6 meters tall, you need to lose N = 1.33 × 1.6 × 1.6 = 3.4048 kg, which is about 7 pounds.

Finally, let me remind everyone with a tooth-shattering piece of wisdom: "haste makes waste." Ladies, don't be lured by the promises of those ads claiming you can lose dozens of pounds in a week. When it comes to weight loss, we should focus on stability and avoiding rebounds, not speed.

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