Do you want to lose 5 pounds?
As soon as you click on this post, I’m sure you want it 🙂
The question is: how fast do you want to lose them?
For a week? Two weeks? Month?
Let's see what exactly you need to do to lose 5 pounds in a certain period of time.
FOR A WEEK
I believe you have heard that one kilogram of fat has 7000 kcal. This means that for a loss of 1 kg, you need to lose 7000 kcal by exercising or eating so many fewer calories.
So, for example, if you maintain your current body weight at 2,500 calories a day and then start eating 1,500 calories a day instead (or you continue to eat 2,500 but have exercised 1,000), you would end up with a total weekly calorie deficit of 7,000 calories (1000 calories per day, 7 days a week = 7000 calories). Which means you will lose exactly 1kg per week.
Sounds nice, doesn't it?
Yet…
The bad news is that this is not entirely true. The fact is that a kilogram of fat contains 7000 calories, but there are many factors that prevent this rule from being completely precise. First of all, the weight we lose can be a consequence of losing fluid, muscles, etc.… Then there is the thermal effect of food that will affect how many calories the body has burned. This means that a deficit of 7000 kcal will rarely result in an exact loss of 1 kg.
The good news is that this method is good enough after all. It has its flaws and is not completely accurate, but it is still the best estimate for how many pounds you will lose.
How to lose 5 pounds in a week?
Let's calculate.
7000 (1 kg) x 5 (number of kilograms) = 35 000 calories
This means that for a loss of 5 kg it is necessary to be in deficit of 35,000 kcal.
If you want to lose 5 kg in a week, the daily deficit would have to be 5000 kcal.
How do you get there?
Simple and easy… Not at all.
THIS IS A COMPLETELY UNREALIZED GOAL
In addition to not being a realistic goal, it can really be dangerous to health.
Let's say you need 2,500 kcal to maintain your body weight.
To lose 0.5 kg per week, you need to be in a deficit of 500 kcal every day. This is certainly completely feasible.
To lose a kilogram, you need a deficit of 1000 kcal.
Et cetera.
For a loss of 5 kg, you would have to go into the red, which is practically not possible 🙂
HOW DID SOMEONE LOSE THEN?
We all know someone who lost 5 kg of body weight in a week. But that absolutely does not mean that it is a matter of losing body FAT whose loss is the real goal.
Mass can be water, muscle, glycogen… And so on.
DO YOU REALLY WANT TO TEMPORARILY LOSE WATER FROM YOUR BODY?
If you want, just go ahead, you can do it 🙂 Just stop eating food and along the way a little and damage the brain. I'm kidding, of course you won't do any of that 🙂
Reverse turns, you should not lose 5 kg in a week at all. There is no point and it can be dangerous, and you will certainly not achieve the goal because it is theoretically not possible.
BUT, I WATCHED THAT DOCUMENTARY ABOUT OBESITY AND EVERYONE LOST A LOT IN THE FIRST WEEK OF THE DAY… WHAT ABOUT THEM?
How did they do it?
It is a simple combination of the following:
Because they are obese, their calorie maintenance levels are high enough to create a large dietary deficit that would be unrealistic / impossible for someone who is not overweight.
They also burn a huge number of calories with any activity due to higher body weight.
Again, the point here is not to lose only body fat completely.
HOW TO LOSE 5 KILOS IN TWO WEEKS?
Everything we talked about a moment ago… Divide in half.
In translation, your daily deficit should be 35,000 kcal divided by 14 days, which is 2,500 kcal.
Does this sound realistic and desirable to you? 🙂
It is certainly better than the previous one-week variant, but it is still not good enough.
It is still dangerous and undesirable.
HOW TO LOSE 5 KILOS IN A MONTH?
We will again use the mathematics of 35,000 kcal divided into 30 days… That brings him 1167 kcal of daily caloric deficit.
So, instead of those 5000 kcal per day, we now need to ingest 1167 kcal less or burn 1167 kcal more.
Is this possible?
For some people, yes. It can be both healthy and helpful. Those with a larger number of kilograms will certainly lose them faster in the beginning, and for them this goal is quite realistic.
For example, someone who maintains their current weight of 3,000 calories a day would need to eat 1,833 calories a day for this deficit to exist. That would be difficult, and a person could prefer a more moderate approach… However, in the short term it is completely achievable.
This person can also eat 800 calories less and then burn 367 extra calories to create that same deficit. All in all - it can be reported.
WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?
For everyone else who doesn’t have a bigger surplus, the answer would still be no. Especially if you want to save your muscles (and I believe you do).
WHICH TIME FRAME IS IDEAL FOR A 5 KG LOSS?
Well, the exact answer to this question depends on the person. After all, the ideal weight loss rate for someone who is only 5 kg to lose varies
from the ideal rate of loss for someone who loses 20, 30, 40 pounds. The personal needs and desires of each individual also play a huge role in determining what is "ideal" for them.
Most people lose somewhere between 0.5 - 1 kg per week. The lower end is ideal for those who are less gojanzi and taller for those who have a slightly larger excess.
In particular, it would be ideal to lose between 0.3% and 1% of total body weight per week.
This method is ideal because it implies safe, effective and sustainable loss of fat deposits while preventing side effects.
Side effects include muscle loss, loss of strength, hunger, slow metabolism, hormonal problems, sleep problems… And so on.
5 - 10 weeks for losing 5 kilograms is quite neat and expected 🙂