How Many Weeks to Lose Weight?

Many of us ask, 'How many weeks to lose weight?' It is an important question, but the answer has to be 'How much weight?' First of all you must know why you want to lose weight. Is it to drop a dress or pants size? Is it for an event like a holiday or a wedding? Or is it just because you don't like what you see in the mirror? The answer to those questions will let you work out how much you need to lose in the time available. This in turn will affect what you do to lose it.

You have two options, one healthier than the other. If you only have 2-3 weeks in which to lose weight you are forced into a fast weight loss diet. There are many of those and you might be able to drop a dress size in that time - but beware. It is neither a healthy nor a sustainable way of losing weight. Some of the risks are gall stones, loss of muscle tissue and water loss. The loss of muscle tissue and water loss will result in you losing weight short term. But at the end of your diet you will either feel so hungry you begin eating in a big way, or you just carry on with the lifestyle which made you put on weight in the first place. It is unlikely that you will damage your health with a one off crash diet, but the risks are there and yo-yo dieting, where you lose weight, put it on again and diet again, can go on for ever. Another result of crash dieting is that your skin will not shrink as fast as your body. So you can lose weight for a beach holiday and look terrible when you get there. But if you have not given yourself time to lose weight slowly and safely there is nothing much else you can do.

If you have 2-3 months or more you can easily lose a dress or pants size, which is about 12 pounds, and carry on to lose as much weight as you want. You just need to change your lifestyle and doing this depends on how much your really want to lose weight. What you have to do is clear your fridge of food high in fats and sugars and processed food like white rice or white bread. You also need to give up fizzy drinks and trips to fast food outlets, and don't spend too much time in coffee shops. Your more healthy diet should contain plenty of fresh fruit, salads, vegetables and whole grains. Instead of white bread always eat granary bread. Meat should be lean meat like chicken, but if you prefer beef make sure it is a lean cut from grass fed animals. Make sure you eat some fish, oily fish such as mackerel is best but any fish helps.

There are plenty of recipes available using these ingredients. The Mediterranean diet is wide ranging with plenty of options and is worth trying. It is just the sort of food you might eat on holiday and you can drink a glass of wine with your meal as well. A healthy diet need not be tasteless or boring. Try to keep your portions small - it is better to eat five small meals a day than three big ones and always eat breakfast.

You can lose weight without exercise, but you will have to eat less and might lose motivation as a result. Half an hour's exercise every day is all you need and this can be two quarter hours if you find it difficult to spare the time. The easiest of exercises is walking, but if you don't like walking alone or need motivation find a walking buddy to join you. If all else fails get a dog. You don't have to walk, whatever exercise you enjoy is fine, just so long as you do it every day.

Long term weight loss is a lifestyle change, not a diet. Don't panic about the occasional treat, party or holiday where you eat a lot. If you keep up a healthy lifestyle you will stay fit and slim and no longer need to worry about how many weeks you need to lose weight.