Whether you want to lose weight for a special occasion or simply improve your health, weight loss is a very common goal. In order to set realistic expectations, it is essential to know what a healthy rate of weight loss is.

Setting realistic weight loss goals and following a balanced eating plan tailored to individual needs, preferences and medical conditions are key principles to facilitate weight loss in obese patients. Most importantly, it is to reduce overall cardiometabolic risk and other obesity-related comorbidities.

How long does it take to lose weight?

The characteristics of the optimal dietary strategy for weight loss remain controversial. Different eating plans including low-fat diets, antioxidant for fat loss diets, and intermittent energy restriction diets can be controversial for every person.

As a general principle, the optimal diet for the treatment of obesity should be safe, effective, healthy and nutritionally adequate. It should also be culturally acceptable and economically affordable. The diet should ensure long-term adherence and maintenance of weight loss.

How weight loss occurs

Weight loss happens when you steadily consume fewer calories compared to the ones you burn everyday. Weight gain occurs when you regularly eat more calories than what you burn through movement and various physical exertion.

Any food or drink you consume that contains calories counts towards your total calorie intake. The number of calories you burn every single day, which is known as calorie or energy consumption, is decisive in the process of losing weight.

Setting realistic weight loss goals is extremely important. Setting strict and difficult goals can often lead to failure and discouragement. The goal of losing 5-10% of the initial body weight in the first six months is a realistic approach. This also brings a significant improvement in cardiometabolic risk factors. Beyond setting realistic goals, long-term adherence to dietary interventions is also a major challenge. Many diets are only followed for short periods of time especially those with extreme restrictions leading to suboptimal control of long-term weight.

An even more important goal than losing weight is maintaining weight loss and preventing weight regain. The physiological response to weight loss is resistance to further weight loss through a compensatory biological adaptation expressed as a change in hormonal balance related to appetite regulation.