A friend Emily and I were discussing exercise and weight loss in one of my past blog entries and she asked:
I want to lose 30 pounds, if I work out and eat decent, How soon till I get there?
There are many different variables that can determine how long it’s going to take to lose 30 pounds. Ideally, if you are eating perfect, doing 5-6 days of cardio, and 2-3 days of resistance training a week, you could possibly lose the weight 10-15 weeks, but realistically you are going to be looking at 4 to 6 months. Healthy weight loss is going to be 1-3 pounds a week.
I’m not saying this it will take 6 months to lose the weight. My previous job, I worked at a weight loss spa. The clients would come from all over the world and stay at the hotel in Santa Monica where all their meals would be prepared, do cardio twice a day 5-6 days a week, and do four days of resistance training at the cost of $5000 dollars a week. I have seen many spa clients lose 30 pounds in 6 weeks. The diet was very strict and the clients exercised 2-3 times a day. This is not realistic for most of us.
We live in a society that wants to see immediate results. This is one of the main reasons many people fail with losing weight. We expect to see results that are unrealistic, and when we don’t, we get frustrated and quit. This is why its important to set realistic goals, and this is why I say to set the goal to lose 30 pounds in 4-6 months as opposed to 6 weeks.
My answer to Emily is going to be to set a goal, keep the goal in her mind, and stay consistent in your exercise and eating. It will take as long as it takes! The choices Emily makes are going to determine how long it will take her to reach her goal. Is it going to be 3 months or is it going to be 6 months? Maybe she will keep us posted?
The most important part to losing weight is setting the right mindset. You are the only person who has control over this and it is important to constantly do what ever it takes to reinforce this mindset. The second most important part of losing weight is what you eat. You can spend hours and hours in the gym, but if you are not eating a healthy diet geared toward weight loss, your hard work may not provide you the result you desire. The third most important part to losing weight is going to be exercise. The exercise is going to be Cardio and Resistance Training.
There is a process that takes place to lose weight and there will be challenges along the way. Know where you want to go and make the choices that will help you get there. Then be patience and allow the process to unfold, as it will. This way you will be setting yourself up for long-term success!
Chris