Muscle for Life

Google “how fast should I lose weight,” and you’ll get the same answer pretty much everywhere: One pound per week. And that’s not bad advice. You’ve probably heard that a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. To lose a pound of fat per week, then, you just need to eat 500 fewer calories per day than you burn (500 x 7 = 3,500). Simple, easy to remember, and doable for most people. There’s just one problem with this little weight loss heuristic: If you have 25, 50, or 100+ pounds to lose, losing one pound per week means you’ll be dieting for months if not years. That’s a long row to hoe, especially if you’ve tried and failed to lose weight many times in the past. Now for the good news: If you’re very overweight (25+% body fat as a man or 35+% as a woman), you can probably lose a lot more than one pound of fat per week. In fact, if you know what you’re doing with your diet and training, you may be able to safely lose two, three, or even four pounds of fat per week. Of course, this strategy isn’t without downside