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Basics of Weight Loss

How quickly should I expect to lose weight?

(2 of 3 pages)

Losing weight isn't about shedding pounds as quickly as possible. It's about sticking to a sensible diet that gives you the energy and nutrients you need - and treating yourself sometimes too! It's also about finding ways you can incorporate more physical activity into your daily life.

The Nutracheck online weight loss system does not recommend a daily target of less than 1,400 calories per day. While anything over 1,000 calories per day is still is deemed acceptable, Dr Ian Campbell, medical adviser to Nutracheck, believes that a lower level than 1,400 makes the diet unnecessarily restrictive - and the key to success is sustaining a diet. A lower calorie target may result in a quicker weight drop initially, but the question is how long can you sustain it for? It is better to go for a safe steady loss of 1 - 2lbs per week. After all, the weight did not pile on overnight - conversely we should not expect to magically lose it overnight either!

Faddy diets that cut out foods unnecessarily, or don't keep away the hunger pangs or exclude foods you enjoy, are a recipe for disaster. Instead you have to change your lifestyle and think long term: a weight loss of a pound a week may not seem much but it adds up to around a stone in three months.