How fast does weight loss occur?

[jenny25]

I want to lose about 20 pounds by October. Can I achieve this goal on South Beach?

[Paplo]

You probably could but I hope that means you've already started because losing 20 pounds by October doesn't give you much time to achieve this weight loss sufficiently or safely. True fat loss should be done at a gradual pace, where you lose between 1 and 2 pounds per week. Also, don't forget that exercise is really important to your goal. You'll need to do a lot more fitness regardless of the diet your choose.

[speeddemon]

If it's a sensible diet you should expect between 1 to 2 pounds per week. Anymore than that and you're likely to gain back some of the weight you lose.

[jenny25]

If it's a sensible diet you should expect between 1 to 2 pounds per week. Anymore than that and you're likely to gain back some of the weight you lose.

Why is that? If I lost 5 pounds in one week, why would I likely gain some of the weight back? It must be possible to lose more than 2 pounds per week if you work really hard at it. Am I wrong?

[CuJo1992]

Why is that? If I lost 5 pounds in one week, why would I likely gain some of the weight back? It must be possible to lose more than 2 pounds per week if you work really hard at it. Am I wrong?

You could but it's unlikely. The reason why you'd gain back what you lost if you drop more than 2 pounds of fat is that the rest of the weight you'd lose is water, which will come back. Don't forget that we carry around 5 pounds of water weight on average. Losing 2 pounds of fat per week is a lot harder than you think!

[jan]

How did you make out Jenny25? Did you reach your goal?

[jenny25]

Thanks for asking Jan! I didn't quite make it. I was a few pounds short of my goal, but I'm still really happy with the progress I made :)