If weight loss were a road trip, it’d be the scenic route—because life’s too short to take the expressway.
You should bear in mind that weight loss is a process and not an event that happens in a short time and it does not come with a magic wand. There is a proper weight loss timeline that smoothly makes small changes to one’s lifestyle and behavior.
Nevertheless, maintaining a healthy weight loss regime and subsequently losing weight does not occur within a single day. Most individuals would prefer to shed some pounds within the shortest time possible and with minimal effort.
Ah, the age-old quest for shedding those extra pounds! Weight loss is like a journey, complete with its own scenic stops and detours.
Realistic Guide To The Weight Loss Timeline
Here is a realistic guide to the weight loss timeline and how long you should expect to see results depending on your goals:
The First Two Weeks
For instance, the first two weeks of any weight loss program are usually characterized by the highest loss of body weight. But this is not because fat loss is taking place across the masses.
Initial Weight Loss
When you exercise and decrease your calorie and carbohydrate consumption. These store glycogen in your body will be released along with the water that is a part of glycogen. Glycogen serves as the body’s fast-access energy reserve and is stored along with water. It is used when by altering your diet and exercising. Glycogen together with water is eliminated from your body and this will make the scale readings dip drastically.
Expected Loss
It is normal to lose between 2-4 lbs in the initial two weeks of the diet. However, you have not shed off 2-4 lbs of lean body fat at this stage. The reason for this is that each time you shift your body into a different metabolism, the pounds you lose on the scale will decrease as your body adjusts to the new lifestyle changes. It is recommended that you aim to lose 1-2 lbs per week from here onwards.
1-2 Month Mark
After one month of following your diet and exercising as you have planned, you should observe some improvement in your body and energy levels.
Visible Changes:
Your clothes may be looser and you will start noticing that you have muscles on your body. The initial rapid depletion of glycogen. Water will slow down and any weight loss taking place at the moment is coming from the fat stores.
Expected Loss:
It should be possible to lose 1-2 lbs per week by now. At this time you would have shed between 8-16 lbs. Others will begin to comment about the changes in your figure. Because the weight loss at this stage is derived from the stored body fat. It will be permanent and create momentum to continue.
3 Month Mark
It takes three months of exercise and dieting to achieve significant weight loss and a more evident outcome.
Significant Progress:
If you have been losing 1-2 lbs per week since the two-month mark. You would likely have shed between 12-24 lbs by now. Your friends, family, and co-workers will not be able to help but notice your magnificent new weight loss. Your morale and self-esteem will begin to build up as you approach the mid-way to your intended weight loss.
Potential Plateau:
You should also have a clear understanding of what calorie intake and foods are appropriate to sustain and further your weight loss regimen by now. However, it should be noted that it is normal to experience some stagnation at this stage. In case your weight loss process comes to a halt, then it is advisable to adjust the calorie consumption or increase intensity of exercising.
6 Month Mark
The climax of half a year of effort and commitment – reaping the rewards.
Major Milestone:
At the end of six consecutive months of exercising and modifying the diet plan, the effects will be evident. One loses 1-2 lbs per week, one would have lost 25-50 lbs from one’s start weight by now. As you reach more than halfway or even more to your desired weight, it will be time for you to buy new clothes.
Health Benefits:
At this stage, weight loss also becomes more evident, especially in those regions that have higher metabolic rates such as your face, neck, and shoulders. Your health will have also seen a drastic change with low cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and so on. It can therefore be said now there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
9-12+ Month Mark
It may take more than 12 months of exercise and diet to reach a point of losing more than 100 lbs or attaining the healthiest form of weight loss. But steadily and incrementally, you will arrive there.
Approaching Goal:
At 9-12 months and a loss rate of 1-2 lbs per week, you will be within striking distance of your final ideal weight. At this stage, the skills and strategies for weight loss should be assimilated as a lifelong behavioral pattern. That means that it may become psychologically harder as you approach your ideal weight.
Mental Challenges:
Get over the mental block by following the time-tested weight loss strategies to get to the ultimate goal. It is suggested to increase the workout intensity at the end to overcome any plateauing that results from the training.
Maintenance Phase
Congratulations, you did it! You achieved your weight loss goal by dieting and exercising for more than a year to reach your desired weight.
Here stands the next important stage of your evolution – maintenance. These are some basic steps that if followed will help to lose weight and then you cannot go back to old habits. Maintain the eating and exercise regimen during the maintenance stage until the body is accustomed to the proper diet and exercise. Then, you will never need to shed the same pounds once more!
Relevant Read: How to Make a Budget-friendly Wellness Plan
Final Verdict
It is just important that people understand that it is possible for change to be sustainable and it does not have to be a flash-in-the-pan endeavor. When it comes to the actual weight loss timeline, changing behavior, and not expecting a miracle, everyone can attain appreciable, sustainable fat loss in months and years. Be always optimistic and focus on the lifelong goal, which is the perfect weight for a lifetime.
