“How Long Does It Actually Take for Your Diet to Pay Off?”

diets that you don’t see results within a day. How long does it actually take for your diet to pay off?

Losing weight is often quite a challenge with many obstacles. But in the end you do it with one goal: to feel better about yourself. Yet the tricky thing about diets is that you don’t see results within a day. How long does it actually take for your diet to pay off?

There are several factors that influence weight loss and the period until you see results. For example, gender, age, your starting weight and sleep play a role.

Gender

The ratio of fat to muscle in your body has a major impact on your ability to lose weight. Women generally have a higher fat content than men. That means according to Healthline that women often burn 5 to 10 percent fewer calories at rest than men. Do you as a woman follow the same diet as a man? Then there is a good chance that you will lose weight less quickly.

Age

When you get older, your body composition changes: for example, the fat mass increases and the muscle mass decreases. This ultimately leads to a lower RMR (resting metabolic rate). RMR is the number of calories you burn at rest. As you get older, this number decreases, making losing weight more difficult.

Physique

If you are obese and have a BMI over 30, you can lose up to 10 pounds in a few days with a strict diet. If you have a thinner physique, chances are you have to work harder to lose weight. Your physique therefore also affects how quickly you see results from your diet.

Sleep

You might not think about it, but sleep is also an important part of weight loss. When you suffer from chronic sleep deprivation, it can significantly impede the rate at which you lose weight. According to Healthline, one night of sleep deprivation can increase your cravings for high-calorie foods. In addition, chronic sleep deprivation is also linked to type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and certain cancers.

Read also: Do you want to lose weight? This is how ginger can help you

How fast to lose weight is healthy?

The Consumers’ Association writes on its website that it is not healthy to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. This is also called one crash diet named. It ensures that your body switches to a kind of ‘saving mode’. If you then start eating normally again, the kilos will come back.

It’s good to set yourself a safe and achievable goal, because that’s what will ultimately help you the most. Losing more than one kilogram per week is too much. It is better to lose weight gradually, because then you get the most energy from your fat reserves and that is ultimately best. By losing weight quickly, your body takes energy from other reserves, causing you to lose muscle mass and that worsens your condition.

Gradual weight loss

If you plan to lose weight gradually, it is best to eat about 500 kilocalories less in one day to lose half a kilo per week. You may think this is a lot, but it’s actually not that bad. For this you only have to make some small adjustments to your diet:

• For example, take skimmed milk instead of semi-skimmed milk (saves 25 kcal per glass)
• Drink coffee without sugar (save 20 kcal per cup)
• Take a fillet steak instead of a bacon steak (a difference of 200 kcal)
• Eat wholemeal sandwiches instead of white sandwiches (saves 20 kcal per sandwich)
• Take smaller portions: 1 serving spoon less potatoes or pasta is already 55 kcal less.

Of course, sufficient exercise is also very important. For example, walk an extra long round with the dog, take the bike more often or spontaneously take a nice bike ride or spend some extra hours in the gym.

Editor’s note

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Bron: Healthline, Consumers Association
Foto: Getty Images

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