How Fast Should I Lose Weight If I'm A 6-1 Male At 54 Years Old?

Under certain conditions, doctors advise quick weight loss. People who are obese and have a life-threatening cardiac condition might be instructed to lose weight as quickly as possible. Under medical supervision, they might be placed on a highly restrictive diet. On the other end of the spectrum, obese young children who are still growing might be put on a weight-maintenance diet and allowed to grow into their weight. For most adults, though, the usual advice for weight loss is to go slow and easy.

Unsustainable

Fast weight loss programs are unsustainable, Dr. Michael Hensrud at MayoClinic.com says. Fast weight loss requires intense exercise and severe restrictions in calorie intake. Most people are unable to sustain the effort and deprivation, and fall off the diet and exercise program. Even when they manage to reach their weight loss goals, once they migrate back into their old eating and exercise habits, they regain much of the weight they lost.

Health Problems

Fast weight loss can lead to yo-yo dieting. Many people fall into a pattern of dieting, losing weight, regaining the weight, and then going back on another diet, only to repeat the cycle. Yo-yo dieting, also called weight cycling, might increase your risk for health problems, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and gallstones, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports. Some of the weight shed during fast weight loss is purely illusory.

Highly restricted diets cause loss of water weight, which returns as your body acclimates to the calorie deprivation. Worse yet, highly restrictive diets can contribute to loss of muscle mass, as your calorie-hungry body turns to protein for fuel. Fast weight loss also increases the likelihood and severity of droopy, sagging skin after you lose weight. Slower weight loss gives your skin more time to adjust to your thinning body.

Easy Does It

The most effective way to lose weight and keep it off is to make gradual changes in your diet and exercise patterns. To this end, most health experts, including the MayoClinic website, recommend that you lose 1 to 2 lbs. per week. To lose 1 lb. of weight you must shed 3,500 calories by decreasing how much you eat, burning calories through exercise or some combination of the two. You must create a calorie deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories per day to lose 1 or 2 lbs. per week.

The University of Maryland Medical Center has produced a formula that applies to men wanting to lose weight regardless of age or height. A 6-foot-1-inch man should ideally weigh 184 lbs but if he wanted to lose 40 lbs. to achieve that he would have to daily eat 1,000 calories less than the maintenance calories for his weight, 2,912.

Forever and Ever

Oprah did it. Kirstie Ally did it. They lost lots of weight, but the weight slowly came back. Even with the public scrutiny, personal trainers and vast resources these celebrities had, they fell prey to the same urges that curse millions of others. To make your weight loss last, steadily eliminate and replace the high-calorie, low-nutrition foods that add unnecessary calories to your diet. Migrate over to a diet rich with fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and low-fat diary. Couple a balanced diet with 30 to 60 minutes of daily exercise and you'll steadily lose your weight and keep it off.