How quickly should you lose weight?

Healthcare experts are clear when it comes to rapid weight loss. It is not only ineffective long term (most people who lose weight quickly put the weight back on again), but also places your body under stress leading to an array of health risks, ranging from decreased energy to more serious implications such as osteoporosis. Also, the faster you lose weight, the more muscle you are likely to lose and, if you are very overweight to start with, you will suffer from loose skin, which in severe cases is unsightly and can only be removed with surgery.

The safest and most effective method of weight loss is to lose weight gradually over a sustained period of time. Half a kilo (or about one pound) of body fat per week is a good rule of thumb, but at Bodyscan we will personalise the rate to what suits you best.

How to lose weight gradually
If you’ve struggled to sustain steady weight loss, it may be time for a more scientific approach. A DEXA body composition scan is a medical-grade low-dose X-ray that gives you a detailed, accurate and precise picture of your body composition today. Knowing your starting point is highly advantageous for any journey.

The comprehensive data provides details of your fat, lean and bone mass, from which we can calculate your resting metabolic rate, maintenance calories (daily calorie requirement to keep your weight constant) as well as a suggested calorie deficit to help you achieve your fat-loss gradually in a realistic and sustainable timeframe.

This is a big advantage of the Bodyscan methodology – it provides specific targets for fat and muscle, rather than vague notions about weight (weight is just your relationship with gravity!) In other words, your first Baseline DEXA scan provides you with a good definition of where you’re starting from and your final destination.

Creating a weight loss plan
For weight loss to be sustained over a long period, your nutritional and physical efforts need to be moulded around your existing lifestyle. There’s no point in embarking on a plan that sees you preparing a week’s meals in advance and hitting the gym five times a week if you have a young family and work long hours! It’s unrealistic.

At Bodyscan, we can also offer a bespoke body composition and nutrition programme based on your DEXA body scan results. Formulated with your food preferences and schedule in mind, we can guide you throughout your transformation in a steady, progressive way, rather than rushing through the fat-loss process with all the negative long-term results that can induce. We give you bespoke training and meal plans supported by regular check-ins and ongoing nutritional coaching.

We’ve delivered over 17,000 DEXA scans, and we’re really proud of the results many of our clients have achieved (some are shown on our home page). If you would like to find out more about what we offer or how we can help you, please get in touch using our details here. We look forward to hearing from you!

To make your first booking and kickstart your journey to bette health (and a better body), click here.