It happens. You look in the mirror, and see a body you don't like; or you go to try on your favorite pants, and they don't fit anymore. UGH! That's it, you say to yourself, NO MORE. I must lose weight now.

So then what do you do? You look on the web for the quickest, easiest way to lose weight. You decide on the amount. Maybe you are a mere 5 pounds overweight, or maybe, like some of us, your favorite pair of pants stopped fitting you 3 years and 100 pounds ago. Nonetheless, you look for the fastest way to take it off.

One ad says, 18 pounds in 20 days; another promises 9 pounds in 11 days; and the winner - 30 pounds in 30 days. You pay your money (because it always cost money for that special bit of information on HOW to lose the weight) and you read your book/program/diet/workout, and you imagine the new you in 30 days.

But as you read your book/pamphlet/diet plan, you realize there is nothing different in any of this, but the authors PROMISED you that you would lose 30 pounds in 30 days, IF you followed their regimen. So, to lose 30 pounds (of Fat) in 30 days, you will have to have a calorie deficit of 105,000 over the next 30 days. In other words, you will have to eat less than 1200 calories per day and burn another 1200-1500 calories each day to make that goal.

The problem is, even, if you were a Navy Seal, dedicated, focused and determined, you physically couldn't do it. Your body and mind would never be able to tolerate such a low calorie diet in addition to a high energy expediture. I am sorry to say, you couldn't do it.

What that program is promising is that you will lose weight, possibly even 30 pounds, but the majority of it will be water weight, not fat loss, which will come back as soon as you stop the special diet or exercise plan.

So, what is a safe weight loss rate that you can reasonably, permanently lose per week? Two pounds, maximum. Realize, before the despair sets in, that it means a caloric deficit of 7000 calories over a week, or an average of 1000 per day. That requires focus and discipline too, but not a super-human, temporary effort.

To lose a significant amount of weight, for the LAST time, expect a safe rate of 1-1.5 pounds per week. Yes, it might take you 6 months to fit back into those jeans, but the research shows that individuals that lose weight over a long period, with gradual weight loss, have the best chance to keep it off for the rest of their lives.

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