For all the magazines and products boasting regimens that can cut serious pounds in just a couple of weeks, the lower number on the scale is not necessarily an indicator that you are losing weight the healthy way. But how much weight can a person realistically lose in one week?
"This can vary greatly from person to person, but I would say no more than one to two pounds a week—and that's for a very heavy individual," said Joshua Jarmin, master trainer at Blueprint Fitness. He said one of the biggest mistakes people new to a fitness regimen can make is not setting realistic expectations.
"It's understandable because of what we have been bombarded with through social media, magazines, and television," Jarmin said. "What we're seeing isn't the whole truth."
Jarmin said the long-term weight loss goals should be more important than the immediate number on the scale.
"Everyone wants to see 'magical' transformations in 90 days," he said. "That's not how the body works. Yes, you can see change in that time frame, but not your end goals. A great body takes two things: a lot of time and a lot of hard work."
He recommended throwing out the weekly guilt-trip over something arbitrary like weight and investing the time into measuring body fat percentage, which will be the best measure of your progress when you start to see results months down the road.
Don't wait until you've been training for months to get measured," he said. "That's stupid. Get measured now so you know how far you've come in a few months."
He suggested Dexafit for measuring your benchmarks. The program is also capable of measuring your RMR, resting metabolic rate, which can help stabilize the diet, too.
"I feel this is extremely helpful in creating your diet for your fitness goals," he said. "Once you know how many calories you burn every day, it'll be far easier to determine the number of calories you should consume for weight loss (reducing fat) or gain (adding muscle)."
Blueprint Fitness is located at 1700 Defoor Ave NW, Atlanta. Reach the studio by phone at 678-264-8025 or visit its website at blueprintfitnessatlanta.com.
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