Quick Weight Loss

How Fast is Fast Enough and is it Worth the Health Risks?

By Paul "Batman" O'Brien 

B.A., N.C.E.H.S., Dip. Acu., Cert Clin. IMed., Dip. Adv. OBB, Dip. CHM, Pn1, PN-SSR, PN-NCA, M.AFPA., M.C.Th.A.

Quick Weight Loss can be achieved – BUT I don’t recommend it, nor is it healthy. In this article I’ll explain why and how you can easily achieve optimal healthy weight loss.

In my time as a fitness instructor and personal trainer I’ve heard some pretty wild things. Many people come to me with unrealistic expectations of the weight loss they are looking to achieve. Some want to lose a stone in a weekend. Others expect a pound of fat loss a day. This isn’t helped by the media who are always show casing the latest fad tea’s or super celebrity slimming secrets.

Quick weight loss is easy, but the catch is you won’t lose fat! You are likely to lose precious lean muscle tissue and water. This isn’t good because the second you stop the program you pile on even more fat. It’s because you have less active muscle tissue burning calories. That means even though you are eating the same amount of food you were before the diet, you need less calories and that excess will cost you on your waist line.

I've helped many people to lose weight safely with my online personal training programs. If you'd like hands on help losing weight you can click here to learn more

So what is the optimal amount of weight loss one should aim for? I always recommend between 1-2 lbs a week. Anymore than that and it's probable it will be from lean muscle tissue. I know 1-2lbs doesn’t sound like a lot, but in only 7 weeks that can be up to stone of pure fat burnt!

That’s a huge achievement. And best of all it will reveal the smooth hard muscles underneath giving you a far more attractive appearance.


Another method of measuring weight loss and my preferred method is body fat percentage. Body fat percentage is just that an accurate reflection of how much body fat you currently have. Unlike your weight which is a combined reading of fat, muscle water and more – body fat allows you to focus on the weight you really want to lose.

A healthy goal is to aim to lose up to ½ % a week from your body fat. As long as this number is going down and your lean muscle tissue is staying the same or even going up you are doing really well!

All of this allows us to chart your weight loss and set reasonable goals. For instance if I am cutting down body fat for a photo shoot I’ll work out exactly how much I need to lose to achieve the look I want. Typically I stay at a comfortable 7-9 body fat % when just normally training. (If I am bulking – putting on weight this can rise to 11-14%). Typically for a photo shoot I’ll drop down to 4-5% body fat. (It’s not healthy or comfortable to stay this low for very long – but you do look terrific!)

I know it’s healthy and effective to lose 1/2 % a week so I’ll need 8 -10 weeks to drop the necessary weight. Because of this I can accurately predict how quick weight loss will occur and plan accordingly.

If you have a reunion, event, competition, wedding or whatever and you want to lose weight quick and look your best on the day you can accurately plan and set realistic goals using this method.





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