What does it mean to lose weight?
Lose weight in a month does not just mean losing weight but rather reducing fat mass (FM).
While keeping the lean free fat mass (FFM), percentage increases (%).
Slimming must not affect fat-free tissue or the so-called “essential fat” necessary to maintain good health.
Principles
Basic principles for weight loss
To lose weight, it is necessary that the body:
- Stop the fat depot action
- It affects the fat reserves for energy purposes.
Both of these effects are achieved using two basic measures:
- The appropriate amount corresponds to approximately 70% of the usual energy to consume less energy than it consumes.
- Place the body in a suitable metabolic or hormonal condition. The insulin levels must be kept as low and constant as possible.
However, it is always necessary not to neglect the nutritional balance, which is essential for slimming down while remaining healthy.
Lose Weight Well
Get weight loss properly: how to do it?
To be sure to lose weight properly, in a perfectly healthy organism, these chills must be respected:
- To lose about 700 to 800 grams per week, no more; this is achieved by reducing your calorie intake by about 30%
- Follow a balanced diet, i.e.:
- Consume 5 meals per day, preferably according to your calorie schedule: breakfast 15% of energy, two snacks 5%, lunch 40%, and dinner 35%
- Do not eliminate any of the seventh key food groups. In this sense, the Lacto-Ovo vegetarian regime is acceptable. At the same time, they are NOT considered balanced: vegan, cereal-free and legumes-free, fruit and vegetables, etc.
- Breakdown of energy macronutrients into fatty acids 25% (including ¾ of an unsaturated and ¼ saturated type), proteins about 1.2 g/kg physiological weight (up to 1.8 g/kg for athletes)*, carbohydrates for all remaining calories (maintaining a fraction of those that are simple between 10-16%)
- Make enough quantities of all the saline and vitamin nutrients to meet individual needs, despite reduced overall food intake.
- Do not exceed cholesterol, keeping it below 300 mg/day (in healthy people)
- Ensuring a healthy amount of fiber to maintain intestinal function
- Introduce all useful molecules such as polyphenolic antioxidants.
How many proteins?
The g/kg coefficient cannot be applied to overweight people, i.e., those who possess a higher fat than usual.
As an alternative, a percentage can also be chosen for proteins that should not be less than 12% or more than 18% in the regular caloric diet of a healthy adult subject.
Note: the amount of protein in the diet is still controversial, so it is not possible to establish a precise value without countering one or the other information source.
According to the “Institute of Medicine (2002),” the acceptable percentage, taking into account a wide range of case studies, is 10-35%.
In Month
How much can you lose weight in a month?
As anticipated, a weight loss of about 700-800 grams per week is considered “optimal.”
In one month (30 days), the weight loss should correspond to about 2.8-3.2 kg.
Exceptions on weight loss
A weight loss exceeding 4 kg is generally considered excessive.
In contrast, it is NOT considered too slow for normal or slightly overweight people to be less than 1.5-2 kg.
This is because the less weight loss is, the less the overall psycho-physical stress, and vice versa.
The only cases in which weight loss is to be accelerated are obesity-dependent diseases; for example:
- metabolic syndrome.
- gout
- severe hypertension
- type 2 diabetes mellitus
- hepatic steatosis or cirrhosis
- high risk of cardiovascular events
- severe sleep disorders
- severe joint diseases etc.
In the case of normal or slightly overweight people, it is also necessary to deal with a possible reduction in motivation.
Many people, expecting more progress, tend to abandon the system in an attempt to lose weight.
Assess your weight
Weight-loss
Body mass index (BMI).
To assess whether it is really necessary to lose weight or determine whether your weight is really excessive.
The so-called body mass index (BMI) should be evaluated.
As an alternative, it is possible to rely on instrumental tests such as bioimpedance (BIA).
Which often require expensive tools and an operator to use them correctly.
IMC (English-language BMI) is a method of estimating body composition, which considers two simple variables: height and weight.
The BMI defines whether an adult (non-athlete) human is in any of the following categories:
- low weight
- normal weight
- overweight (non-pathological)
- obesity (pathological).
The formula for calculating the BMI is as follows:
- weight in kilograms divided by height,
- measured in meters,
- elevated to the BMI square = [Ps kg/ St m2] (the online calculator in this article can also be used).
The result, or the coefficient, is to be entered in a specific evaluation list.
| Coefficient | Evaluation |
| Underweight | Up to 18.4 |
| Normal weight | 18.5 – 24.9 |
| Overweight | 25.0 – 30.0 |
| Obesity | 30.1 |
Body constitution
As anticipated, the BMI calculation is a helpful system in the “approximate” assessment of the state of nutrition.
It is an “inaccurate” measure because it does not consider body proportions, skeleton, mass muscle size.
This is why it is never applicable to athletes, especially practicing force sports, etc.
To compensate for these gaps, at least in part, a further means of subdivision has been devised, exploiting the discriminating nature of the constitution and morphology of the body.
The body constitution assesses the size of the skeleton by measuring the circumference of the NOT-dominant pulse (in inches, measured at the narrower point) and contextualizing the result in a specific ranking.
| Woman | Constitution | Man |
| > 15cm | Slim | >1cm |
| 15-16cm | Normal | 17-18cm |
| > 16cm | Robust | > 18cm |
Body morphology
In contrast, morphology attaches the right importance to the relation between the height and the circumference of the wrist in inches:
MRF CRP = [Sature in cm / Crf. wrist in cm].
In this case, too, the measure must be included in a specific scale of judgment.
| Woman | Constitution | Man |
| > 9,9 | Slim | > 9,6 |
| 9,9 – 10,9 | Normal | 9,6 – 10,4 |
| > 10,9 | Robust | > 10,4 |
Desirable physiological body mass index (BMI FD.)
Finally, to determine with greater specificity, in terms of numbers, the NORMALITY of one’s own weight, we can combine all three of these assessment methods.
By comparing them to a single table of the desirable physiological body mass index (BMI FD):
| Slim Long-limbed | Slim Normoline | Slim Cobby | Normal Long-limbed | Normal Normoline | Normal Cobby | Robust Long-limbed | Robust Normoline | Robust Cobby |
| 18,5 | 19,3 | 20,1 | 20,9 | 21,7 | 22,5 | 23,3 | 24,1 | 24,9 |
So, in a few phases, we could define to use the following:
- A well-calibrated scale to detect weight (in kg, not in-lb) in the morning, in the fasted state, after meeting physiological needs in restrooms.
- A static meter, helping each other and following the guidelines (see How to Measure height), detect the height (in cm)
- A metric tape or a simple tail strip, measure the non-dominant wrist circumference at the narrower point (in cm)
- The formula, BMI = [Ps kg/ St m2], establishes the BMI and evaluate it with the appropriate table 1 above. If the BMI exceeds the lower limit of overweight, there are good chances that these 10 kg are “really” too much.
- If included in the normal range, continue establishing body constitution and body morphology regarding Tables 2 and 3 above. wrist in cm]
- Enter the value in Table 4. if BMI is normal. Still, it’s higher than desirable physiological. There’s a good chance that these 10 kgs might be too much.
Can one lose extra pounds in a month?
In the case of a body mass index higher than the desired one, you can also perform a REVERSE calculation to determine the actual size of the kg of too much.
With the above values, we will have to carry out two mathematical operations to determine the desirable physiological weight (P FD) and the other to determine the difference between the latter and the actual weight (P R.). Hence:
P F.D = [BMI F.D * St m2]
Kg too = [P R. – P F.D.]
| Food Core Group | Subgroup | Frequency | Portion |
| Meat, Eggs and Fishery Products | Fresh, red and white meat | 1-2 times a week | 100 g |
| Preserved meat | 3 times a month or 1 time a week | 50 g | |
| Products of the fishing fresh | 1-2 times a week | 150 g | |
| Preserved fishery products | 3 times a month or 1 time a week | 50 g | |
| Eggs, whole or just yolk | 1 and / or 2 times a week (depending on the portion) | 50 and / or 100 g (depending on the frequency of consumption) | |
| II fundamental group of foods: Milk and Derivatives | Milk and yogurt | Even 2-3 times a day | 125 g/ml |
| Fresh cheeses | 1-2 times a week – as a main course | 100 g | |
| Aged cheeses | 1-2 times a week – as a dish; grated even every day but in adequate portion | 50 g; Grated about 5-10 g | |
| III fundamental group of food: Legumes Starchy | Fresh, frozen , dried-rehydrated, canned legumes | 2-4 times a week, in first courses or as a side dish (instead of those below) | 150 g |
| Dried vegetables | 2-4 times a week, in first courses or as a side dish (instead of those above), based on the use of cereals and potatoes | 50 g | |
| IV fundamental group of foods: Cereals, Tubers and Derivatives | Pasta , wheat, rice, corn , spelled , barley , quinoa , amaranth , buckwheat , semolina , polenta and other flours | 3-4 times a week, in first courses, based on the use of legumes and potatoes | 80 g |
| Bread | 2-3 times a day | 50 g | |
| Potatoes | 1-2 times a week, in first courses or as, based on the use of cereals and legumes | 200 g | |
| Cereal for Breakfast | In variable quantities based on the use of other foods for breakfast | 30 | |
| V fundamental group of foods: Seasoning Oils and Fats | Vegetable oils , cold pressed , not subjected to processes of chemical extraction, fractionation, hydrogenation, etc. | 2-4 times a day (both as a cooking base and as a condiment) | 5-10 g |
| Butter | To a lesser extent than oils | 5-10 g | |
| Lard , tallow, margarines , hydrogenated or fractionated oils or extracts with solvents | Less possible | 5-10 g | |
| VI and VII fundamental group of foods: Fruits and Vegetables Rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C | Fruit cake and vegetables fresh | 3-4 times a day. A portion of vegetables for lunch and one for dinner, plus possibly the one in the recipes for first courses; two portions of seasonal sweet fruit per day | 150 g cooked or raw vegetables, stem, root, fruit; 150 g fruits |
| Preserved fruit: marmalade and jams, fruit juices , dehydrated fruit etc. | Jam and jams also every day; better if low in added sugar . The rest is one-off | 20 g for jams and marmalades. 200 ml fruit juices | |
| Oil seeds | Almonds , walnuts , hazelnuts , pine nuts , pistachios , macadamia , pecans , cashews , Brazil nuts etc. | Even every day in low portions; 2-3 times a week in larger portions (respecting the total amount of fat in the diet) | 15-30 g |
| Alcoholic | Red wine | From 0 to even 2 times a day | 125 ml |
| Calorie sweeteners | Sugar and Honey | 0 to 2-3 times a day (respecting the total amount of sugar in the diet) | 3-7 g of sugar ; 10-20 g of honey |
| Sweet and savory snacks | Bread substitutes: rusks , crackers , breadsticks , friselle, taralli, etc. Soft sweet baked goods : brioches , croissants , croissants , etc. Biscuits . | In variable quantities based on the use of bread and other foods for breakfast. | 30 for bread substitutes. 50 g for soft baked goods. 30 g for cookies |
Remediation for weight loss in a month
Now to the final correction.
After the diet has been changed as previously suggested, making sure that the current diet is regular (i.e., does not result in weight gain or reduction). Calories should be reduced proportionately.
This can be done:
- Changing the type of food (but staying within the specific group)
- Increasing the amount of fiber
- By increasing the level of dairy products (i.e., by reducing fat)
- Reducing the amount of oil
- Moderating the portion.
| NORMAL DIET = 2350 kcal | HYPOCALORIC DIET 70% = 1640 kcal | ||
| Breakfast | Breakfast | ||
| Whole cow’s milk | 250 ml (1 cup) | Skimmed cow’s milk | 250 ml (1 cup) |
| Cookies | 40 g (8 biscuits) | Muesli | 30 g (6 tablespoons) |
| Snack | Snack | ||
| Banana | 200 g (1 large banana) | Apple | 150 g (1 apple) |
| Lunch | Lunch | ||
| Pasta with tomato sauce | Pasta with tomato | ||
| Pasta semolina | 100 g | Whole wheat semolina pasta | 80 g |
| Tomato puree | 100 g | Passed tomato | 100 g |
| Grain | 10 g (1 tablespoon) | Grain | 5 g (1 tsp) |
| Boiled egg and boiled potatoes | Boiled egg and salad | ||
| Egg, whole | 50 g | Egg, whole | 50 g |
| Wheat bread | 50 g (2 slices) | Whole wheat bread | 50 g (2 slices) |
| Extra virgin olive oil | 20 g (2 tablespoons) | Extravirgin olive oil | 20 g (2 tablespoons) |
| Snack | Snack | ||
| Whole milk yogurt | 125 g (1 jar) | Skimmed milk yogurt | 125 g (1 jar) |
| Dinner | Dinner | ||
| Boiled rice | Boiled potatoes | ||
| White rice | 90 g | Potato | 200 g |
| Steak pork and eggplant to the plate | Grilled chicken and eggplant steak | ||
| Pork loin | 100 g | Chicken breast | 100 g |
| Eggplant | 200 g | Eggplant | 200 g |
| Wheat bread | 50 g | Whole wheat bread | 50 g |
| Extravirgin olive oil | 20 g | Extravirgin olive oil | 20 g |