How long does it take to lose 40 pounds? It takes about 4 to 5 months to lose 40 pounds. A safe healthy and realistic weight loss is about 1 to 2 pounds per week. The only way to lose weight is you need to be in a caloric deficit and that means burning more calories than you consume.
One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So, to lose one pound per week you need to be in a daily caloric deficit of 500 calories. To lose 2 pounds per week you need to be in a daily caloric deficit of 1000 calories.
How long does it take to lose 40 pounds? iStock-Prostock-studio
Extreme Caloric Restrictions
Drinking cleanses, juices, fad diets or starving yourself is counterproductive to losing weight. This extreme caloric restriction can be very damaging to your health and metabolism. Consuming less than 1000 calories a day can be counterproductive to losing weight as research studies show it will negatively affect your metabolism.
If your goal is to lose 40 pounds you need to focus on eating healthy whole foods. Here are some good healthy whole foods you can eat like protein foods such as:
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Fish
- Salmon
- Beef
- Shrimp
- Steak
Some good complex carbs to eat are:
- Brown Rice
- Sweet Potatoes
- Beans
- Oatmeal
- Barley
- Rye
- Baked Potatoes
Some good healthy fruits and vegetables to eat:
- Bananas
- Apples
- Peaches
- Oranges
- Strawberries
- Pears
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Asparagus
For a woman that has a goal of losing 40 pounds a good daily calorie intake to follow as a starting point is anywhere from 1200 to 1400 calories per day. For men that want to lose weight a good daily calorie starting point is anywhere from 1600 to 1900 calories a day.
Fruits and vegetables should be consumed with every meal because that extra fiber intake will help to suppress your appetite. Drinking up to 8 glasses of water daily will help to suppress your appetite which will help you lose weight.
Exercise
Exercise is one of the best ways to burn calories and the two fitness modalities you should be doing regularly are cardiovascular and strength training. Cardiovascular can be swimming, walking, gardening, jogging, dancing, riding a bike, etc.
Strength Training can be body weight workouts like push-ups, sit-ups, planks, body squats, lunges, etc.
Strengh-training workouts like dumbbell weights, weight lifting machines and resistance band exercises. Cardiovascular workouts allowyou to burn calories at the workout and strength training allows you to burn calories after the workout. Implementing cardio regularly helps with maintaining a healthy heart.
Weight training allows you to build lean muscle mass and that lean muscle mass impacts your metabolism in a positive way. The more lean muscle mass you have the faster your metabolism will be. That is why lifting weights or strength training is so critical and important.
You should be exercising at least 3 to 4 days a week and up to 5 days a week. Especially if you have serious fitness goals of losing a large amount of weight or 40 pounds.
The Bottom Line is you can lose 40 pounds in about 4 to 5 months if you follow a healthy balanced diet and incorporate exercise regularly at least 4 days a week you can lose 40lbs or more. But it comes down to consistency of positive lifestyle habits over time.
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About Author- Obi Obadike
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References
- Eriksson J, Taimela S, Koivisto VA. Exercise and the metabolic syndrome. Diabetologia. 1997 Feb;40(2):125-35. doi: 10.1007/s001250050653. PMID: 9049471.
- Soare A, Cangemi R, Omodei D, Holloszy JO, Fontana L. Long-term calorie restriction, but not endurance exercise, lowers core body temperature in humans. Aging (Albany NY). 2011 Apr;3(4):374-9. doi: 10.18632/aging.100280. PMID: 21483032; PMCID: PMC3117452.
