Losing weight is no walk in the park. You probably already know that it is a difficult process, one that requires willpower, patience, and determination. We all know that we need to weight, but we all want to see results yesterday! The main question people have when they first set out on a weight loss journey is ‘How long is this going to take?â? The answer to that is complicated, to say the least.
How Your Metabolism Plays a Part in Results
Your metabolism is the key determinant in how fast you see results when you try to lose weight. Some people have faster metabolisms than others; men generally have faster metabolisms than women. Similarly, younger people tend to have faster metabolisms than older people, and more muscular people have faster metabolisms than their less muscular counterparts.
Therefore, your individual metabolism is what decides how fast the weight slips off. This is also the reason why you should not compare how fast you lose weight to other people. They may have a faster or slower metabolism than yours, so what works for them may not work for you (yes, that super skinny friend of yours who swallows down meals in large quantities but never gains weight probably has a much faster metabolism than yours).
Is There Nothing You Can Do?
Well, don’t lose all hope if the pounds seem to be slipping off you at the rate of a snail trying to run 100 yards. There are several things you can do to keep your metabolism running much more efficiently (read: faster).
Firstly, it’s important to avoid diets that restrict your calories too much, as this will slow down your metabolism in the long run. Also, exercise regularly and incorporate strength training into your workouts so that you can increase muscle mass, which will rev up your metabolism as well. Keep your body guessing by constantly mixing up your workouts and mealtimes, so that your metabolic fire will be running at full speed all the time.
So, don’t worry about how fast you can see results. Just focus on your weight loss efforts and see to it that you are dieting and exercising effectively. If you do everything right, you should see some progress over time.
Note that it’s healthy to lose around one or two pounds a week on a proper weight loss program, though you may lose much more initially if you have a lot of weight to lose. Also, if you only have a little bit of weight to lose, it will be much harder to see results, but don’t give up. Keep at it and you’ll see the results you want sooner or later.