How much weight can I lose in a month with diet and exercise?

Mike Heatlie says ...

Well you could lose over 30 lbs quit easily but believe me you won't enjoy it and it wouldn’t last.  I’ve witnessed judo players and boxers lose up to 11 lbs in two days. There are so many variables that contribute to weight loss, sustained weight loss, so you have make sure you manipulate those variables correctly.

Firstly your goal should be to lose body fat and not necessarily your overall weight. Certain types of diets and exercise regimes work better for fat loss than others. You could exercise on a cross trainer for 2 hours per day for a month and eat a daily 1000 kcal diet, but your weight loss won't be effective.

Depending on your size, your goal should change to measurements, both skinfold and circumference waist, arms, hips, thighs etc. If you're fixated on weight a safe guideline is always 2-3 lbs per week but if your losing weight from lean muscle tissue then this is not good weight loss.

Mike Heatlie, Personal Trainer, Mike Heatlie Personal Training

Michael Cowen says ...

Ideally you should look to lose around 1lb per week.

To burn 1lb of bodyfat you will need to expend 3600 calories, therefore to reach this target you will need a calorific deficit of just over 500 calories per day. The best way to achieve this is by reducing your intake and increasing your energy expenditure. Crash dieting tends to shock your metabolism into starvation mode, which is a hangover from our days as cave men when regular food could not be guaranteed. This causes your body to catabolise protein (this basically means that your body eats its own muscle) so as to spare the fat stores in order to survive a long fast. This reduces your metabolism further and generally makes weight management more difficult. Other fad diets such as high protein diets rely on water loss which is superficial weight loss and not great for your health either.

Michael Cowen, Personal Trainer at Westwoods Health Club, Edinburgh

Mark Raynsford says ...

Well this really depends on what you class as dieting and exercising!

The best form of "diet" is one where you are eating natural foods, that have either lived at some point (lean meats, fish, eggs etc) and foods which have been grown (nuts, fruit, vegetables) You cannot go wrong with this type of eating, as it's natural, the body can process and use it, and you will not find high calories in any of it.

Combine this with 2+litres of water a day and you have the basis to an easy to follow diet which will keep you full of energy, and keep the fat at bay!

Exercise wise, look to combine 2-3 sessions of freeweight resistance work, with 2 interval sessions a week. This should challenge the body enough to keep it lean and healthy.

Mark Raynsford, Personal Trainer, Marks PT

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