Generally it’s best not to focus on losing weight but on adjusting calorie intake. Because muscle weighs more than fat, water weighs more than either, and the goal is generally to feel fit, not light.
When wrestling I used to do the “drop a kilo class” thing by bulking up in a way that could rapidly store water, then running to temporarily shed that water before weigh in, then immediately rehydrate up to the next weight class. That was usually around 10 lbs of weight, but I was dropping it and regaining within a 6 hour period.
Losing weight for health reasons isn’t going to be the same for everyone. Personally I find the best way for me to lose weight is to increase my metabolism, which I find I can do through endurance running in threshold temperatures. But for other people that just makes them tired and hungry without their metabolism adjusting. And without the metabolic change, you don’t get the added benefit of literally burning off stored energy.
Also, depleting fat cells isn’t the same as removing fat cells. Those cells are still there, and it’s going to take months for cellular change to happen in your body. So 20 lbs of weight loss in a month will mostly be loss of water, muscle, and energy stored in the fat cells. And as soon as you stop starving yourself, it’ll all come back. And that can happen in a matter of days.
Generally it’s best not to focus on losing weight but on adjusting calorie intake. Because muscle weighs more than fat, water weighs more than either, and the goal is generally to feel fit, not light.
When wrestling I used to do the “drop a kilo class” thing by bulking up in a way that could rapidly store water, then running to temporarily shed that water before weigh in, then immediately rehydrate up to the next weight class. That was usually around 10 lbs of weight, but I was dropping it and regaining within a 6 hour period.
Losing weight for health reasons isn’t going to be the same for everyone. Personally I find the best way for me to lose weight is to increase my metabolism, which I find I can do through endurance running in threshold temperatures. But for other people that just makes them tired and hungry without their metabolism adjusting. And without the metabolic change, you don’t get the added benefit of literally burning off stored energy.
Also, depleting fat cells isn’t the same as removing fat cells. Those cells are still there, and it’s going to take months for cellular change to happen in your body. So 20 lbs of weight loss in a month will mostly be loss of water, muscle, and energy stored in the fat cells. And as soon as you stop starving yourself, it’ll all come back. And that can happen in a matter of days.