How To Lose 5 Kg in One Week

Overview

Losing weight and getting in shape is the ultimate goal of every beginner in the field of fitness. This journey entails feeling hungry and working hard in the gym to sculpture your body and reduce body fat percentage.

Unfortunately, many people quit pursuing this goal after going to the gym a couple of times, as they don’t see the results they’ve been dreaming of.

Additionally, the online community excels at spreading misinformation regarding diets, exercises, and weight loss, which further misleads the public.

For this reason, we decided to write this article about the pros and cons of rapid weight loss, as well as the right way to lose 5 kg in one week.

The pros of losing weight quickly

Motivational boost

As mentioned above, most people decide to give up on their fitness dreams after going to the gym a couple of times and seeing no results.

Therefore, losing weight in a short period of time could serve as the required motivational boost to keep you on track.

With the being said, the initial weight loss is usually temporary, meaning that the rate of lipolysis (i.e., fat burning) will slow down with time.

Improved feeling of general well-being

While you may not lose substantial weight during the first few weeks of working out, the mere fact of going to the gym and engaging your musculoskeletal system in strenuous exercises will increase the secretion of mood-regulating hormones, such as endorphins and dopamine.

As a result, you will start to feel much better (physically and mentally), which translates to your daily routine, professional career, and personal life.

In summary, losing weight rapidly will help you feel better about yourself.

Activated musculoskeletal system

Living a sedentary lifestyle is really damaging to the musculoskeletal system. As humans, we are designed to run, jump, and move around all day.

In fact, a large number of the musculoskeletal diseases we see today (e.g., chronic lower back pain, osteoarthritis) are due to the lack of physical activity and obesity.

To put it simply, our joints are not equipped to handle dozens of kilograms of fat; this precipitates numerous maladies, including organic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, back pain) and mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety).

The cons of rapid weight loss

Metabolic slowdown

Body fat is stored inside adipocytes (i.e., fat cells) to be used when we’re in a state of starvation. In other words, when our ancestors gained body fat, they were using it as a contingency plan in case they had to deal with cold winters, scarce foods, or drought.

With the modern lifestyle, these environmental factors are rarely a problem, which means that fat storage is not going anywhere.

However, if you try to lose weight quickly, you’ll notice that the rate at which this occurs is continuously slowing down.

Why is that?

The answer stems from the original purpose of storing fat. We said above that our ancestors used it to survive, which means that your brain translates the depletion of food during dieting (e.g., carbs, protein) as being in a state of starvation.

Consequently, and to reduce the toll of this hypothetical situation, the hypothalamus (a gland located in the brain) will send signals to your cells, instructing them to slow down metabolism.

Eventually, this leads to a deaccelerated rate of lipolysis.

Certain disease processes

Quick weight-loss interferes with several physiological functions, including the hepatic (i.e., liver) metabolism of fatty acids and cholesterol.

As a result, you will predispose your body to the following conditions:

• Muscles atrophy (i.e., losing muscle mass)
• Menstrual irregularities in women
• Gallstone formation and cholecystitis
• Digestive problems (e.g., constipation, abdominal cramping)
• Hair loss

Each of these conditions has a complex pathophysiology that connects it to rapid weight loss; check this link for more information.

Mostly water!

Most people are unaware that losing weight at an incredibly rapid rate does not mean it’s all coming from burning fat.

In fact, when you embark on a new diet or workout routine and lose substantial weight during the first week, it is mostly composed of water.

Here’s how it works:

Dietary changes

Adopting a new diet that puts you in a state of caloric deficit will likely reduce your carbohydrate intake. As a result, the body turns into glycogen as a source of fuel, which requires large amounts of water to get metabolized.

The excess water in the blood vessels leads to more urinary output and subsequent water weight loss.

Exercise routines

Strenuous exercise causes profuse sweating that results in massive water weight loss during every workout session.

To test this, try to weigh yourself before and after working out to see the difference

Note that wet clothes (with sweat) are considerably heavier than dry ones, so it’s recommended to weigh yourself before and after exercising without any clothes on.

How to lose 5 kg in one week

Try the ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet is considered superior to most other weight loss eating patterns. One study found that people on this diet lost 2.2 times more weight than those following a calorie-restricted diet.

Moreover, you can enjoy all of the benefits that come from being in ketosis without actually having to restrict your food intake.

In another study, researchers found that following a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet (ketogenic diet) reduces the feeling of hunger and promotes satiety.

Weight lifting

Lifting weight, or strength training, is an effective way to burn a considerable number of calories when exercising and during the post-exertional period.

To achieve your goal of rapid weight loss, opt for workouts that target large muscle groups, such as front and back squats, as well as bench presses.

Aerobic training

In a 2012 study, scientists compared the several weight loss exercises to see which one yields the best results.

The main two forms of exercise included cardiovascular and resistance training.

The study concluded that aerobic training was more effective at reducing body fat, which is the perfect choice to lose 5 kg in one week.

For more information about aerobic training exercises, check out this link.

Track your macros

Regardless of the fitness goal you have (e.g., losing weight, gaining muscles, changing workout routine), calculating your calories and macronutrients is essential.

The body needs energy and gets it from the food you consume; consequently, adjusting the ratio of these foods can either accelerate or slow down the goal you’re trying to achieve.

To lose 5 kg in one week, calculate your caloric intake and macros in order to place yourself under severe caloric restriction.

Move around!

While this tip alone won’t cause any substantial weight loss in a short time, it will definitely add value to the other methods listed above to help you achieve your goal.

Here are a couple of tips on how to become more active:

• Try walking more (avoid using your car or other transportation methods to close destinations)
• Do house chores
• Move around inside your house (climb the stairs)
• Take frequent breaks if you have an office job

Takeaway message

Losing weight is a challenging task that requires a lot of determination and hard work.

Hopefully, this article helped you understand the pros and cons of rapid weight loss, as well as the potential methods to lose 5 kg in one week.

If you still have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comment section below.