How Much Weight Can You Lose in a Month, Safely?
No affiliate links. Every fact below links to its source. This guide is general information, not professional advice.
The NHS advises aiming to lose 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lbs) a week. Keeping to that steady pace through a month is the recommended approach, rather than trying to lose as much as possible as fast as possible. The CDC says people who lose weight at a gradual, steady pace are more likely to keep it off than people who lose it quicker.
This guide explains where that guidance comes from, what it takes in practice, and why a slower pace is usually the better one.
What the guidance says
The UK’s NHS says to aim to lose 1 to 2 lbs, or 0.5 to 1 kg, a week (nhs.uk).
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes a gradual, steady pace of about 1 to 2 pounds a week, and says people who lose weight this way are more likely to keep the weight off than people who lose weight quicker (cdc.gov).
| Source | Recommended pace |
|---|---|
| NHS | 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lbs) a week |
| CDC | About 1 to 2 pounds a week |
These are recommended ranges, not a promise. How much one person loses depends on their starting weight, their body and what they change.
What it takes
The NHS notes that, on average, women use around 2,000 calories a day and men around 2,500 (nhs.uk).
Harvard Health says a pace of one to two pounds a week can be achieved by eating 500 to 750 fewer calories each day (health.harvard.edu).
The NHS obesity guidance also suggests being active for 45 to 60 minutes a day, and says you can break this up into shorter sessions (nhs.uk).
Why losing faster can backfire
Harvard Health says quicker weight loss can backfire by lowering the rate at which your body burns calories, while steady, slow weight loss can help you maintain a relatively stable metabolism (health.harvard.edu).
The NHS adds that very low calorie diets are not suitable or safe for everyone (nhs.uk).
Small losses still count
The CDC gives the example that a 5% weight reduction for a person who weighs 200 pounds is 10 pounds, and says a loss of this size could lower the risk for some chronic diseases such as heart disease, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (cdc.gov).
Your checklist
- Aim for the NHS pace of 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lbs) a week, not faster.
- Harvard Health says eating 500 to 750 fewer calories a day than you use is how that pace can be reached.
- Build in activity; the NHS suggests 45 to 60 minutes a day, which can be split into shorter sessions.
- Remember that very low calorie diets are not suitable or safe for everyone, according to the NHS.
When to see a doctor
The NHS says to see a GP if you have, or think you may have, an eating disorder such as binge eating. It also says to see a GP if you want help to lose weight and your BMI is in the overweight or obese range, and lists conditions such as prediabetes, diabetes, high blood pressure, joint pain, high cholesterol, sleep apnoea and cardiovascular disease among the reasons. A GP can give advice about losing weight safely, and you might be able to refer yourself to local weight loss services without seeing a GP (nhs.uk).
This guide is general information based on the NHS, CDC and Harvard Health sources linked above. It is not medical advice, and it hasn’t been reviewed by a clinician.
Sources
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