How long does it take to lose weight?

Losing weight is a personal experience. How quickly you lose it depends on your body, your lifestyle, and the changes you make. Just as everyone puts on weight at different speeds, we all lose it differently too.

Some people believe that the older you get, the harder it is to lose weight. However, a study published in Obesity looked at the effect of age on weight loss and maintenance. The researchers found that participants aged over 60 had greater initial weight loss, regained less weight, and sustained more weight loss after three years.

Age might affect weight loss due to muscle mass and lifestyle. As we age, our muscle mass can decrease. The maintenance of muscle cells takes more energy than fat cells, so people with more muscle typically have a faster metabolism. Many of us also move less as we get older, sometimes expending less energy than we take in. Whatever your age, research shows we all need similar behavioural strategies to maintain weight loss.

When the body protects itself

The authors of a study titled Maintenance of Lost Weight and Long-Term Management of Obesity explain why many people struggle to lose as much weight as they wish. People who commit to healthier habits often achieve rapid initial loss, but after several months, their progress stalls.

For each kilogram of weight lost, calorie expenditure reduces by about 20–30 calories per day, yet appetite increases by around 100 calories per day above the previous level. The result can feel discouraging, but it’s biology, not you failing. Your brain’s priority is to keep you alive, and when it senses restriction, it reacts as if to famine. Cortisol, the stress hormone, rises; metabolism slows; hunger increases. Your body simply believes it needs to help you get food.

Although weight-loss maintenance requires ongoing attention, the real work is helping your nervous system feel safe enough to release its protective patterns. When the body feels under threat, even an imagined threat, it holds on. When it feels safe, it can let go.

How long will it take me to lose weight?

How long it takes you to lose weight depends on how much you change your diet and lifestyle, but it’s also linked to how regulated your nervous system is. Unless your aim is short-term change, it’s more relevant to consider how you will maintain what you lose.

Our bodies evolved for movement, daylight, real food, and social connection. When we live against those rhythms by sitting still, eating under stress and sleeping under bright artificial light, the body stays chemically primed for action that never comes. Stress hormones remain high, appetite regulation falters, and energy stores increase.

How hypnosis supports sustainable change

Hypnosis is a tool you can use as a behavioural strategy to maintain weight loss. We know that you may need to consume fewer calories than you desire to sustain it, but hypnosis helps you manage this longing. In sessions, we explore the foods you crave and use suggestions to draw you towards healthier options. For example, you might begin to reach for a glass of water whenever you feel compelled to open the fridge or cupboard.

Mindfulness and hypnotherapy together reconnect the mind and body. When cravings arise, the techniques you learn help you notice what is happening internally - physically and emotionally - before acting. You learn to pause, breathe, and make a conscious choice.

Hypnotherapy calms the body. By taking the nervous system out of the stress response and into rest-and-digest, your body can regulate appetite, restore balance, and maintain the natural rhythm that supports healthy weight.

References

Svetkey, L.P., Clark, J.M., Funk, K., Corsino, L., Batch, B.C., Hollis, J.F., Appel, L.J., Brantley, P.J., Loria, C.M., Champagne, C.M. and Vollmer, W.M., 2014. Greater weight loss with increasing age in the weight loss maintenance trial. Obesity, 22(1), pp.39-44.

Mcguire, M.T., Wing, R.R., Klem, M.L., Seagle, H.M. and Hill, J.O., 1998. Long-term maintenance of weight loss: do people who lose weight through various weight loss methods use different behaviors to maintain their weight?. International journal of obesity, 22(6), pp.572-577.

Hall, K.D. and Kahan, S., 2018. Maintenance of lost weight and long-term management of obesity. Medical Clinics, 102(1), pp.183-197.

Bolocofsky, D.N., Spinler, D. and Coulthard‐Morris, L., 1985. Effectiveness of hypnosis as an adjunct to behavioral weight management. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41(1), pp.35-41.