What is a realistic amount of weight to lose each week?

That depends on the person - however the rough guidelines would be around half a kilo each week. Most of where people go wrong is through nutrition. It is possible to do this through nutrition alone, and although exercise added into the equation is advisable, it is commonly the consensus of many body sculpters that one must have a good understanding of correct dietary principles before embarking on an exercise program. For example - for women - breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper - is a good rule to follow, not just a myth. This is particularly in respect to carbohydrate-rich foods such as pasta, potatoes, bananas, bread, rice and porridge. The greatest single scourge in managing ones weight is a single word: sugar, and that includes anything that contains it.

I personally think that 0.5 to 1 kg a week a realistic weight loss goal.  Any more than that and you slow your metabolism and risk rebounding.  The best way to do this is, as Matt says a combination of nutrition and excercise although 70% of weight stability comes from your RMB (resting metabolic rate) meaning this doesnt change with excercise.

Sugar is a processed carbohydrate and should be avoided due to its lack of nutritional benefits, nuts are high in fat, but its good fat and most studies show that nuts help with weight loss in small quantities.  Think 40g serves.

Best, healthiest and easiest way to lose weight is to increase raw vegetables.

Happy Cooking,

Mel

You should be aiming to lose 1/2 - 1 kg per week.  A good average is to look at your weight monthly, and a healthy weight loss which can be sustained is 2-2.5kg per month.

I defintely agree to the .5 kg a week aim for weight loss. The only extra information i would add is the why. Why only half a kilogram a week? Basically our body needs to adjust to the weightloss. If we were to lose too much weight within a small time frame our body does not have time to adjust to the physiological changes and will feel as though it is in ‘famine mode’ which is similar to what happens when you are under acute stress. Your body will try and keep your current weight by signalling an increase in hormones which cause an increase in blood sugar and fat to be dispersed around your vital organs as a way of protection. Recent studies have shown that once people who have been obese for a long time will have a dramatic slowing of their Resting Metabolic Rate after ~5-8% weight loss as the body will attempt to maintain the current ‘set point’ that it has maintained for so long previously. The main aim is to focus on continuing to make healthy lifestyle changes and although there may be times when the weight is not decreasing, to not give up and revert to old patterns of behaviour that are detrimental to your health. Remember even if you are still categorised as being in an ‘overweight or obese’ BMI range, you can still be ‘fit’ and decrease several of your chronic disease risk factors such as cholesterols, BGLs and BP. 

A realistic weight loss each week would be anywhere between 0.5kg up to 1kg. This would result in a 5-10% bodyweight loss over 6 months which is considered maintainable for life. Having said this even a loss of 1-2kg a month is achieveable. 

When looking to lose weight it is best to consult the expert advice of an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD). APDs can provide you with practical tips and dietary advice on how to lose weight and maintain this weight loss long-term

For a women you should realistically look at anywhere between 0.25-1kg per week. For a guy it could be more rapid. But it will all depend on how much muscle and body fat you have on your body. Also any good weight loss program should include a specific nutrition plan with the correct amount of carbs, protein and fat, weight training and cardio exercise. As you weight train you will help to maintain your lean muscle tissue whilst increasing your metabolism. You should just be looking to just lose body fat and no muscle. Muscle stores all unused carbohydrate and also burns energy. Therefore the more muscle you have , the less carbs will convert to fat and the more energy you will burn so you have a lower body fat you a much longer period of time. But without a proper nutrition plan with the correct macronutrients, the harder it will be to maintain any muscle mass. 

When considering weight loss also think about waist circumference. Scales do not always show the full picture with weightloss and you can be losing centimetres off your waist with not a whole lot of changes on the scales.

So also monitor how your clothes are feeling- if they are getting loser then you are losing weight and this should mostly be from fat loss!

I agree with the consensus of the other answers.
0.5Kg per week or even 1 Kg per month is achieveable for most people & sustainable.
Weight control is hard work & small regular losses are better than more rapid weight loss which is much more likely to rebound.
My experience over the last 25 years shows that most people can achieve 10-12Kg over a 12 month period & more importantlykeep it off.

JB yo do touch on an important point…weight loss/gain does not always equate to FAT loss/gain.

Changes in body composition (Fat vs Muscle) can occur with no change in weight, this is why some people notice there clothes ‘fitting better’ with no change on the scales.