Can You Safely Lose 60 Pounds in 6 Months?

Creating a plan for weight loss and weight management can be an important step toward better health, and one easy tactic might be to choose a number you want to see on the scale six months or even a year from now. But what would that look like for you? For example, can you lose 60 pounds (lb) in six months?

"It's imperative to lose body fat at the same time as you increase muscle and bone mass," she says. "If you're losing mostly fat in that 60 pounds, then that's healthy weight loss, but if you're yo-yoing through losing and regaining, it's likely too much muscle is being lost, and that's not healthy."

Can You Lose 60 Pounds in 6 Months?

Although it might be possible to lose 60 lb in six months, it may do more harm than good to fixate on a specific number like that, especially if you haven't assessed your baseline body composition of muscle and fat, says Pooja Gidwani, MD, an internal medicine and obesity medicine physician with a private practice in Los Angeles.

"That's what drives improvements in insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular risk, and long-term weight stability," says Gidwani. "Losing more than 1 to 1.5 pounds per week, especially without proper training, protein intake, or medical supervision, often means you're losing more than just fat. That can lead to a slower metabolism, hormone imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, and ultimately, rebound weight gain."

7 Tips for Safe, Sustainable Weight Loss

As mentioned, diet and exercise are key parts of building muscle and losing fat. But, what specific strategies make a weight loss plan effective and sustainable long-term? Safe, sustainable weight loss isn't just about what the scale says or even how your clothes are fitting, says Gidwani.

"Success isn't defined by how quickly you lose weight or even how much is lost, but by how well you can maintain it without food fear or constant micromanagement," she says. "If someone can keep weight off for over a year, maintain or improve their muscle mass, improve their biomarkers and micronutrients, and feel stronger, more energetic, and less preoccupied with food, then that's sustainable.”

Her top tips for sustainable weight loss are:

1. Lift some weights. As mentioned, building and maintaining muscle mass is key to how quickly your body can burn calories, especially if you're trying to lose weight. That's because muscle is metabolically active, meaning it requires more energy (calories) to maintain itself, even when resting — so, the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn overall.

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2. Emphasize protein and fiber. Protein and fiber are important parts of any weight loss plan. Protein can help you feel full for longer and also supports building and maintaining muscle mass, which is important for weight management, she says.

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    Fiber is important for gut health, blood sugar regulation, appetite control, and reduced abdominal fat over time, says Gidwani.

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3. Use the right numbers to measure progress. Rather than relying only on the scale, it's better to consider body composition through a DEXA scan, as well as waist-to-hip ratio. DEXA scans measure your bone density and how much fat you have in your body and can be ordered through your doctor. You can calculate your waist-to-hip ratio by dividing your waist circumference by your hip circumference, with a goal of being under 0.90.

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4. Eat on a consistent schedule. Try to eat at the same times each day. Irregular meals can affect hormones like insulin and cortisol, and late-night eating might make that worse.

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5. Get enough sleep each night. How much sleep you get can affect your weight loss efforts. Research indicates that it only takes about five nights of poor sleep to negatively affect weight loss.

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6. Consider non-scale factors, too. Pay attention to your energy, mood, cravings, digestion, and strength. These can often provide more insight than the number on the scale as to whether your weight loss plan is helpful and sustainable for you, says Gidwani.
7. Address any other health issues you have. Consider whether you may have underlying health issues that are hampering your efforts and warrant a visit to the doctor. Disrupted gut health, chronic stress, hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, and medication side effects can all stall weight loss if they're not addressed, says Gidwani.

Be sure to check with your doctor before you start any new diet or exercise routine to make sure it's safe for you.

The Takeaway

• It's possible to lose 60 lb in six months, but it may do more harm than good if your approach is causing you to lose more muscle than fat.
• If you lose weight too rapidly, it may not lead to sustainable weight management over time, which could include regaining the weight you lost initially.
• Sustainable weight loss requires a breadth of strategies that support your sleep, mood, energy, and physical activity levels.
• Talk to your doctor before starting a new diet or exercise routine to ensure it's right for you.