Realistic Rates of Fat Loss

How long do you think it will take for you to reach your goals?

Understanding that your goal is very doable but that every situation and person is different, is the key part you’ve been missing.

It could take someone 3 months to lose 30lbs, or 6 months, or even a year.

But why is there so much variance?

Because they all comes with different trade offs. And unless you understand this and set realistic expectations, you will constantly be disappointed in your progress.

Let’s say you lose 6 pounds of body fat in your first month. 

Yet you think this isn’t “good enough” & think it should be more…

From a numbers standpoint - this progress is actually fantastic!

If you maintained that level of progress for 6 months, you could be down 40lbs of body fat.

Now that could be life-changing for some! For others, it may actually be more than they wanted to lose.

Most often people feel down about only 6 pounds because you think you should be able to lose 20lbs in 4 weeks due to all the fad diets & BS marketing out there.

This is why it is so important to set realistic expectations & understand what your true goal is.

→ If you want to lose 20lbs what does that look like or feel like for you? A lot of the time people underestimate how much they’d have to lose in order to get a certain body composition.

→ If you want to “get healthier” - how will you know when you get there? Are you imagining better blood work? Are there specific measures you’re worried or focused on?

→ If you want to look “muscular/toned” - you will probably want to get leaner and also add in strength training.

→ If you want “six pack abs” - are you prepared for all that entails? This often requires more exercise, more restrictive eating, and a less flexible lifestyle.

Before you try to enter a fat loss phase/goal you need to understand what you’re willing to do and NOT willing to do.

Realistic rates of fat loss per week

Progress. Men Women

Extreme ~2-3 lb ~1.65-2.5 lb

Reasonable ~1-2 lb ~0.8-1.65 lb

Comfortable ~<1 lb ~<0.8 lb

Extreme: Requires about 90 to 100 percent consistency.

Reasonable:  Requires about 70 to 85 percent consistency.

Comfortable: Requires about 50 to 65 percent consistency. *

Clearly, the more consistent you are, the faster your progress, and the more fat you’ll lose.

It’s also important to realize that fat loss is rarely linear. It fluctuates from day to day & week to week. 

The goal is to see an overall trend downward over time.

You also want to note that fat loss happens the quickest:

1-when you’re first starting out;

2-when you have more body fat to lose.

Why?

Let’s say you normally eat 3000 calories a day and maintain your body weight. And then you start eating 2000 calories a day… well you just created a huge deficit of 1000 calories. This will lead to quicker weight loss.

However, once you start to lose weight, your deficit becomes smaller and smaller because your body is getting smaller and thus requires less calories.

As this process happens, your metabolism adapts. This means that your metabolism lowers your daily calorie needs.

Your body also starts to become more efficient at exercising, which means the number of calories you burn when exercising is also reduced.

So here’s the thing to understand: 

The leaner you become, the slower the rate of fat loss and the more plateaus you will experience.

This is normal.

And it’s important to understand this because it is what leads to better progress.

How?

Because knowing this means you will probably be less likely to give up or “throw in the towel” when you hit a plateau. Instead you will be able to rationalize that it’s all part of the journey.

Think about it this way: If you were going to drive from Ontario to British Columbia, you’re going in KNOWING that you will have to stop for rest, bathroom breaks, to eat and get snacks, fill up the gas, probably hit traffic or even construction along the way. But you won’t give up or stop when those things arise (because they do and they will). That’s life.

Never do things go to plan or smooth sailing. Expect life to throw a wrench in your plans. Being prepared and expecting disruptions will be very valuable for your long term progress down the road.

(1998), Executive Summary. Obesity Research, 6: 51S-179S. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1550-8528.1998.tb00690.x

Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults--The Evidence Report. National Institutes of Health. Obes Res. 1998 Sep;6 Suppl 2:51S-209S. Erratum in: Obes Res 1998 Nov;6(6):464. PMID: 9813653.