So How Long Does It Take To Lose The Fat?

So a question that I’m guessing nearly every single person reading this book has is wondering alright this is all great and I’m looking forward to implementing all these great concepts but how long will it actually take to start losing fat and how much can I expect to lose, and also how quickly will I lose it? And while honestly that is a question that can only truthfully be answered with an “it depends” (what question can’t?) there are some guidelines and some things that most people experience and so therefore you can generally expect. Now again as always I want to point out that how much you eat obviously has an effect (so if you’re eating ten sticks of butter you’re probably not going to lose weight) but that is secondary to what you eat.

For example one thousand calories of sugar and carbohydrates is very different from one thousand calories of fat and the effects that those calories have on your body, hormonal health, and of course how much fat you store. Here’s what I recommend for maximum weight loss and then you can adjust as needed down the road. I’d recommend starting off where you cut out all carbohydrates completely (other than green vegetables) and go for a keto type diet. Meaning you’re generally going to keep your daily carbohydrates under 20 grams. A reminder that when looking at carbohydrates in vegetables to subtract the fiber from the carbohydrates, what remains is what counts.

Also be sure to get in enough sodium and stay hydrated. Then once the weight starts coming off you can then add in some of your favorite carbs as needed. Or perhaps you’ll feel so great and look so good that you’ll just keep them out of your diet for good. Like I’ve said multiple times experiment and then do what works for you and your body. But regardless start hard and heavy and then adjust as needed. That’s what I recommend for maximum weight loss and it’s much more effective than doing things the other way around where we’re constantly subtracting with little to nothing to show for it. Which really kills motivation to say the least. Alright now for the fat you’re going to lose and how long it’s going to take you.

How Much & How Long?

First off let me just throw my disclaimer out here and repeat “it depends” alright now with that out of the way we’re going to look at what the typical results are and factors that modify and change that. We’ll start with the factors. When I say “it depends” here are the main things that I’m going to take into account. For example males generally lose fat faster than females, likewise those that are younger generally lose fat than those who are older, those who have more muscle lose fat faster than those who have less, those that are overall healthier lose fat faster than those who aren’t, those without any conditions or diseases generally lose fat faster than those without, and those that are naturally more ectomorphic are going to lose weight faster than those that are naturally more endomorphic. And so on and so forth.

Alright now with that out of the way we’ll do some averages and what you can generally expect. Another thing to factor in is are you trying to lose ten pounds to get down to fifteen percent body fat for spring break or are you an obese diabetic who is doing this for health reasons? Because the more weight (particularly fat) that you have to lose the easier it’s going to come off. Also realize that your initial weight loss is going to be a lot of water weight. But after that generally people lose about 2 pounds of fat per week on this type of eating plan when transferring from a high carb (especially processed carbs and sugar) type diet. Obviously things like how much sleep one gets, nutrient content of food, total amount of food that one eats, and amount of exercise one does also has an effect. But 2 pounds per week seems to be the average with people of all different types who are transferring from a typical Western diet and this doesn’t last indefinetly. Like I said there are many factors that play a role.

Now if you’re not losing at least one pound per week regardless of you factors involved (unless you have literally all of them going against you) then you might need to adjust some things. First and foremost I almost guarantee that you’re getting some form of sugar or carbs in your food that you’re not noticing. Everything processed has weird crap in it even if it fits with your macros, also you have to take into consideration things like breading, sauces, and seasonings. I’d recommend eating food plain (unless you drowning it in olive oil or grass fed butter). So unless you’re using an approved fat as a “seasoning” then keep it plain. Of course things like real salt and pepper never hurt either. But anything fancier than that and you could run into some issues.

Summary

So all you have to do is take how much fat that you want to lose. Do this by getting a body fat percentage either from a scale or caliper or another source. Calculate how much fat you have and what your ideal goal is. Ideal health for men is anywhere from 12-15 and for women 20-25 (those are very rough estimates, remember everyone’s different but going too low in body fat will screw up your hormones, which isn’t worth it at all). So if you’re a guy who weighs 200 pounds and have a body fat level of 25% that means you’re body fat is 50 pounds. At 2 pounds a week on average you can kind of see how this is going to trend out and so can make plans for goal weights (and more importantly body fat percentages) at certain times.

Also if you pick in weight training you may put on some muscle as well. This generally only happens with those who have just started training. So remember that weight isn’t what ultimately matters what matters is body composition which means body fat percentage relative to muscle mass. Regardless if you’re trying to lose fat on put on muscle good body composition (and of course general and especially hormonal health) should be your goal. Alright so there you have it how much and how long. Now the only thing left to do is go out there and get after it. And get ready to lose the fat once and for all!

If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it.

-Charles Sledge