How long does it take to lose bodyfat percentage?

About 2 to 3 months for every 5 points, for most people losing about a pound a week. A 200 pound man going from 30% to 25% has about 13 pounds of fat to lose. The leaner you get, the slower we’d go, because that’s when fast loss costs the most muscle.

Why it takes longer than people hope

People think in points, and the body loses pounds. A point of bodyfat is a lot of fat when you’re bigger and less when you’re smaller, and the scale also carries water that hides the trend for weeks at a time.

Points of bodyfat are like miles on a road trip. The speed limit sets the time, not how badly you want to arrive.

The math for one person

Take a 200 pound man at 30% bodyfat: 60 pounds of fat and 140 pounds of everything else. Keep the 140 and lose only fat:

Your weight at a target is your lean mass divided by one minus the target. 140 divided by 0.75 is about 187. The calories to lose calculator does this and gives you a date.

How fast is safe

The CDC says people who lose about 1 to 2 pounds a week are more likely to keep it off. As a share of your weight, that’s about 0.5 to 1% a week. In a 2011 study of elite athletes who lifted, the ones losing about 0.7% a week gained lean mass, and the ones losing about 1% a week didn’t, though both lost the same weight in the end.

Expect it to slow. As you get lighter you burn less, so the same diet makes a smaller gap. Re-set your calories every 10 to 15 pounds.