This question seems like it should be a pretty simple one.  If you are overweight you should lose, if you are underweight then gain.  A lot of people I talk with add a lot of difficulty to this topic though. 

I hear things like,

Fat Free Mass is the area that you will see broken down more frequently and where the nuance of weight loss comes into play more so.   FFM is also sometimes referred to as Lean Body Mass or LBM.  

Your overall body fat % keeps things very simple with the following equation.  

Most people that I have conversations with have a total body weight goal.  When I dig deeper with this individuals the number usually isn't as important as a look is to them.  Most are wanting to eliminate a little "fluff" and have more muscle definition.  To accomplish that the main number you are trying to move is your body fat %.  Below is a graphic that shows a range of body fat %'s.  For most men and women they will need to get into the low end of the "Fitness" range or into the "Athlete" range to start seeing muscle definition and potentially abs.  To understand how to measure body fat you can check out this post where I talk about the rate at which you should lose body fat.  If you don't have access to any of those methods, the next best thing would be to just do a google "pictures of (fe)male body fat percentage" and click on images then compare to what you look like.  

Now that we know where are body weight comes from and what range you need to get to in order to reach your goals we can talk about what to focus on.

​To start let's just layout an hypothetical person and what their body weight and body fat % would be so you can understand things as numbers begin to move.  There is going to be a little math coming up but bear with me I'll keep it as simple as possible.  For this example we are going to break things down into 3 categories, Fat Mass, Muscle Mass, Lean Body Mass.  Usually LBM includes muscle mass but in this instance it is just going to be bone, organ and water.  

Looking at the example above you will see that she lost a majority of her weight from fat (25 pounds), LBM (7 pounds), and a little bit of muscle (4 pounds).  This person would likely have accomplished this by eating a in a moderate calorie deficit for probably 6-8 months and doing a decent amount of strength training with a little cardio.  

Now that you've seen some numbers we can dive into what strategy would work best for different groups of people.  The people that I believe should put a emphasis on losing overall weight, yeah some that will be from muscle but most from body fat, would be the following;

• People that fall into the Average or above amount of body fat

This would be the female example I mentioned above and a majority of people that are trying to lose weight.  If you look at the example above that person didn't need to gain muscle.  If you focus on fat loss the muscle underneath will show up.  

What kind of training and nutrition protocols work best for this group?  

Nutrition is going to be the biggest driver for this group.  People in this group should be eating 20-25% under their maintenance level of calories with adequate protein intake, .7g-1g/pound of bodyweight.  Studies have shown that a focus on resistance training will help this group lose weight while maintaining as much muscle mass as possible.   Too much steady state cardio may encourage weight loss but will lead to a higher % of that weight coming from muscle mass then a resistance trained individual.  Go easy on the cardio and lift some weights.  

Weight maintenance can be a fun place to hang out especially if you are coming off of and extended period of eating in a deficit.  With maintenance comes more food and who doesn't enjoy eating more food!  People trying to accomplish what is called Body Recompostion would fall into this category too.  Body Recomposition is when you are simultaneously losing body fat while increasing muscle mass.  It's the 4 leaf clover of dieting.  Doing this is tricky to down right impossible for some.  I share my thoughts about this in a video I did in my Facebook Group. 

The people that should be in this group can be pretty varied but I'll mention a few;

• People that are in the Athlete or high end of the Fitness zone that just generally want to look good in be in good health
• People that are on the high end Fitness range that have future goals of gaining muscle and potentially competing in fitness competitions
• People in the Athlete range that still actively compete in a sport and it would be detrimental to weigh more
• A person that would be considered Skinny Fat.  This person is at an ideal body weight for their height but doesn't show a lot of muscle definition.  

Let me explain this just a little bit so you can maybe better understand if you fall into one of these categories.  The first one hopefully makes sense, they are content with their weight and health and want to stay put.  The person in the second category would have a decent base of muscle but has some fat covering up that muscle.  They have a goal of eventually trying to add muscle so they don't want to sacrifice any losses in the short term.  People in the third category is a very small % of the population and if you are in this minority, you will know it and likely already be working with a coach but if not reach out and we can chat.  The fourth group is an interesting one.  People in this group would fall into healthy ranges when looking at a BMI chart but when looking at photos they look like more like people in the average to obese range of body fat.  Common themes I see in this last group are people that do very little exercise or solely focus on cardio based workouts and people that eat a lower protein diet.  

What kind of training and nutrition protocols work best for this group?  

It's going to very a little bit based on which group you fall into but for the most part this group should focus their exercise around resistance based training.   A person will need to eat at a maintenance level of calories on average.  Those trying to recomp will likely need to add in some variability to calorie intake daily but when looking at weekly average still fall around maintenance.  That's why this strategy is tricky, there are a lot of moving parts.  Protein intake will be slightly higher then the person solely trying to lose weight.  

In population where nearly 60% of the population is overweight, gaining weight, is a foreign concept to even think about as a goal.  The following groups would likely benefit from gaining weight;

• Most people that fall into the underweight categories of on the BMI chart
• Bodybuilders and fitness competitors
• Athletes that would directly benefit from being larger and stronger

Yeah I know the BMI chart is somewhat garbage but when it comes to being underweight it isn't that far off and pretty accurate.  The one group that would be excluded here would be athletes that compete at a weight class or directly benefit from being lighter like jockeys or endurance athletes.  Bodybuilders and fitness athletes aka people on the gainz train!  Insert all the gym memes and bro stuff here but adding size and muscle is important for this group not only social stigmas and to be accepted in the gym but to compete at a higher level.  If you are in "bulking" season 24/7 though you may want to look at your program and reassess your goals and why you have them.  Lastly athletes like football players and heavyweight wrestlers/boxers/fighters often see benefit from being larger and stronger, go ahead guys eat all the food!

What kind of training and nutrition protocols work best for this group?  
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Like everything there is some variability with this depending on individual circumstances.  The main thing is you will need to eat in a calorie surplus.  Typically this level of calories is going to be anywhere from 17-20 times a person's bodyweight in pounds depending on their training and activity.  You will want to be consuming roughly 1g-1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight if your main goal is increase muscle mass.  Carbohydrates tend to be more anabolic then fat so a majority of calories should likely come from that group.  

In terms of training if goals are to increase muscle mass, then your training will almost solely focus on resistance style training with minimal cardio.  If all you are looking to do is increase body weight then minimal training would be fine ensuring it is easier to eat in a surplus.  

Hopefully this has you understand weight loss.  If you have questions about what strategy you should pick drop a comment below.  If you have been at it for awhile and still not seeing progress towards your goals I would love to chat with you about your process and what might need to change!

What is an acceptable rate to lose weight?  Or I guess I should clarify that, how fast should a person lose fat?  

Why the distinction between weight loss and fat loss?  

I like to talk about weight loss in terms of fat loss.  When you boil it down that's really what people want and usually need to lose.  I've yet to work with anyone I've been coaching that told me that their muscles were just too big they wish they were smaller.  This distinction ties in perfectly to the topic of this post too, so let's talk about fat loss and weight loss and some other fun stuff.  Ready?

Do you have the view that when it comes to weight loss, more is better???  The faster it comes off the better.  I wanted to write this post because so many people I have coached have unrealistic expectations when it comes to how fast they feel the weight(fat) should come off.  I think magazine covers, the media, and our social media feeds are to blame for these unrealistic goals.  Just take a look the collection of magazine covers that I found after a quick google search.  

Everything happens FAST and NOW!!!  The media and crappy trainers out there somehow fell in love with the idea that a pound lost per day is great marketing headline!  10 Pounds Down in 10 Days... Lose 5 Pounds in 5 Days...  It's like some weird OCD thing where the numbers need match up in order to work on a magazine cover.  

Throw in social media where your one friend is telling you about the cleanse they did that helped them lose 20 pounds in one month!  I'm slightly guilty of that myself.  I did something like that and did lose 15 pounds in 18 days.  But it wasn't the best 15 pounds... take a look at my pics below.

I personally notice a bigger change between pics 2 & 3.  My 15 pound weight loss was rapid but it didn't change my body composition all that much.  I failed to track my body fat %'s back then but I'm guessing I was in the 20% range and maybe dropped a few points even though 15 pounds came off.  What that means is I lost a lot lean mass along with some fat.  Lean mass is everything from bone, water, organs, muscle, contents of your GI tract, blood, etc.  Pretty sure I didn't lose any bones or organs so the lean mass I did lose likely came from water, muscle and waste.  Hence the distinction that I pointed out earlier between weight loss and fat loss.  Between pics 2 & 3 I only lost 3 pounds but I probably dropped from 18% body fat down to 10%.  

Benefits of Losing Fat
Before I share how fast should lose fat, I want to share why focusing on fat loss is the important thing and not just overall weight loss.  

1. You will look better!  A little vanity never hurt anybody just don't go to extreme unhealthy behaviors to get those abs.  Have you heard the term, "skinny fat"?  That would be me in my middle pic above.  I was at a healthy weight for my height but I was still soft a little flabby, skinny fat!  By losing fat and maintaining muscle mass you will have a better appearance.  I hear from a lot of people that want lose fat and gain muscle.  Usually they just need to maintain the muscle and take a layer of fat off.  
2. Your Health!  Hopefully this one is a no brainer and you've read a few articles, but if not I'll share the highlights.  Being overweight and carrying extra fat increases your chance of pretty much every disease under the sun, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension to name a few.  Add in adds pressure on your joints and organs and it just isn't a good thing.  
3. There's a good chance your sleep will improve.  Increased weight increases your chances of snoring and sleep apnea.  Got a partner that would like to get a good night's sleep too, lose some fat!  
4. Fat tissue is a player in your endocrine (hormonal) system.   I won't get super geeky here but if you want, this article explains more.  Basically carrying around more fat has a pretty good chance of messing up some hormones like insulin, leptin, and adiponectin.  All of these hormones play in how energy is moved around the body and leptin is your "I'm full" hormone, telling you when to stop eating. 
   

Disclaimer: Because it is part of our endocrine system and other reasons, we need some!  Don't try to lose it all!
How Fast Should You Lose Fat?
Now that we know why we should lose fat, what is a reasonable rate to do it?  I'll try to keep the math simple but laying out a few examples will be the best way I think to help you see what realistic fat loss looks like.  

First off, I just want to make the point that progress is progress.  So even if you fall onto the slow end of progress give yourself your pat on the back that you are making progress.  

Second, since we are talking about losing fat, hopefully it is clear that is our goal, let me layout how we should track that rather than just the number on the scale.  A few ways I recommend;

• Photos; these can tell a really good story of how your body is changing.  Plus who know's maybe 5 years from now you will be writing an article like this and want to share your progress.  
• Girth Measurements; Get a flexible tape measure and measure a handful of areas on your body, arms, chest, waist, hips, thighs and if you want a few more you could do neck, forearms, wrists and calves.  
• Body Fat Caliper;these can be fairly accurate if you know what you are doing and make sure to measure in the same spots of the body.  This is personally how I calculate mine.  It's a super cheap way to get a fairly accurate measurement.  Once you get the measurements you can go to a site like this, 7 Site Body Fat Caliper Calculator.
• Scans; There are machines that a lot of gyms and healthcare facilities have that can measure your body composition.  Two of the more popular ones are InBody and DEXA scans.  Both can be very accurate but usually come at slightly higher cost and requires you to make an appointment with a facility.  
• Displacement Methods; There are methods where you can either float in a tank or be enclosed in a pod where it will measure your body density.  The Bod Pod is the one that I've heard of people using but haven't used one myself.  This method is going to be the the most accurate way to track your body fat.  

Alright so what you've been waiting for, how fast is a good speed to lose fat?  All of these rates are based on maximizing fat loss while maintaining lean mass/muscle tissue.   

Slow Progress; This rate would be losing less than 0.5% of body fat in 4 weeks.  An example of that would be a 180 lb female with 30% body fat which equates to 54 pounds of fat mass and 126 pounds of lean mass.  So 0.5% body fat loss would leave her ending the 4 weeks somewhere between 29.6% - 29.9% body fat.  This would equate to about 0.5 - 1 pound of total body weight lost. 
​Average Progress; This rate would be losing 0.5% body fat every 4 weeks.  So at the end of 4 weeks she now has a BF% of 29.5%.  Using the same female as above that would mean average progress would mean losing roughly a 1.5 pounds of body weight per 4 weeks.   By the end of the year this person could expect to be in the low 20's % body fat if they stay at a rate of 0.5% every 4 weeks.  Which would equate to somewhere around 20-25 pounds lost in a year.  
Excellent Progress; This rate would be losing 0.5% - 1% of body fat every 2-4 weeks.  Let's take the fast end of that, 1% every 2 weeks.  The same female as mentioned above in the same 4 week period would would now be 28% body fat in the same 4 week period.   This would equate to about 5-7 pounds of total body weight loss depending on how much lean mass was lost too, you will lose some no matter how hard you try.   

Let's talk about this same female and see what a year of weight loss would like  if she was doing everything right.

So if she was doing everything right I would expect that she could maintain an excellent progress rate for 4-6 months to begin her weight loss.  At the end of that time period she's likely dropped 25-30 pounds and has a body fat percentage around 20%.  Not to shabby for 6 months of work!   

Now it is going to start taking a little more work, probably a little more tracking, a few more sacrifices and lot more patience.  This is a great article about, The Cost of Getting Lean, and whether or not you want to make the sacrifices tradeoffs to get there.  Once a person starts getting into that "Athletic" range of body the rate at which the fat comes off slows.  This happens mainly because the calorie deficit needed to create the body fat % to drop that fast isn't sustainable once your body fat % ​drops.  

Staying with the same female example if she were to keep going and want to make those sacrifices to lean out even more she could.  Over the next 6 months if she was very diligent with her training and nutrition/diet she could likely expect to drop another 3-5% body fat and another 5-10 pounds.  

What does "dieting" for a year and getting results like that look like? 

• Early on at the higher body fat percentages a person can expect to be eating in a calorie deficit in the range of 400-500 calories per day.  The person would likely want to maintain that calorie deficit for the initial 4-6 months within maybe a short 2-3 week diet break in there where they return to maintenance level of calories for that time period.  
• After that initial weight loss and body fat % drop, I would recommend a person take a 4-5 week diet break, eat a maintenance level of calories.   This is like hitting the reset button on with your body's metabolism.  Your body doesn't like to be in a long term calorie deficit and will find ways to lower the rate at which it burns calories if you are in a long term deficit.  
• After that I would recommend a 200-300 calorie deficit for the next 2-3 months, diet break, then return to that same deficit.  
• A person throughout should be consuming a slightly higher protein diet in the range of 0.6-1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight.  This will help maintain that lean mass when you are in a calorie deficit.  
• You could lose significant weight and body fat without exercising but throughout this time period a mix of resistance and cardiovascular training would be highly recommended.   In a study published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition two groups were put on calorie deficit diets.  One group strictly did aerobic style exercise 4 times per week and one group did resistance training 3 times per week.  The aerobic group lost a total of 37 pounds of which 27 pounds was from fat and 10 pounds of muscle.  The resistance training group lost a total of 32 pounds but lost ZERO pounds of muscle.  The aerobic group's Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) decreased by 210 calories daily whereas the resistance training group increased their BMR by 63 calories.  Even though weight loss seemed to be more effective by doing aerobic exercise strictly by total weight loss, long term weight loss will be more difficult for that group due to their lower BMR and body composition.

​​​I'll wrap with this... weight loss is a process.  I've never met a person where weight loss happens at a linear or steady rate.  There will be ups and downs.  Some can be explained by things you choose to eat or not eat, exercise you do or don't do, hormonal cycles, sodium intake, stress, or even sleep.  The way our body absorbs energy and burns energy is a complex thing and there will be times where it just goes on autopilot and you will have very little say in your weight loss.  

However working with a coach can significantly help you figure things faster and get you back on track.  A lot of coaches will strategies to bust through plateaus.  They may understand why your body is holding onto weight or see patterns in your eating that are causing progress to slow.   If I can help you in this area, I would love to help you out.  I offer coaching services not only with macros but in other areas of nutrition that don't require you to track your daily intake.  Check out the Services tab on my site for some guidance on where you should begin if you are looking for some help.