What is an average body fat % loss timeframe?

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  • captketo
    captketo Posts: 1
    Many thanks cordianet (albeit much belated) for bringing some logic into this thread! What I was trying to find out, is how much body fat is reasonable/average to lose per week/month as a percentage of your existing body fat (not % total weight which people seem to be obsessed with). So far SammieGetsFit has cited 1-3% from www.medicinenet.com, and cordianet claims 2% works well for him.

    If only I could query the MFP database, I know I could get a meaningful average and SD to sate my hunger for this particular stat (or I could quit whining and google for it some more).
  • kirbyscotton
    kirbyscotton Posts: 1
    I read in an online fitness journal that the average of the body fat percentage lost can vary. If you are just dieting alone and not pursing physical activity that 25% of every pound you lose is actually lean muscle, so your body fat percentage would not decrease very much. However, if you are incorporating cardio and resistance training to help build lean muscle while burning fat, then the percentage of fat for every pound would increase, thus providing for more fat lose. When looking at the body fat percentage you have to remember that is is a percentage, so the decrease is not going to be parallel to the pounds you lose. The journal said between 1 and 2% a month should be the expected.

    In my own weight lose, I have lost over 30 lbs in about 9 weeks, but I have only lost 5% of my body fat percentage. I have included a lot of cardio and resistance training, as well as I have completely changed my eating habits and lifestyle. I hope this helps!
  • Cobbg1
    Cobbg1 Posts: 3 Member
    http://www.builtlean.com/2011/08/24/lean-body-mass-definition-formula/

    The link above is a good description. Towards the bottom of the article there is a link to "Ideal Body Weight Formula". This has helped me set my goals over time.

    I am currently 237lbs and 31.9% bf. I am interested in getting down to the 18% range. Therefore, my ideal weight would be around 196lbs. At 5'10" that would be acceptable to me. If I was to drop below that I would be losing more muscle than fat. Essentially, this is telling me I want to lose about 40lbs of fat while maintaining my current lean body mass. I am setting my goal for March 1, 2015. That would mean I need to lose 2 lbs of fat per week. As I lose the weight(fat), the percentage would be higher and higher every week. Therefore, the formula for bf% lost on a weekly basis is almost impossible to calculate because it increases exponentially over time.

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