Ep. #568: How Long Should You Stay in a Calorie Deficit?

You’re about to start a weight loss diet.

You know you need to eat fewer calories than you burn.

You know roughly how much you need to eat every day to lose weight.

Maybe you even have a meal plan mapped out.

But there’s still one question you haven’t been able to answer: how long should you stay in a calorie deficit?

If you poke around online you’ll see different theories about the “ideal” length of time you should stay in a deficit before giving your body a break.

Some say you should diet no longer than 12 weeks.

Others say you can diet as long as you want.

And others say you should only stay in a deficit for a few weeks at a time before taking a diet break, giving your body and mind a breather, and then enduring another bout of dieting.

Who’s right?

Well, here’s the truth of the matter:

How long you should spend in a calorie deficit boils down to how fast you can lose fat without losing muscle, and this depends on how much fat you have to lose and how lean you want to get.

So, instead of giving you a one-size-fits-all answer like “12 weeks,” I’m going to show you how to decide exactly how long you should stay in a calorie deficit to reach your goal weight.

Let’s start by looking at how fast you can lose fat without losing muscle.

3:41- How long do I need to be in a calorie deficit?

7:07 - How do you calculate how much fat you can lose before you lose muscle?

16:48 - How long should i stay in a calorie deficit and when should I take a diet break?

23:29 - How do you do a diet break?

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Mentioned on The Show:

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