How Much Fat Loss Per Week?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hello guys,

I frequent this site and love to read all the great articles on here. I am just looking for some input as to how much fat I should be dropping per week in terms of dieting. I am 5’11 193 lbs and ~ 11% bodyfat now and im trying to get to 7% and allowing myself another 6-8 weeks to get there. The fat loss isnt linear, but I am looking to hear how much I should try to lose per week without losing muscle.

I am following Christian Thib.‘s carb cycling codex and my calories vary from 2500-3000 with the high-low-medium carb days. Cardio is following Lowery’s method of bcaa’ “fasted” cardio in AM for 45-60 min of walking on treadmill at ~3.4 mph at 5% incline. One additional question of how long should I expect untli I reach this level of leanness? (just an estimate)

Many thanks for help

2

At 11 % body fat and that diet you could expect probably 1 lb a week so anywhere from 6-8 weeks.

3

Its not unreasonable to expect, given that you are on a good training/diet/exercise program, approx 1-2lbs/week of fat loss in the beginning stages, and then that slowly tapers off. But you can keep up 1 pound a week for quite a while.

Just as a note, Many people greatly underestimate (myself included) the amount of fat they have to lose though, so don’t be surprised if you get to 180 pounds and you are not ripped to the bone yet.

4

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Just as a note, Many people greatly underestimate (myself included) the amount of fat they have to lose though, so don’t be surprised if you get to 180 pounds and you are not ripped to the bone yet. [/quote]

Very good point. When I cut for the 1st time (I mean REALLY cut), I figured that by starting at 205 lbs I’d be about 190 onstage,… then I readjusted my sights on 185,… okay, so I’ll be 180… 175?.. eventually 170 onstage at my first show. Of course you could practically see my organs working through my skin, but damn I was ripped! -lol.

S

5

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Just as a note, Many people greatly underestimate (myself included) the amount of fat they have to lose though, so don’t be surprised if you get to 180 pounds and you are not ripped to the bone yet. [/quote]

Very good point. When I cut for the 1st time (I mean REALLY cut), I figured that by starting at 205 lbs I’d be about 190 onstage,… then I readjusted my sights on 185,… okay, so I’ll be 180… 175?.. eventually 170 onstage at my first show. Of course you could practically see my organs working through my skin, but damn I was ripped! -lol.

S[/quote]

It can be humbling!

6

Thanks for all the Input guys. It is humbeling something feels so wrong about seeing the scale decrease and decrease. I am not losing strength, in fact I am gaining so I dont believe I am losing muscle. Measurements are going down, IE arms went from 17’s to 16.5 when i dropped from 210 to like 193. Feeling smaller in street clothes really feels awful and clothes that used to be more “snug” now are looseer its not a fun feeling lol.

7

[quote]bdybuilderchuck wrote:
Thanks for all the Input guys. It is humbeling something feels so wrong about seeing the scale decrease and decrease. I am not losing strength, in fact I am gaining so I dont believe I am losing muscle. Measurements are going down, IE arms went from 17’s to 16.5 when i dropped from 210 to like 193. Feeling smaller in street clothes really feels awful and clothes that used to be more “snug” now are looseer its not a fun feeling lol.[/quote]

Nope, it blows. When you start approaching levels of leanness you havent been to before it gets even worse, because you want nothing more than to start gaining weight again and get bigger, but you have to push forward and get even smaller… Its worth it though.

8

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

[quote]bdybuilderchuck wrote:
Thanks for all the Input guys. It is humbeling something feels so wrong about seeing the scale decrease and decrease. I am not losing strength, in fact I am gaining so I dont believe I am losing muscle. Measurements are going down, IE arms went from 17’s to 16.5 when i dropped from 210 to like 193. Feeling smaller in street clothes really feels awful and clothes that used to be more “snug” now are looseer its not a fun feeling lol.[/quote]

Nope, it blows. When you start approaching levels of leanness you havent been to before it gets even worse, because you want nothing more than to start gaining weight again and get bigger, but you have to push forward and get even smaller… Its worth it though.[/quote]

I suppose it is worth it lol. I keep telling myself fat weight isnt something I want to be carrying aroudn anyway. The leaner one is when they start bulking the more proporional their gains will be of muscle as opposed to fat.

9

[quote]bdybuilderchuck wrote:

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

[quote]bdybuilderchuck wrote:
Thanks for all the Input guys. It is humbeling something feels so wrong about seeing the scale decrease and decrease. I am not losing strength, in fact I am gaining so I dont believe I am losing muscle. Measurements are going down, IE arms went from 17’s to 16.5 when i dropped from 210 to like 193. Feeling smaller in street clothes really feels awful and clothes that used to be more “snug” now are looseer its not a fun feeling lol.[/quote]

Nope, it blows. When you start approaching levels of leanness you havent been to before it gets even worse, because you want nothing more than to start gaining weight again and get bigger, but you have to push forward and get even smaller… Its worth it though.[/quote]

I suppose it is worth it lol. I keep telling myself fat weight isnt something I want to be carrying aroudn anyway. The leaner one is when they start bulking the more proporional their gains will be of muscle as opposed to fat.[/quote]

This is just not true. Why would your body gain more muscle over body fat simply because you started gaining at “8%” rather than 12%? That makes no biological sense unless speaking about extremes.

10

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]bdybuilderchuck wrote:

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

[quote]bdybuilderchuck wrote:
Thanks for all the Input guys. It is humbeling something feels so wrong about seeing the scale decrease and decrease. I am not losing strength, in fact I am gaining so I dont believe I am losing muscle. Measurements are going down, IE arms went from 17’s to 16.5 when i dropped from 210 to like 193. Feeling smaller in street clothes really feels awful and clothes that used to be more “snug” now are looseer its not a fun feeling lol.[/quote]

Nope, it blows. When you start approaching levels of leanness you havent been to before it gets even worse, because you want nothing more than to start gaining weight again and get bigger, but you have to push forward and get even smaller… Its worth it though.[/quote]

I suppose it is worth it lol. I keep telling myself fat weight isnt something I want to be carrying aroudn anyway. The leaner one is when they start bulking the more proporional their gains will be of muscle as opposed to fat.[/quote]

This is just not true. Why would your body gain more muscle over body fat simply because you started gaining at “8%” rather than 12%? That makes no biological sense unless speaking about extremes.[/quote]

True, but getting down to 8% (if one can do it with minimal muscle loss) instead of 12% gives you a little buffer on the way up.

Now granted, I’m really talking about more experienced lifters as new lifters really should be worried about 5 pounds either way… But when you are nearing your genetic ceiling every little edge helps.

Also, and this is at least talked about by more advanced coaches, there is supposedly a shift in insulin sensitivity when one gets leaner that one does not have at higher BF levels… I cant tell you where the difference lies obviously, but if its true it makes sense to get lean before bulking up again FOR ADVANCED LIFTERS who need every edge they can get to push the limit of their genetics.

11

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

True, but getting down to 8% (if one can do it with minimal muscle loss) instead of 12% gives you a little buffer on the way up.[/quote]

The average person who hasn’t built any base in size at all will also be more likely to just look sickly if they try to hit 5% body fay before gaining any muscle at all. Further, many people find they gain muscle less efficiently if they are much below 10% body fat on a regular basis (obviously genetics matter here).

Why would the guy who grows more optimally at “12%” worry about hitting 8% unless they already have the size they are after?

[quote]
Also, and this is at least talked about by more advanced coaches, there is supposedly a shift in insulin sensitivity when one gets leaner that one does not have at higher BF levels… I cant tell you where the difference lies obviously, but if its true it makes sense to get lean before bulking up again FOR ADVANCED LIFTERS who need every edge they can get to push the limit of their genetics.[/quote]

Yeah, and the problem there is personal trainers taking SOME info and turning it into some entire plane of reference for what they have to sell.

Yes, the guy trying to gain at 30% body fat or more may have much poorer insulin sensitivity than someone who maintains 15% or less. Trying to turn that into “the leaner you are the better your insulin sensitivity” is very much an oversimplification.

12

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]bdybuilderchuck wrote:

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

[quote]bdybuilderchuck wrote:
Thanks for all the Input guys. It is humbeling something feels so wrong about seeing the scale decrease and decrease. I am not losing strength, in fact I am gaining so I dont believe I am losing muscle. Measurements are going down, IE arms went from 17’s to 16.5 when i dropped from 210 to like 193. Feeling smaller in street clothes really feels awful and clothes that used to be more “snug” now are looseer its not a fun feeling lol.[/quote]

Nope, it blows. When you start approaching levels of leanness you havent been to before it gets even worse, because you want nothing more than to start gaining weight again and get bigger, but you have to push forward and get even smaller… Its worth it though.[/quote]

I suppose it is worth it lol. I keep telling myself fat weight isnt something I want to be carrying aroudn anyway. The leaner one is when they start bulking the more proporional their gains will be of muscle as opposed to fat.[/quote]

This is just not true. Why would your body gain more muscle over body fat simply because you started gaining at “8%” rather than 12%? That makes no biological sense unless speaking about extremes.[/quote]

True, but getting down to 8% (if one can do it with minimal muscle loss) instead of 12% gives you a little buffer on the way up.

Now granted, I’m really talking about more experienced lifters as new lifters really should be worried about 5 pounds either way… But when you are nearing your genetic ceiling every little edge helps.

Also, and this is at least talked about by more advanced coaches, there is supposedly a shift in insulin sensitivity when one gets leaner that one does not have at higher BF levels… I cant tell you where the difference lies obviously, but if its true it makes sense to get lean before bulking up again FOR ADVANCED LIFTERS who need every edge they can get to push the limit of their genetics.[/quote]

I also believe it has something to do with insulin sensitivity in addition to the more fat mass you carry the more estrogen levels will be raised which will promote more fat stroage. (I apologize if my physiology behind this is incorrect)

13

I pretty much agree with Prof X here, there is likely zero difference between bulking at 8% v 12%, just to reiterate.

14

Ok guys, thanks for the input I appreciate it.