One of the first things that many clients say when we meet them for an assessment is "Can I lose [10, 20, 30] pounds [by Christmas, by my birthday, before our cruise, in time for Speedo weather]?" It's a candid question, and the answer is an important one. Unfortunately for many prospective clients, our answer is not the one they want to hear. As stated in the article "Losing Fat vs. Losing Weight", the object is not simply to drop weight, it's to drop fat, and that's not so fast a process. Nutritionists generally agree on a maximum safe rate of fat loss equal to 1% of bodyweight per week. That's an all-out, balls-to-the-wall effort. A more typical fat-loss rate is ½% per week. But that's not so bad when you think about it. Here's a table to show you what we mean:
| Week | Weight | % Fat | Fat # | Week | Weight | % Fat | Fat # | |
| 0 | 215.0 | 24.0 | 51.6 | 14 | 200.4 | 18.5 | 37.0 | |
| 1 | 213.9 | 23.6 | 50.5 | 15 | 199.4 | 18.1 | 36.0 | |
| 2 | 212.9 | 23.2 | 49.5 | 16 | 198.4 | 17.7 | 35.0 | |
| 3 | 211.8 | 22.8 | 48.4 | 17 | 197.4 | 17.2 | 34.0 | |
| 4 | 210.7 | 22.5 | 47.3 | 18 | 196.5 | 16.8 | 33.1 | |
| 5 | 209.7 | 22.1 | 46.3 | 19 | 195.5 | 16.4 | 32.1 | |
| 6 | 208.6 | 21.7 | 45.2 | 20 | 194.5 | 16.0 | 31.1 | |
| 7 | 207.6 | 21.3 | 44.2 | 21 | 193.5 | 15.6 | 30.1 | |
| 8 | 206.5 | 20.9 | 43.1 | 22 | 192.6 | 15.1 | 29.2 | |
| 9 | 205.5 | 20.5 | 42.1 | 23 | 191.6 | 14.7 | 28.2 | |
| 10 | 204.5 | 20.1 | 41.1 | 24 | 190.6 | 14.3 | 27.2 | |
| 11 | 203.5 | 19.7 | 40.1 | 25 | 189.7 | 13.9 | 26.3 | |
| 12 | 202.4 | 19.3 | 39.0 | 26 | 188.7 | 13.4 | 25.3 | |
| 13 | 201.4 | 18.9 | 38.0 | 27 | 187.8 | 13.0 | 24.4 |
In this table, a person weighing 215# loses ½% of their weight in fat per week for a period of 27 weeks. They go from a very unhealthy 24% body fat percentage to a healthy and trim 13% body fat percentage, and total weight of 188#, a loss of 27# of unhealthy, unattractive body fat.
This is a hypothetical situation, and fat loss is never perfectly consistent from week to week. It is also possible that a little muscle mass will be lost, or less fat will be lost. But this is about 6 months' hard work and attention to nutrition. Considering that the fat lost may have taken years to gain, it's really not so bad.
Beware of diets and plans that promise you rapid weight loss - because that's just what will happen. You will lose lots of weight, much of it muscle. When you go off the plan or diet, weight will fly back onto your body. In addition, since you build muscle more slowly than you gain fat, after you gain back the weight your body fat will actually be worse than it was in the first place. You've seen or heard of "yo-yo dieting" - that's what this is all about.