How to lose fat (not just weight)

Losing weight is easy and usually a mistake — crash diets shed muscle and water and rebound. The real goal is losing fat while keeping the muscle that makes you look and perform well. Here's how.

Set the right deficit

Fat loss requires eating less energy than you burn. But bigger isn't better:

• Find your maintenance calories with the maintenance calorie calculator.
• Set a moderate deficit of roughly 10–20% below maintenance using the calorie target calculator.
• Expect to lose about 0.5–1% of bodyweight per week. Faster risks muscle loss, low energy and rebound.

Protein protects your muscle

In a deficit, high protein is non-negotiable — it preserves muscle and keeps you full. Aim for around 2 g per kg of bodyweight; check yours with the protein calculator and split your day with the macro calculator.

Keep lifting

Strength training tells your body to keep its muscle while you lose fat. Don't replace lifting with endless cardio — keep training hard and let the deficit do the fat-loss work. Cardio is a useful tool for expenditure and health, not the main lever.

Track the trend, not the day

Bodyweight bounces daily with water, food and salt. What matters is the weekly trend. Weigh in consistently, look at the multi-week average, and adjust calories only when the trend stalls for 2–3 weeks. This is precisely where data-driven coaching beats guesswork — our fat-loss programme recalibrates from your real trend.

Make it sustainable

The best diet is the one you can actually follow:

• Build meals around protein and whole foods, but leave room for foods you enjoy.
• Plan for travel, eating out and busy weeks instead of "starting again Monday".
• Prioritise sleep — poor sleep raises hunger and undermines adherence.

Lose fat slowly enough to keep your muscle, track the trend, and stay consistent. That's how the fat stays off.