How do I lose body fat?
Eat a bit less and lift weights twice a week. The scale can’t tell fat from muscle. In one trial, three groups lost 9% of their weight. One lost the most lean tissue, like muscle.
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What’s the best way to lose body fat?
Eat and drink fewer calories than your body uses. That gap is your calorie deficit. On average, women use around 2,000 calories a day and men around 2,500.
Then add strength work on at least 2 days a week. Work your legs, hips, back, tummy, chest, shoulders and arms. Weights, bands or push-ups all count.
Put some protein in each meal, like beans, fish, eggs or lean meat. The NHS says it can help you feel full for longer.
| Change | What it does | What the evidence found |
|---|---|---|
| Eat a bit less | Drives the loss. | NHS aim: lose 0.5 to 1kg a week. |
| Strength work, 2 or more days a week | Helps you keep muscle. | In older adults with obesity, dieters who lifted lost less lean tissue than those who only did cardio. |
| Protein at each meal | Can keep you fuller. | Across 24 trials, higher-protein diets with the same calories: 0.87kg more fat lost, 0.43kg more lean tissue kept. |
| Cardio | Burns extra calories. | Modestly cut body fat and waist size in trials in overweight adults aged 18 to 45, even when weight barely moved. |
Sources: NHS; Villareal 2017; Wycherley 2012; Wewege 2017
The protein gains were modest, in trials lasting about 12 weeks.
Work out your own daily number with our calorie deficit calculator.
How do I lower my body fat percentage, not just my weight?
Your weight is fat plus lean tissue: muscle, bone, organs and water. Lose lean tissue and the scale still drops. Your fat may not have moved much.
| Group, 6 months of dieting | Weight lost | Lean tissue lost |
|---|---|---|
| Cardio only | 9% | 5% (55.0 to 52.3kg) |
| Weights only | 9% | 2% (58.1 to 57.1kg) |
| Cardio and weights | 9% | 3% (56.5 to 54.8kg) |
Source: Villareal 2017
The group that lost the most lean tissue did cardio only. The trial was in 160 older adults with obesity on a weight-loss programme. The groups that lifted also got 18 to 19% stronger.
So keep lifting while you cut (diet to lose fat). Our guide to keeping muscle during weight loss goes further.
To track it, use a tape measure. The NHS says BMI can’t tell muscle from fat, and to keep your waist under half your height.
Using a body fat scale? Read how accurate body fat scales are and what your body fat percentage means.
What’s the fastest way to lose fat?
Steady beats fast. The NHS says to aim to lose 0.5 to 1kg a week, which is 1 to 2lbs.
- Below 0.5 kg a weekSlower than the NHS aim.
- 0.5 up to 1 kg a weekNHS aim for steady loss.
- Above 1 kg a weekFaster than the NHS aim.
Source: NHS
Very low calorie diets, under 800 or 1,200 a day and done with a dietitian’s support, are not suitable or safe for everyone. The NHS says they’re usually only for people whose weight affects other health conditions and who need to lose weight quickly.
Short on time? In 13 trials, short hard bursts with rests (HIIT) cut fat about as well as steady cardio, though the changes were modest. It took about 40% less time.
Those trials were in overweight adults aged 18 to 45. Running cut fat, but cycling did not. See also the fat burning heart rate.
Can you lose stubborn fat from one spot?
Exercise doesn’t seem to pick where fat comes off. In one small trial, 24 adults did ab exercises 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Their belly fat and waist didn’t change.
In another, 11 people trained one leg for 12 weeks. They lost fat, but from their arms and body, not that leg.
So to shift fat under the skin (subcutaneous fat), lose fat all over. Liposuction works best in people who are not overweight, and the NHS says it is not a treatment for obesity.
Stuck on your middle? See the best way to lose belly fat.
What are the best foods for cutting?
Foods that fill you up for few calories. The NHS says most vegetables are high in fibre, low in calories and can help you feel fuller for longer.
Six changes to start this week
- Fill half your plate with vegetables, with at least 2 portions in your main meal.
- Put some protein in each meal, like beans, pulses, fish, eggs or lean meat.
- Keep potatoes, bread, rice and pasta to no more than a third of what you eat, and choose wholegrain.
- Swap sugary drinks for water, lower fat milk, tea, coffee or sugar free drinks, and cut down on alcohol.
- Do strength work for all your major muscles on at least 2 days a week.
- Build up to 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking.
Sources: NHS: healthy eating to lose weight; NHS: physical activity; NHS: obesity
Put snacks in a bowl, not straight from the packet. Weigh pasta and rice before cooking, as they swell.
Sleep counts too. Poor sleep may make you more likely to choose high-calorie foods, the NHS says.
For meal ideas, see high-protein, low-calorie meals. Thinking of fat burner pills? Read natural weight loss supplements first.
When to speak to a GP
The NHS says to see a GP if your BMI is in the overweight or obese range and:
- you want help to lose weight. A GP can refer you to a weight management programme or other treatment.
- your waist is more than half your height.
- you have pre-diabetes, diabetes, high blood pressure, joint pain, high cholesterol, sleep apnoea (when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep) or heart and circulation disease.
- obesity runs in your family.
- you have, or think you may have, an eating disorder such as binge eating.
Have a medical condition, a special diet for your health, or an eating disorder now or in the past? Talk to a GP before you change your diet. Haven’t exercised for a while? Speak to your GP first.
Some steroids, antidepressants and beta blockers can make it harder to stay a healthy weight. Never stop or change a prescribed medicine without your prescriber.