If weight loss is your goal, the first step is to make sure you’re in a calorie deficit. 

This isn’t negotiable, weight loss is literally IMPOSSIBLE without it.

Once that’s all squared away, the question then becomes…

How long should you stay in a calorie deficit?

And the answer is, well…

It depends.

I know that’s not ideal to hear, you want a clear-cut answer. 

If it’s any consolation to you, I hate operating in the “gray area” myself.

But there are no absolutes when it comes to being in a calorie deficit.

There isn’t some rule, definitive answer, or calculation that tells you:

“Hey, you should be in a calorie deficit for X amount of time”  

How long YOU should stay in a calorie deficit will be different from the next person. 

Don’t worry though.

Below, we’ll go over some simple guidelines to follow so you can determine how long your calorie deficit should last.

 

First off, what even is a calorie deficit?

A calorie deficit applies to the cutting side of the cutting vs. bulking equation (link back to post).

Those 10, 15, 20+ pounds you want to lose, that requires being in a calorie deficit. 

I mentioned this a little ways up but you’re in a calorie deficit when you take in fewer calories than you burn. 

This is the number one, overarching rule of weight loss so make sure you don’t forget it. 

If the scale hasn’t been going down for you, guess what that means?

No, you’re not in “starvation mode”.

And your metabolism isn’t “broken” either. 

Not losing weight means not being in a calorie deficit. 

Something needs to change so that you can be because if you truly were in one, you’d see a decrease in scale weight and/or you’d be losing inches when you take measurements (which you want to do at least every two weeks). 

Another thing about being in a calorie deficit…

There’s a big difference between weight loss and fat loss (improving body composition comes from fat loss). 

By the way, getting enough protein is probably the single most important thing you can do from a nutrition perspective if your goal is fat loss. 

 

How long can you maintain a calorie deficit?

You can use the points below as a blueprint to determine the ideal length of time for your deficit.

 

1. How much weight you want to lose

The first factor when considering how long to stay in a calorie deficit is the amount of weight you want to lose. 

The less weight you have to lose, the shorter you should be staying in a calorie deficit.

The more weight you have to lose, the longer you can sustain your deficit.

For example, someone who wants to lose 100 pounds can stay in a calorie deficit for a lot longer than someone who’s trying to lose those last 5-10 pounds of stubborn body fat.

When you don’t have a lot of weight to lose, staying in a calorie deficit for too long can present some pretty nasty side effects, such as:

• Slowing down your metabolism
• Hair loss
• Decreased sex drive
• Missed periods

2. How big your calorie deficit is 

You might be thinking to yourself: 

“I can just cut out a lot of calories and speed up the weight loss process.”

That sounds good in theory.

But just know the more calories you cut out, the shorter you’ll be able to maintain your deficit.

Has the following scenario ever happened to you?

You get super excited at the thought of losing weight fast by cutting out a ton of calories.  

And BOOM.

It works.

You see the number on the scale start to go down. 

But like most things that are too good to be true, that 1,200-calorie crash diet you went on starts to catch up with you.

After a few weeks, your hunger skyrockets to ravenous levels, which causes you to binge and overeat..

Before you know it, you’ve put back on all the weight you lost and then some.

You endure this brutal cycle over and over and over again.

All the while, it makes you discouraged about ever being able to lose the weight and actually keep it off.

That’s why I’d recommend taking a more moderate approach rather than slashing your calories to astronomically low levels

The weight might come off a little slower but it’s a bazillion times more sustainable and you’ll actually be able to keep the weight you lose off permanently.

Now that you have that info, which would you choose?

Option #1: An uber-aggressive calorie deficit that isn’t sustainable and ends up causing you to gain all the weight you lost back, plus more.

Or…

Option #2: A more moderate reduction in calories that’s sustainable long-term and able to provide you with lifelong weight loss.

 

3. Your consistency with being in a calorie deficit

Next up on factors to consider for staying in a calorie deficit:  

Your consistency.

Your results are just a reflection of how consistent you are.

If you’re giving a “D+” effort in terms of consistency right now with things like counting calories, staying on top of your workouts, finding time to go grocery shopping and meal prep, etc, is it reasonable to expect “A+” weight loss results?

Be honest with yourself.

How consistent have you been when it comes to your workout and nutrition goals?

Are you strength training 3-4 times a week, emphasizing compound movements and progressive overload? 

Are you getting between 7,500-10,000 steps every single day? 

Are you hitting your calorie/macro targets?

You want to aim for 80% consistency in those areas, and that’s at a minimum. 

 

4. Are you going to use refeed days or take diet breaks?

Here’s to answering the question: 

How many days a week should you be in a calorie deficit?

To help make your deficit more sustainable and enjoyable, here are some things you might want to include:

1.) Have a refeed day or two each week where you’re eating at maintenance or even in a calorie surplus to give your mind/body a break. On your refeed days, try to focus on eating more carbs. It’ll bring your hunger down by increasing leptin and give you more energy during your workouts in the days that follow.

And/or…

2.) Take a diet break every so often for a few weeks at a time. For this strategy, instead of just having one refeed day, you would do it for an extended period of time. Let’s say, 2-3 weeks.

Using either of these two strategies won’t kill all your progress.

It actually does the opposite.

Using refeed days and diet breaks will make staying in a calorie deficit substantially easier. 

 

5. How you feel being in a calorie deficit

Your body will tell you everything you need to know about how the deficit is going.

Signs you’re in a calorie deficit that are completely, 100% normal include the obvious scale going down or measurements getting smaller, being a little hungrier than normal, and having less energy. 

But if your calorie deficit is too steep or you’ve been in one for too long, it can lead to some not-so-favorable side effects.

Ladies, one of the side effects specific to you is not having your period.

Having too large of a deficit or being in one for too long can also cause hair loss, reduce your sex drive, make your workouts crappy, and increase irritability.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to identify if something truly stems from your calorie deficit or if it simply comes from life’s daily challenges. 

For example, you don’t have to be in a calorie deficit to see poor performance in your workouts or to feel irritable. 

But if things like these continue to happen week after week after week, you may need to reassess being in a calorie deficit. 

Try eating at maintenance for a little bit before hopping back down into a calorie deficit again.

And the next time you try, make some minor tweaks from the last time (like not having such a steep deficit or reducing the amount of time you’re in a deficit). 

 

How to come out of a calorie deficit

Let’s say you’ve been in a calorie deficit for a little while now and you’re happy with your weight loss but eating less food is starting to get the best of you.

You just need a break from it all.

But at the same time, you don’t want to lose all your fat loss progress. 

What to do after a calorie deficit? 

Enter: Reverse dieting.

You gradually add more calories back in, which helps minimize weight gain and find your maintenance calories.

If you play your cards right with reverse dieting, you can even continue losing fat while enjoying a bump up in calories. 

This post here walks you through reverse dieting in more detail and how you can set yours up.

 

How long to stay in a calorie deficit FAQs

 

How many days a week should you be in a calorie deficit?

You don’t have to be in a calorie deficit every single day to lose fat.

You just have to be in an overall net calorie deficit for the week.

A lot of people find a calorie deficit easy Monday-Friday but once the weekend rolls around, they start to struggle.

Maybe you’re in that same boat, and if you are, consider giving calorie cycling a try. 

 

What happens if you stay in a calorie deficit for too long? 

Staying in a calorie deficit for too long can lead to some unfavorable side effects, like:

• Slower metabolism
• Decreased sex drive
• Hair loss
• Miss periods

 

How long do I need to be in a calorie deficit to see weight loss? 

If you’re consistent with being in a calorie deficit, you can expect to see weight loss within about 1-3 weeks.

The caveat to this is if you’re new to strength training, in which case you’ll be able to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. 

What’s that look like?

You’ll lose inches but not weight (but inch loss = fat loss, so it’s all good).

Eventually, the scale will catch up to the progress you’re making.

 

How much weight can you expect to lose per week while in a calorie deficit?

This will vary from person to person but rough estimate, 0.5-2 pounds per week of weight loss is a general range.

However, don’t take that as some steadfast rule and freak out if your weight loss isn’t within that range at the current moment.

As long as your weight and/or inches are trending downward (i.e. month over month), you’re in good shape.

Being in a calorie deficit is like the tortoise and the hare story.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Weight loss is a long game.

It takes patience, your weight will fluctuate, and there will be some days or weeks when it feels like you aren’t making any progress at all, even though you’re doing all the right things.

Stay at it, keep going.

Results are on the other side of being able to push through those times. 

 

How often should you take a break from being in a calorie deficit?

Again, there are no strict rules or … How long you stay in a calorie deficit will depend on the factors we’ve talked about in this post:

• How much weight you want to lose
• How steep your deficit is
• How consistent you are with being in a calorie deficit
• Whether or not you plan on having refeed days or diet breaks (I highly recommend both) 
• How you feel while in a deficit

Considering all of the factors above (especially the fourth bullet point), your dier might be more sustainable if you bump your calories up to maintenance 1-2 times per week.

Or maybe the ideal scenario for you would be to go something like 4-8, or maybe even 12 weeks straight of being in a calorie deficit, and then have a week or few where you’re eating at maintenance (or maybe even in a slight surplus).

Play around with this, experiment, and see what works best for you.

 

How long should you be at maintenance before cutting?

This is a common theme when it comes to fitness, a lot of times, there aren’t strict or rigid rules where it’s like, “You need to follow this exact plan in order to get X results.” 

Everyone’s different so I can’t give you a definitive formula to follow.

BUT…

I can give you a general outline for how you might set up your year bulking vs. cutting-wise:

• Build muscle in a calorie surplus for 6 months
• Lose fat in a calorie deficit for 3 months and reveal the muscle you gained underneath
• Take 3 months out of the year for maintenance (here, you’d eat the number of calories that would allow you to maintain your current weight)