How Much Body Fat Can You Lose in a Month?

When you try to eat better and boost your physical activity with the goal of getting in shape, you may be tempted to focus on weight loss and the numbers on the bathroom scale. The healthier approach, though, might be aiming to lose body fat. So how much body fat can you lose in a month?

It depends on many factors, including age, genetics, your current BMI (body mass index), and your weight loss approach. But most adults can safely lose roughly two percent of their body fat in a month.

Ahead, more details on how much body fat percentage you can lose in a month, what affects body fat loss, the best way to approach it, why rapid weight loss may not be the best route to take, and tips for sustainable weight loss.

Through a combination of reduced calorie intake and increased energy expenditure through cardio and resistance training exercises, you can expect to lose about two percent of your body fat in a month.

How quickly you lose weight and how much body fat you can lose in a specific period depends on a few things:

• Workout intensity

• Body composition

• Metabolic rate

Here’s what to know.

Workout Intensity

The intensity of your physical activity (i.e., how hard your heart’s pumping and how much you’re sweating) can significantly impact how much body fat you lose.

One 2019 study had 117 healthy adult female volunteers go on reduced-calorie diets and assigned them exercise programs of varying intensity.

The researchers found that the women doing a moderate exercise program lost an average of 6.2 percent body fat over three months — which comes out to about two percent a month).

Those in the intense exercise group lost an average of around 10 percent body fat over three months. This comes out to around 3.3 percent a month.

Body Composition

Another factor that may affect the speed of body fat loss and the amount of weight you lose is your body composition. This is your body fat percentage compared to your body’s fat-free mass, which consists of muscles, bones, organs, and connective tissue.

The leaner you are (meaning, the lower your current body fat percentage), the longer it may take to burn off excess body fat.

When the amount of body fat you have at the start of your diet and workout regimen is greater, you might see more rapid weight loss and body fat loss early on. Those losses usually slow down as your body weight and body composition change.

Metabolic Rate

How much body fat percentage you can lose in a month also depends on your metabolism. Also known as metabolic rate, this is how your body uses food for energy and how efficiently it burns off calories and fat.

People with a naturally slower metabolic rate burn fewer calories than folks with normal or faster metabolisms. As a result, more calories get stored as fat instead of being used for energy.

While you can’t completely change your metabolism, you can help it along by increasing your muscle mass and exercising more often.

Weight loss can be measured easily and pretty accurately by simply stepping on a scale. But tracking body fat loss can be a little more involved.

Body weight changes don’t necessarily align with changes in body fat composition. In other words, losing two percent of your body weight doesn’t mean you’ve lost two percent body fat.

The weight you lose likely includes some fat but may also include losing muscle and water weight.

Still, if you lose weight while regularly doing exercises that build muscle mass, a good portion of the weight you’re losing is probably body fat.

The Most Accurate Body Fat Measuring Tools

The most accurate body fat measuring tools tend to be expensive and involved. One option is a bioimpedance scale, also known as a “smart” scale. It looks like a typical bathroom scale but sends small, harmless electrical pulses through your feet (there are also models that have hand pads) and throughout your body to estimate your body fat percentage.

One very accurate means of measuring body fat is through hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing. You sit in a chair or on a platform that submerges you completely underwater after you expel as much air from your lungs as possible. A device measures your weight quickly, and you’re lifted to the surface.

But this is obviously an impractical way to measure and track body fat loss. Don’t worry — you have other options.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

While not a perfect gauge of body fat and overall fitness, body mass index is a fairly simple way to figure out where you stand for body composition.

To find your BMI, divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared. Then multiply that number by 703 and round the final answer to one decimal point.

For example, let’s say you’re five-foot-two (62 inches tall) and weigh 150 pounds. You’d multiply 62 by 62 to get 3,844. Next, you’d divide 150 by 3,844 and multiply that figure by 703. The final result would round to 27.4.

Not a fan of math? No problem. Just use the Hers BMI Calculator.

To understand your BMI’s significance, you can see what weight category your number places you in:

• Underweight: 18.4 or below

• Normal weight: 18.5 to 24.9

• Overweight: 25 to 29.9

• Obesity: 30 or more

It’s important to understand the limitations of BMI as a true indicator of body fat percentage — much less overall health. It doesn’t distinguish between body fat and lean muscle weight.

A 2017 study found that adults with the same BMI could have very different body fat percentages. Not surprisingly, among folks with identical BMIs, those who were more physically active had a lower percentage of body fat.

Also, having a BMI in the “normal” range doesn’t guarantee your body composition is ideal — you could still have a higher percentage of body fat and not much muscle mass.

Waist Circumference

Taking certain body measurements, particularly your waist circumference compared to your hips, can also give you a good idea of whether you’re carrying excess belly fat.

To get an accurate measurement, wrap a soft measuring tape around the midpoint between the top of your hips and the bottom of your ribcage — usually just above your belly button.

According to the National Institutes of Health, a waist circumference of more than 35 inches for women raises the risk of heart disease and other health problems. And carrying most body fat around the waist rather than the hips could point to a higher risk of diabetes.

Waist-to-Height Ratio

This is another body measurement to assess excess belly fat — and, by extension, excess body fat.

Here’s how to get your waist-to-height ratio:

• Take a tape measure and measure your height in inches.

• Divide that number by two and write it down.

• Then use the tape measure to get your waist circumference in inches.

If your waist measurement is greater than half your height, you could be carrying too much body weight around your middle, putting you at risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions.

Calipers

Calipers are tong-like devices that gently clamp onto skin folds. They consist of two “jaws” and a movable scale that measures the thickness of skin folds.

Measurements should be taken at three sites:

• Waist, just to one side side of the belly button

• Chest, about one-third of the way down from the armpit to the nipple

• Thigh, about halfway between the kneecap and hipbone

One downside to using a caliper is that it typically requires another person to take your measurements because you need to stand completely upright in a neutral position. And it may not be as accurate as other methods.

By emphasizing weight loss only, you run the risk of muscle loss. You need lean muscle mass to carry out everyday activities, as well as fight off disease, infection, and even stress.

There are two types of body fat:

• Subcutaneous fat. This is the kind you can pinch between your fingers. Subcutaneous fat tends to accumulate around the hips, butt, and thighs.

• Visceral fat. You also have visceral fat, which collects around your abdominal organs and forms what’s called “belly fat” or “central obesity.”

Losing subcutaneous body fat in a healthy way can support sustainable weight loss while helping you lose inches on your lower body. Losing visceral fat would lead to a smaller waist circumference while lowering your risk of heart disease and other medical issues.

If you’re pregnant, hold off on efforts to lose weight unless your healthcare provider advises you otherwise. The same is true for those going through cancer treatment or people who are malnourished or considered underweight.

Body fat is usually presented as a percentage of your overall body mass. A normal body fat percentage for women is about 25 to 30 percent (and 18 to 23 percent for men). If you’re within this range, you may not need to lose body fat.

If you’re unsure whether you should actively try to lose weight or reduce your body fat percentage, check with a healthcare provider.

If losing weight or losing body fat is the goal, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has suggestions for how to do it safely — with the best chances of making your weight loss efforts a habit.

The CDC recommends:

• Committing to overall, long-term wellness

• Taking stock of your habits and lifestyle

• Setting realistic goals

• Exercising regularly

• Focusing on nutrition

• Getting enough sleep

Keep scrolling for specific tips and insight into how to safely lose body fat.

1. Commit to Overall, Long-Term Wellness

You may have many reasons why you want to lose body fat, ranging from just feeling better about your body to improving your health and lowering your risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions.

To make your commitment real, write down your reasons and keep that list in a place you’ll see it often.

2. Take Stock of Your Habits and Lifestyle

Take a good look at your current physical activity level, sleep habits, work schedule, and other critical parts of your lifestyle. You might see several areas where you could make improvements.

Snacking late at night? Working out only once in a while? Only getting six hours of sleep a night? Changing some of these habits will help you on your weight loss journey and your efforts to burn fat and keep it off.

A 2020 study suggested that simply spending less time sitting or lying down and more time standing and walking is associated with improvements in body fat levels.

3. Set Realistic Goals

Besides aiming for two percent of body fat loss per month (or whatever you set as your target), identify other goals. This could be weight loss, long-term weight management, or activities you want to have the energy and strength to do down the road.

Maybe you want to run in a 5K, take long walks with a partner, or fit into an outfit you’ve had your eye on.

Your goals should be realistic and attainable, but don’t be afraid to be ambitious — you have time!

A 2023 study followed more than 36,000 adults (mostly women) on a weight loss program. It found that setting higher weight loss goals and being motivated by health and fitness goals were associated with greater weight loss and a lower risk of dropping out of the program.

4. Exercise Regularly

Engaging in regular heart-pumping cardiovascular exercise and strength-training workouts helps burn body fat.

One type of exercise proven to burn fat is high-intensity interval training (HIIT). A 2023 study showed that HIIT is a particularly effective way to lose body fat, especially when the cardio portion includes over-ground running, as opposed to cycling or treadmill running.

However, if walking or running on a treadmill works for you, rest assured you can still burn fat that way too.

HIIT and other fat-burning workouts also emphasize exercises that build muscle. Without resistance training, the weight that you drop with just aerobic exercise could deplete your muscle mass, which you don’t want.

If it’s in your budget, you might consider working with a personal trainer or signing up for group fitness classes for motivation, guidance, and accountability.

5. Focus on Nutrition

Exercise alone may not be enough to reach your body fat loss goals. A healthy eating plan, such as the Mediterranean diet, may be helpful.

It emphasizes eating nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits, legumes, and healthy fats (like olive oil and nuts), upping your protein intake, and reaching for complex carbohydrates over simple carbs — think brown rice, quinoa, and other whole grains.

Meanwhile, the Mediterranean diet discourages added sugars, foods with saturated fats, and ultra-processed foods high in calories but low in nutritional value.

It might help to work with a registered dietitian or a nutritionist for assistance with meal planning and portion control.

6. Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough shut-eye is also key to losing body fat. How so? Getting too little sleep can increase stress and hunger hormones, making it hard to stick to healthy eating habits.

Stress management is another underappreciated element of effective and lasting body fat loss. Chronic stress boosts the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Among other unwanted consequences, high levels of cortisol tell the body to hold onto excess body fat.

If you have obesity or overweight, a goal to lose body fat could help you get fit and improve your overall health.

How much body fat can you lose in a month? A goal of losing two percent body fat in a month is reasonable for sustainable weight loss.

A few thoughts to consider about losing body fat:

• Exercise is a big part of it. To lose weight and body fat, aim to get regular aerobic activity, which could be any heart-pumping exercise like swimming, jogging, or bumping up your daily step count. Add in some resistance training to build lean muscle mass.

• Food matters too. To improve your eating habits, you may want to work with a nutritionist for help with healthy food choices and meal planning. Or talk with a healthcare provider about weight loss medications to help with appetite control.

• Measuring body fat can be tricky. You can track your progress in a few ways, including calculating your BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio. Other, more expensive (or more involved) approaches are also available.

• You’ll know when your health is improving. Even if you can’t easily check how much body fat you’re losing, your efforts may still pass the eye test. And as you start to feel stronger and fitter, you can be confident you’re saying goodbye to excess body fat.

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