I am a female, 20 years old. I’m at 176 pounds and want to be around 145. I’ve dropped over 100 pounds before, but the initial 20 to 30 pounds were done in a very unhealthy way. I lost it in about a month. I want to lose thirty pounds. I’ll be weightlifting five times a week and doing 10 minutes of jump roping after my workout. My deficit from maintenance will be only 200-500 calories. I still want to keep my strength. I am not in a rush, but I am itching to compete in another powerlifting meet. I want to continue competing at 67.5 kg.
The faster you try to lose weight, the harder it is for your body to maintain and retain strength and muscle.
When you say, “below maintenance”. Do you mean your estimated basal metabolic rate, or your activity-level-dependent maintenance? I ask because many people fail to grasp that the calories you consume and burn are approximations. And if the margin is too tight, you won’t lose weight, and if it’s too wide, you can crash.
I try to aim somewhere between my bmr and my sedentary metabolic rate. Then I try to stay active. I understand that I am in a deficit. And if my rate of loss is too minimal, I boost my energy expenditure.
For me, I’ve been aiming for the same deficit and losing an average of one pound every week. I sometimes lose 1.5, and sometimes not.5 per pound, occasionally two, but 1 pound on average.
The safest period is three months. 2 pounds per week. Ten pounds per month
For me, it took 4 to 4.5 months to lose 30 pounds. I’m losing an average of 8 pounds per month.
If you cut 500 calories from your TDEE, it will take you around 6 months to drop 30 pounds. If you merely cut 200 calories per day, it will take around a year and three months.
However, if you’re lifting at the same time, you’re likely to see significant weight changes.
My overall advise would be to avoid setting yourself up for failure by considering how long it might take. You do not provide your height, hence it is unable to provide an accurate answer.
Someone with a high BMI could drop 30 pounds in three weeks. Someone else, it could take more than a year.
The reality is that it is not a competition. Slow and steady wins the race, but you don’t have to. A specific weight at a specific time.