Education

How long should I stay in a deficit?

Long enough to see a trend. Not forever — and not until you're miserable.

I can't tell you how fast you'll lose weight, and I won't pretend to. What I can tell you is how to read what's happening so you don't quit something that's actually working.

Nobody loses the same amount every week. Progress usually looks like a staircase with flat stretches, not a clean downhill slope. Flat weeks are part of the process, not proof of failure.

The takeaway

Aim for sustainable progress and a downward trend over time. Not a smaller number every single morning.