On Average, How Long Does It Take to Lose Belly Fat?

The average time to lose belly fat depends on your calorie intake and activity level. A deficit of 500-1,000 calories a day can help you lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week, including belly fat. (1)

As 1 pound of fat equals 3,500 calories, you must burn 3,500 calories weekly to shed a pound of body weight. An average person can lose around 4 pounds in a month by cutting their daily calorie intake by 500 calories.

Overview

“On average, how long does it take to lose belly fat?” is one of the first things I get asked by enthusiastic newbies looking to lose weight — my personal trainer buddies would agree.

I don’t blame novice exercisers for asking this question. It’s human nature to want to know how much time and effort something will take before you can reap the rewards.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an individual can safely lose 1-2 pounds of body weight weekly by entering a 500 to 1,000 calorie deficit.

Now, remember, this is total body weight and is not limited to belly fat.

As much as we’d like to believe that doing crunches and leg raises can help shed belly fat, it is simply not possible, and spot fat reduction is nothing more than a fitness myth that refuses to die.

Types of Belly Fat

There are two types of fats — visceral and subcutaneous.

Subcutaneous fat lies directly underneath the skin. It is what you’re pinching when you tell a personal trainer about the fat that you want to shed.

On the other hand, visceral fat is the more dangerous type of fat. It wraps around your vital organs and can hinder their functioning. (2)

According to a Frontiers in Public Health study, about 91% of American adults and 69% of American children are considered overweight, making it a common concern with significant health implications. (3)

The spare tire is among the most stubborn types of fat. Depending on an individual’s genetics, it is one of the first sights where people gain weight and the last from where weight is lost.

How Long Does It Take To Lose Belly Fat?

Considering you stick to the CDC guidelines, you can lose 1-2 pounds weekly by cutting 500-1,000 calories from your diet on a daily basis.

By doing basic arithmetic, this turns out to be 4-8 pounds in a month, 8-16 pounds in two months, 12-24 pounds in three, 16-32 pounds in four, 20-40 pounds in five, and 24-48 pounds in six months.

This is a rough calculation, assuming there are four weeks in a month. As we all know, a typical month has a little more than four weeks. But you get the idea.

That said, the amount of weight you end up losing can vary significantly depending on multiple factors like genetics, age, gender, current weight, fitness levels, metabolism, lifestyle, and pre-existing medical conditions.

This is the perfect segue into our next section…

Factors Affecting How Long It Takes To Lose Belly Fat

As a personal trainer, I take my clients through the following factors that can influence their weight loss ambitions.

This gives them a good idea of what they can expect from the journey and how much effort they might have to put in.

Gender

Men usually lose weight faster than their female counterparts. This is partly due to the male sex hormone testosterone.

Women tend to hold more fat in their hip and belly region to facilitate childbirth. It also makes shedding body fat from this area more challenging.

Age

Losing weight can get more challenging with age. This is mainly due to the declining testosterone levels in men and women.

Furthermore, both genders also experience a decline in the metabolic rate, which causes them to store excess glycogen in the form of body fat.

A high metabolic rate helps burn fat throughout the day, even when you are not physically active.

Current Weight and Fitness Levels

Although most people treat these as different factors, I like to group them together, as one depends on the other.

Heavier folks are usually less athletic than their ripped cousins.

You’re an outlier if you are a 350-pound pro wrestler. I’m talking about the ordinary gym-dweller, okay? Okay!

If you have a little extra belly fat, you might be in a better spot to shed it than someone who is a 100-pound overweight.

Lifestyle

People who eat four to six healthy meals daily have a high metabolic rate and can burn more calories than those who eat three or four unbalanced meals.

I highly recommend working with a certified nutritionist to design a personalized eating plan. This might cost some money upfront, but it can save you a lot of time, effort, and money.

Contrary to what most people think, nutritionists aren’t some jailers who will have you eat kale and spinach throughout the day.

These wizards can help you create a diet that aligns with your lifestyle and preferences. They usually have a cupboard full of delicious recipes.

You won’t even realize you have been dieting, which is indispensable for making prolonged lifestyle changes.

An American Journal of Preventive Medicine study found that up to one-third of individuals who lose weight regain it within a year, and I’m guessing you don’t want to be a part of this group. (4)

Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

In my experience, many people discount the fact that there might be underlying medical conditions behind their sudden weight gain.

It is also why you must consult your healthcare provider before starting a new diet or training program.

Starting a new medication can also result in weight and body fat gain. Please discuss these factors with your doctor to avoid unwanted side effects.

How To Lose Belly Fat in Eight Weeks?

Irrespective of who you are and where you come from, you must enter a calorie deficit if you want to lose belly fat.

A calorie deficit involves burning more calories in a day than you consume.

You could maintain a calorie deficit in two ways — eat less or exercise more.

Here is how to do both:

Diet Tips To Lose Belly Day

As an age-old fitness adage aptly puts it, “You cannot out-train a bad diet.”

In my seven years as a personal trainer, I have seen one thing repeat over and over again — most people start their weight loss journey by joining the gym.

“Your transformation journey starts in your kitchen” is one of my first advice to them.

An average person will burn 500 calories on the treadmill but will refuel with processed foods, negating all their progress.

How To Set a Calorie Goal and Stick To It

Here is an oversimplified version of how to set an appropriate calorie goal for yourself:

1. Know Your Daily Average Calorie Intake

Many people will have you use a TDEE calculator to determine your daily calorie target. Although there is nothing wrong with this approach, as a personal trainer, I have found more success by manually tracking your calorie intake for a week.

Download a calorie-tracking app like MyFitnessPal on your phone. Log all your meals, snacks, and water into the app. Do this for at least a week, as this will give you a large enough data pool and improve accuracy.

After a week, calculate your average daily calorie intake by adding your daily caloric intake and dividing by seven.

2. Adjust Your Calorie Intake

Now, let’s say you consume 3,500 calories on average daily and want to lose belly fat.

You should cut 500 calories from your diet to lose 1 pound of body weight weekly.

You must log each of your meals in the calorie-tracking app to ensure you stay under the calorie target.

Conversely, you can design a personalized diet plan that ensures you don’t overshoot the daily caloric target.

It doesn’t end here. You must also factor in the macronutrients.

3. Determine Your Macronutrient Goals

Knowing and sticking to your caloric target isn’t enough. You must ensure that you’re hitting your macro (protein, carbs, and fat) goals to ensure you are shedding fat and building muscle.

Protein is the building block of muscles, and carbs ensure that you have enough energy stores to fuel you through the day. Fats promote satiety, improve heart health, and ensure smooth overall functionality.

A 40-30-30 carbs, protein, and fat split is a good place to start. You can readjust the proportions according to your goals.

Return to the calorie tracking app to determine your daily average macro intake. This will give you a decent idea of where you currently stand.

After that, adjust your macro content to meet your new target daily calorie goal.

Remember, 1 gram of fat has nine calories, whereas 1 gram of carbs and protein has four calories each.

4. Don’t Overlook The Role of Micronutrients

Ask a fitness enthusiast how much protein they consume daily, and they will give you the exact amount within a heartbeat.

Ask them about their vitamin intake, and they will look like a deer caught in headlights.

Your calorie-tracking app will give you the exact amount of micronutrients you consume through foods daily.

Chances are that you might not be meeting your recommended daily micronutrient targets through whole foods.

I recommend my clients take a multivitamin supplement to ensure they check off all the right boxes.

Meeting your daily micronutrient goal will help you feel energized and focused and boost your immunity.

Exercise Tips To Lose Belly Day

Working out is one of the best ways to lose belly fat.

There are several ways to skin the cat when it comes to training for weight loss.

Given below are the methods I recommend for people of different experience levels:

Beginner

Newbies should start with a 10-minute LISS (low-intensity steady state) training session.

In contrast to popular belief, you don’t have to hit the gym to burn calories and lose belly fat. Here are a few cardio exercises to help you with your weight loss ambitions:

• Brisk walking or jogging
• Cycling
• Swimming

As you gain more experience, increase your training time gradually until you’re doing 30-45 minutes of cardio workouts unbroken.

Intermediate

Experienced exercisers should go from one cardio training session a day to two sessions.

Ideally, the first training session should be a 30-45 minute fasted LISS session first thing in the morning. This will help you burn into your glycogen stores and shed the spare tire.

Your second cardio training session can be in the afternoon or evening after your resistance training workout. This will be a 10-15 minute HIIT (high-intensity interval training) session to light up your fat reserves.

LISS cardio typically falls under zone 2 training, where your heart rate is at 60-70% of your max capacity.

Conversely, HIIT cardio is primarily in zone 4 and sometimes touches zone 5, meaning it can range between 80-100% of your max heart rate.

Advanced

This is where things get a little complicated — and exciting. This is where the chest straps come out, and you are training in particular heart rate zones.

However, advanced exercisers are usually training to improve their athletic performance and belly fat is not one of their concerns, which puts this section out of the scope of this article.

Can I Lose Too Much Weight?

Even if you are 100 pounds overweight, chances are you might end up losing too much weight too quickly in the first few weeks of your weight loss journey.

As complex as it might sound, it is possible.

The CDC recommends cutting your calorie intake by 1,000 calories max to lose weight safely. However, some people cut upwards of 1,500 calories, hoping for quick results.

Although these folks might see progress right off the bat, it usually puts them in a delicate spot and increases the risk of contracting severe health issues. 

Furthermore, when overweight and obese people shed weight too quickly, it can lead to loose and sagging skin, which can take a very long time to remedy.

Tips To Speed Up The Time It Takes To Lose Belly Fat

Here are a few things that you must consider while trying to lose weight:

Measurement

While on a weight loss program, many people get obsessed with measuring their weight.

The weighing scale at my gym is more packed than the cable machine during the rush hours.

These folks are so smitten with checking their weight that they let the weighing scale dictate their mood.

They are happy if the needle budges in a favorable direction; otherwise, they are grumpy throughout the day.

I have my clients measure their weight once a week, first thing after waking up and going to the loo on a Monday. They are not allowed to step on the scale throughout the week.

Your weight can fluctuate throughout the day and week depending on multiple factors, and you shouldn’t be bothered with minor changes.

Furthermore, you should track your progress by measuring your waist, chest, hip, and thigh circumference. These are more reliable indicators of where you’re losing fat.

Next Read: Average Waist Size For Women and Men

Control Portion Sizes

You don’t need to completely cut out your favorite food or start intermittent fasting while trying to lose weight.

Going cold turkey and then giving up is a sure-shot way of regaining the lost weight and then some more.

Start by controlling the portion sizes to enter a calorie deficit.

I recommend using smaller plates, bowls, spoons, and forks as your first step toward losing weight and belly fat.

Accountability

Physique transformation is usually seen as a one-person journey, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Most people give up before they achieve their weight loss objective because they lose motivation and lack accountability.

This is one of the reasons why CrossFit and Pilates have gained wide popularity. Both of these sports offer group classes, which make you feel like a part of the tribe.

Working alongside other people on the same journey as you boosts motivation and keeps you accountable.

Even if you don’t want to join a fitness class or work with a training partner, I highly recommend sharing your goals and progress with someone you trust.

It could be friends, family, or even your coach. Heck, you could even share your goals and progress on social media.

I have some of my clients share their progress photos on social media. On so many different occasions, this has inspired their friends to join them in training sessions, eager to embark on their own fitness journey.

It’s a win-win situation all around. My client gains a workout partner; their friend finds the motivation to shed pounds. Not to mention, it means more business for me!

The fear of failing in front of someone has kept many people going; chances are, it will work for you, too!

Wrapping Up

An individual can shed anywhere between 1 and 2 pounds of body weight (including belly fat) by cutting 500 to 1,000 calories from their daily diet.

There is no exact method to know how much belly fat an individual can shed in a particular period, as it depends on multiple factors like genetics, age, gender, current fitness level, and existing medical conditions.

If you have any questions about how long it takes to lose belly fat, drop them in the comments below, and I’ll be happy to help!

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Burn More Calories Than You Take In. [Internet]. [cited 2023 Dec 15]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/pdf/t2/Participant-Module-7_Burn_More_Calories_Than_You_Take_In.pdf
2. Després J. P. (2001). Health consequences of visceral obesity. Annals of Medicine, 33(8), 534–541. https://doi.org/10.3109/07853890108995963
3. Maffetone, P. B., & Laursen, P. B. (2017). The Prevalence of Overfat Adults and Children in the US. Frontiers in public health, 5, 290. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00290
4. Weiss, E. C., Galuska, D. A., Kettel Khan, L., Gillespie, C., & Serdula, M. K. (2007). Weight regain in U.S. adults who experienced substantial weight loss, 1999-2002. American journal of preventive medicine, 33(1), 34–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2007.02.040

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