/Health

I'll be direct: there is no single method that works for everyone. But there are principles that science confirms repeatedly, and those work regardless of body type, history, or starting point. That's what this article is about. 23 kilos is a significant goal. It's achievable, though, as long as expectations are calibrated. The safe rate of fat loss sits between 0.5 and 0.75 kg per week, which means getting there will take somewhere between 7 and 11 months with consistency. Anyone promising half that time is either exaggerating or making your body pay a price that only shows up later. ## The caloric deficit: there's no way around it Any method that results in real fat loss works because it creates a caloric deficit. When the body spends more energy than it receives, it goes looking for that energy in stored reserves, mostly fat. There are no exceptions to this rule. The question isn't whether a caloric deficit works. It's how to create one in a way that's sustainable, that preserves muscle, and that doesn't complicate your relationship with food. A deficit of around 500 calories per day is generally enough to lose roughly 0.5 kg per week without compromising nutritional balance. A PubMed-indexed study found that participants maintaining a daily energy deficit above 500 kcal lost nearly four times the weight of those who stayed below that threshold. Larger deficits, above 700 to 1000 calories per day, tend to result in muscle loss, a slower metabolism, and the well-known plateau effect, where fat loss simply stops. Reference: [PubMed — Caloric deficit of 500 kcal/day and weight loss outcomes (PMID 18549992)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18549992/) ## Protein If there's one dietary adjustment with consistent scientific support for people who want to lose fat without losing muscle, this is it. Protein has three concrete effects. First, satiety: it's the macronutrient that most reduces appetite, which in practice means eating less without actively trying to. Second, muscle preservation: in a caloric deficit, the body can break down muscle for energy, and adequate protein intake protects against that. Third, the thermal effect: digesting protein burns between 20% and 30% of the calories it provides, which doesn't happen to the same degree with carbohydrates or fats. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN found that enhanced protein intake significantly prevents muscle mass decline in adults with overweight or obesity who are aiming for weight loss, with intakes above 1.3 g/kg/day expected to result in increased muscle mass compared to lower intakes. For someone weighing 90 kg, that works out to at least 117 g of protein daily, and likely more during active fat loss. Accessible sources: eggs, chicken breast, tuna, sardines, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, beans, lentils, tofu. References: — [Clinical Nutrition ESPEN — Enhanced protein intake and muscle mass in weight loss (2024)](https://www.clinicalnutritionespen.com/article/S2405-4577(24)00176-1/abstract) — [PubMed — Benefits of high-protein diets: evidence review (PMID 18769212)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18769212/) ## Strength training Most people associate weight loss with cardio. Cardio works, but the scientific literature is increasingly clear about the role of strength training, and it's a role cardio doesn't fully replace. The most relevant mechanism here is EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption): after a resistance training session, the body continues burning calories for hours while recovering tissue. Over the long term, more muscle mass means a higher resting metabolic rate, so the body burns more even when doing nothing. A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine evaluated randomized trials across healthy adults and confirmed that resistance training significantly reduces body fat percentage and fat mass independently of aerobic training. A separate 2025 study in Nature Scientific Reports, conducted with 71 adults with obesity and following ACSM guidelines, found that resistance training groups showed statistically lower body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, and body fat percentage compared to the dietary-only control group. For anyone starting out or coming back after a break, two to three resistance training sessions per week already produces measurable results. Combining that with some aerobic work is the strategy with the strongest support in available evidence. References: — [Sports Medicine — Resistance training effect on body fat: systematic review and meta-analysis (2021)](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-021-01562-2) — [Nature Scientific Reports — Resistance and aerobic training in adults with obesity (2025)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-11076-w) ## Different body types, different starting points There's no universal diet. But some adjustments make sense depending on where each person is starting from. People with a lot of weight to lose tend to see faster results early on, because reserves are larger and the body responds well to the initial deficit. The risk is enthusiasm leading to too aggressive a cut. Keeping to 0.5 to 1 kg per week is more sustainable than trying to push faster. People with a history of yo-yo dieting or a metabolism that seems slow will have a harder time with severe restrictions, because those tend to make the underlying hormonal problem worse. In this case, short periods of normal caloric intake, what the literature calls diet breaks or refeeds, help restore leptin levels and allow the process to continue. Strength training is especially important here. From the age of 40 onward, the body naturally loses 1% to 2% of muscle mass per year. That changes the calculation: resistance training stops being optional and becomes structural, both during the diet and after. People with joint problems or reduced mobility can work with moderate-intensity walking, water-based exercise, or low-load resistance training. Movement doesn't need to be intense to create a caloric deficit, especially when combined with dietary adjustments. ## What doesn't work, or works poorly Diets below 1200 kcal per day cause accelerated muscle loss, slow the metabolism, and are nearly impossible to maintain. The weight lost usually comes back. Cutting out entire food groups without a clinical reason, removing all carbohydrates or eliminating all fat, offers no advantage over a balanced diet with the same caloric deficit. In most cases it just makes the process harder to stick to. Thermogenics, detox teas, and similar products have, at best, a marginal effect. They don't replace food and exercise. And losing weight too fast, consistently above 1 kg per week, results mainly in muscle and water loss, not fat loss. The number on the scale drops, but body composition doesn't improve the way you'd expect. ## Metabolic adaptation As weight drops, the metabolism adapts. The body burns fewer calories because it weighs less, and it responds to the deficit by reducing leptin and increasing ghrelin. A review published in PMC by researchers at the University of Colorado describes this as an "energy gap," where increased hunger and reduced energy requirements occur simultaneously, actively promoting weight regain. That's why fat loss slows over time, not because the method stopped working, but because the body is built to resist change. Three strategies with scientific support help get around this: keeping protein high throughout the process, continuing strength training to preserve muscle, and taking one to two week breaks at normal intake every two to three months of deficit. A 2025 PubMed-indexed systematic review and meta-analysis specifically examining diet breaks and refeeds confirmed their role in attenuating metabolic adaptation during weight loss. References: — [PMC — Attenuating the biological drive for weight regain (University of Colorado)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5452198/) — [PubMed — Diet breaks and refeeds: systematic review and meta-analysis (PMID 38193357)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38193357/) ## A realistic estimate With a consistent 500-calorie deficit, strength training two to three times per week, and adequate protein intake, losing 0.5 to 0.75 kg per week is a reasonable expectation. That puts 23 kg in a 7 to 11 month window. That's longer than most people want to hear. But it's the timeframe that ensures most of what's lost is fat, that muscle is preserved, and that the weight doesn't come back within six months the way it does with most aggressive approaches. ## Safety The methods described here have decades of literature behind them and no documented contraindications for healthy people. For anyone with diabetes, hypertension, kidney problems, or a history of eating disorders, checking with a health professional before starting is the sensible step. A simple way to evaluate any method: if you can't picture yourself doing it two years from now, it's probably not the right fit.