Most folks that start on the journey to fat loss do it simply because they want to look better.
Of course, there are some that start some form of exercise only because their doctor told them to, but I assume most of ya’ll reading this are part of the former group.
Naturally, when we want something (look better), we want it NOW.
Not in 12 weeks, not in 8 weeks. NOW.
This leads many people to start excessively aggressive diets that are not constructive to the end goal of “looking better”.
The rate of loss is, as the name suggests, the rate at which your body is losing weight. The general rule is to shoot for 0.5-1% of body weight per week but, as you may have guessed, muscle retention goes down as the rate of fat loss goes up.
Keeping with the above values, a 200lb male should be looking to lose 1-2 lbs. every week, depending on the trainee’s current condition with leaner trainees keeping to the lower side.
If the trainee is ~30% bodyfat, 2 lbs. per week is not out of the question. However, if the trainee is already at 15% BF and trying to get show/beach ready, 2 lbs. or more per week will lead to significant muscle mass loss and the trainee will probably end up looking skinny fat.
Nobody wants to be skinny fat after all that hard work and dieting.
To summarize, the higher your BF%, the more weight can be lost per week without having to worry about loss of muscle mass as long as the maximum of 1% x bodyweight per week rule is followed. People with lower BF% will need to stick closer to the 0.5% x bodyweight per week to preserve muscle mass. Naturally, the trainee with a higher BF% will need to adjust their diet to illicit a smaller % loss per week as they progress and get leaner.
Check out the diet section in my E-book to determine macronutrient and caloric needs while keeping the above information in mind.