How long should you cut for? 

Many people suggest arbitrary durations (so many weeks or months), but here’s the simple truth: 

You should cut for as long as it takes to reach your body composition goal.

But how long should that be? You don’t want an overly long cutting phase because, well, cutting can be unpleasant, but crash dieting is even worse.

Instead, strike a balance between extreme and minimal dieting by aiming to lose 0.5-to-1% of your body weight per week (closer to 0.5% if you’re already lean and 1% if you’re overweight). To achieve this:

  1. Use an aggressive (but not reckless) calorie deficit of about 15-to-25% (eat 75-to-85% of the calories you burn daily), closer to 15% if you’re already lean and 25% if you’re overweight.
  2. Eat plenty of protein (~40% of daily calories) and nutritious, fiber-rich foods (like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains).
  3. Drink a couple of liters of water per day.

Do all that, and you’ve got it made—quick, safe, and (mostly) painless fat loss, whether you’re cutting for 3 weeks or 3 months or longer if necessary.

However, you don’t have to remain in a constant calorie deficit for months on end. Prolonged dieting isn’t off-limits (more on this in a minute), but if you have a significant amount of fat to lose and want to get lean (under 15% for men and under 25% for women) or very lean (under 10% for men and under 20% for women), doing it all in one go can become increasingly difficult as you near your goal.

That’s why I recommend incorporating periodic diet breaks. Diet breaks are short periods (5-to-7 days) of increased caloric intake that make cutting easier by:

What’s more, when used correctly, diet breaks barely impact your overall rate of fat loss. It’s virtually all gains and no losses. You can think of it like deloading, but for your diet. 

Diet breaks are easy to implement, too. There are only three steps:

  1. Increase calories to a maintenance level (calculated newly at your current body weight—usually around 12-to-14 calories per pound of body weight).
  2. Increase calories primarily by eating more carbs.
  3. Follow this for 5-to-7 days, then return to your calorie deficit.

As for the frequency of diet breaks, there’s no universal rule since needs vary widely, but generally, one break after every 2-to-3 months of dieting works well for most people.

That said, if you have a lot of fat to lose, you might not feel the need or desire for a diet break after several months because you’re making steady progress without significant side effects like hunger, cravings, low energy, or poor sleep.

This is normal because when done correctly, dieting is usually straight sailing until your body’s harsher metabolic adaptations kick in, which typically doesn’t happen until you’re relatively lean. 

So, decide based on how you feel whether to take a break or keep going. Most men don’t find regular diet breaks necessary until they reach about 15% body fat, and for women, about 25% body fat.