Dropping Body Fat: Fast is not always the best.

When the goal is losing fat, there is often a sense of urgency. But perhaps this mindset is the reason why many people find it hard to get lasting fat loss results. Like most things that are worth having, losing significant amounts of fat takes time. Especially if you also want to maintain muscle throughout the process.
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In a 2011 study, one group had a target of losing 0.7% of their bodyweight per week. The other group had an aggressive weight loss goal of 1.4% bodyweight loss per week. The group aiming to lose 0.7% of their bodyweight per week achieved better muscle maintenance [1]. Another study found that when the participants lowered their calorie-intake by 500 calories per day, they were able to better preserve bench press strength compared to a group that lowered calorie-intake by 1000 calories per day [2].
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So aiming for fast weight loss by aggressively restricting your calorie-intake can harm your performance in the gym and muscle maintenance. For this reason, a more moderate fat loss approach is what I’d suggest. For most people. aiming to lose ~0.5-1% of your body weight per week is a good goal [3].
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Now, there are exceptions. If having a slow fat loss approach allows you to be more consistent, it is totally fine to lose weight at an even slower rate than suggested in this post. The slow progress from your consistency adds up over time. On the other hand, for obese individuals, fast initial weight loss may enhance motivation and is not necessarily detrimental to muscle maintenance [4].
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References:
1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21558571/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20205751/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24864135/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26817506