How Many Calories Should You Eat to Lose Weight?

Every successful weight-loss approach, whether low-carb, low-fat, intermittent fasting or plant-based, works by creating a calorie deficit: eating less energy than you burn. Finding the right deficit is the difference between steady progress and burning out.

Step 1: estimate how much you burn

Your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) has four parts:

Basal metabolic rate (60–70%): energy to keep you alive at rest.
Thermic effect of food (about 10%): energy to digest what you eat. Protein has the highest effect.
Non-exercise activity (15–30%): walking, standing, fidgeting, housework.
Exercise (0–10% for most people): planned workouts.

The calorie calculator estimates your BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and multiplies it by an activity factor. For a 35-year-old woman, 165 cm and 75 kg, who exercises lightly once or twice a week, TDEE is about 2,000 kcal.

Step 2: choose a deficit

A deficit of 500 calories a day is the standard starting point. For many people this produces about 0.5 kg (1 lb) of loss per week. Larger people can use a bigger deficit; smaller people may need a smaller one. A sensible upper limit is about 1% of body weight per week.

Avoid going below about 1,200 kcal a day for women or 1,500 kcal for men without medical supervision. Very low intakes make it hard to get enough protein and nutrients, increase muscle loss and are difficult to sustain.

The 3,500-calorie rule is only a starting point

The old rule says a pound of fat stores 3,500 calories, so a 500-calorie daily deficit loses a pound a week. That is roughly true at first, but weight loss slows over time because:

A smaller body burns fewer calories.
Your body subtly reduces non-exercise activity when eating less.
Early losses include water from depleted glycogen stores, which makes week one look better than later weeks.

Research by Kevin Hall at the US National Institutes of Health suggests a more realistic rule: each permanent 10-calorie daily cut eventually leads to about 1 lb of loss, with half of it reached in about a year.

Step 3: set protein first

When cutting calories, aim for 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. Protein preserves muscle, keeps you fuller and costs more energy to digest. Fill the rest of your calories with carbohydrates and fats in whatever balance you enjoy. The macro calculator converts your calorie target into grams.

Step 4: track, then adjust

Weigh yourself several times a week at the same time and use the weekly average.
After three weeks, compare the trend with your target rate.
If you are losing too slowly, reduce intake by 100–200 kcal or add daily steps.
Recalculate your TDEE every 5 kg (10 lb) lost.

Habits that make a deficit easier

Build meals around lean protein and vegetables; they are filling for few calories.
Watch liquid calories: sugary drinks, alcohol and large coffee drinks add up fast.
Walk more. Adding 5,000 steps a day burns roughly 200–250 kcal for most adults.
Sleep 7–9 hours; short sleep increases hunger hormones.
Plan for maintenance. After a diet, increase calories gradually to your new TDEE.