Calorie deficit calculator
How many calories to eat to lose fat at a pace that keeps your muscle.
Daily calories to lose weight
2,320kcal/day
440 kcal a day under your maintenance of 2,760 kcal.
- Weekly loss
- 0.4 kg
- Protein
- 175 ga day
How big a calorie deficit to lose weight
Set the deficit by pace, not by a round number. Losing 0.5 to 1% of bodyweight a week is the range recommended for keeping muscle (Helms 2014). In elite athletes, a pace of about 0.7% a week kept more lean mass and strength than 1.4% (Garthe 2011).
The deficit is weekly loss × 7,700 kcal per kg ÷ 7. At 0.5% a week, an 80 kg person loses 0.4 kg a week by eating about 440 kcal a day under maintenance.
Why weight loss slows down
The 7,700 kcal figure holds early on. As you get lighter you burn less, so the same intake loses more slowly (Hall 2011). Recalculate every 2 to 3 kg, or when your weekly average stalls for three weeks.
Keep your muscle in a deficit
Keep lifting heavy and keep protein at the top of the range, about 2.2 g per kg, which is the protein figure in the result. The protein calculator splits it across your meals, and how fast should you lose fat? covers the rest.
Calorie deficit FAQ
How many calories should I eat to lose 0.5 kg a week?
About 550 kcal a day below your maintenance calories. For 1 lb a week it is about 500 kcal a day. Both assume roughly 7,700 kcal per kg of weight lost, which holds early in a diet.
How fast should I lose weight?
0.5 to 1% of your bodyweight a week. In a study of athletes, losing about 0.7% a week kept more lean mass and strength than losing about 1.4%.
What is the minimum number of calories I should eat?
The 2013 US obesity guideline sets diets at 1,200 to 1,500 kcal a day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 for men. Going lower should be medically supervised, so the calculator flags any target below 1,200 or 1,500.
Why did my weight loss stop?
Day-to-day water swings can hide fat loss for a week or two, so compare weekly averages. If they haven't moved in three weeks, your maintenance has dropped with your weight: recalculate, or take about 275 kcal a day more off for every 0.25 kg a week you want to lose.
Should I eat back the calories I burn exercising?
Not if your activity level already includes your training, since the target already counts it. If you picked a lower level, add back only the calories above resting.
Sources
- Garthe I, Raastad T, Refsnes PE, Koivisto A, Sundgot-Borgen J. Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2011;21(2):97–104.
- Helms ER, Aragon AA, Fitschen PJ. Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2014;11:20.
- Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. The Lancet. 2011;378(9793):826–837.
- Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Apovian CM, et al. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults. Circulation. 2014;129(25 Suppl 2):S102–S138.
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1990;51(2):241–247.
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