Health · 6 min read

How Many Calories Should I Eat to Lose Weight?

To lose weight, most people need to eat 300–500 calories below their maintenance level — for many women that means 1,500–1,800 calories a day, and for many men 1,900–2,300. Your exact number depends on your size and activity.

Step 1: find your maintenance calories

Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is what you burn per day. Calculate yours in 10 seconds with our calorie calculator — it uses the Mifflin-St Jeor formula that dietitians rely on.

Step 2: subtract a sensible deficit

One pound of body fat stores roughly 3,500 calories, so a 500/day deficit ≈ 1 lb (0.45 kg) lost per week. Bigger deficits work faster but backfire more often: hunger spikes, muscle loss increases and adherence collapses. Under 1,200 calories a day is not recommended without medical supervision.

Why the scale stalls (and what to do)

• Portion creep — untracked oils, sauces and snacks add 200–400 hidden calories.
• Your TDEE dropped — as you lose weight, you burn less; recalculate every 5 kg.
• Water masking fat loss — new exercise and salty meals hold water for days.
• Weekend rebound — five perfect days can be erased by two untracked ones.

Pair your deficit with 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight and two strength sessions a week, and most of what you lose will be fat, not muscle. Related: BMR vs TDEE — what's the difference?

What a day at your calorie target actually looks like

Numbers feel abstract until you see them as food. A 1,700-calorie day might look like: breakfast — Greek yoghurt with berries and oats (350 kcal); lunch — grilled chicken salad with olive oil dressing (500 kcal); dinner — salmon, rice and vegetables (600 kcal); plus a 250-calorie snack. A 2,200-calorie day for a more active person simply scales portions up, or adds a second snack. The exact foods matter less than hitting the total consistently — protein and fibre-rich choices simply make that total easier to stick to because they're more filling per calorie.

Diet vs exercise for creating a deficit

You can create a 500-calorie deficit by eating less, moving more, or — most sustainably — a mix of both. Cutting 300 calories from food and burning 200 through extra walking or training is often easier to maintain than a 500-calorie cut from diet alone, because it doesn't require as much willpower on any single front. Exercise also has an advantage diet-only approaches lack: it preserves muscle mass and improves the metabolic health markers that the scale doesn't show.

Common mistakes that stall weight loss

• Not adjusting after progress: a 500-calorie deficit calculated at your starting weight becomes a smaller deficit as you get lighter — recalculate every 5 kg lost.
• Underestimating liquid calories: juice, alcohol and specialty coffees can add 300–600 calories a day without registering as "food."
• Chasing the scale daily: water retention from sodium, hormones and training can swing weight 1–2 kg day to day — track a weekly average instead.
• All-or-nothing thinking: one over-target day doesn't undo a week of consistency; the total weekly calorie balance is what drives results.

How long a deficit should realistically last

Continuous dieting for many months in a row often leads to slower progress, increased hunger and burnout, as the body's hunger hormones and metabolism gradually adapt to a sustained deficit. Many nutrition coaches recommend a structured approach: 8–12 weeks in a deficit, followed by 1–2 weeks eating at maintenance (TDEE) before resuming, especially for larger total weight-loss goals. This isn't a requirement for everyone, but if motivation and energy are flagging several months into a diet, a deliberate maintenance break is often more productive than pushing through on willpower alone.

What "sustainable" actually means

A deficit is only as good as your ability to stick with it. A moderate 300-calorie deficit followed consistently for six months will beat an aggressive 800-calorie deficit abandoned after three weeks, every time. If a calorie target feels genuinely unbearable — constant hunger, no energy for workouts, obsessive food thoughts — it's usually a sign the deficit is too aggressive for your circumstances, not a sign you need more willpower. Adjusting the target upward slightly and extending the timeline is very often the faster path to a result that actually lasts.

Recap

Find your TDEE with the calorie calculator, subtract 300–500 calories, prioritise protein and consistency over perfection, and expect the number to need small adjustments as your weight changes. Small, sustainable deficits maintained for months consistently outperform aggressive ones abandoned after weeks.

Frequently asked questions