How many calories should I deficit to lose weight?
For sustainable and safe weight loss, it is advisable to aim for losing about 1-2 pounds a week. This means eating 500 to 1000 calories below your maintenance calories a day.
A calorie deficit means consuming fewer calories than your body uses in a day. To calculate your calorie deficit for weight loss, follow these two basic steps:
Step 1: Calculate your maintenance calories
The first step to calculating your calorie deficit is to find out how many calories you need in a day to maintain your weight, also called maintenance calories.
Multiply your weight by 15
A rough estimate for calculating maintenance calories for a moderately active person is multiplying body weight in pounds by 15 (you roughly need 15 calories per pound of your body weight to maintain your current weight).
Moderately active means engaging in physical activity equivalent to walking about 1.5-3 miles a day at 3-4 miles an hour, in addition to daily living activities.
So, if you weigh 150 pounds, your maintenance calories will be 150 × 15 = 2,250 calories.
Figure out your BMR and TDEE
Another way to calculate your maintenance calories is knowing your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).
BMR is the number of calories needed to maintain basic life-sustaining functions, such as breathing, maintaining blood pressure, and digesting food. One popular formula for calculating BMR is the Harris-Benedict formula. According to this formula:
- Male BMR formula = 66 + (6.23 × weight in pounds) + (12.7 × height in inches) − (6.8 × age in years)
- Female BMR formula = 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)
BMR chart shows a male (5" 7" 170 lbs. 43 years old) and a female (5' 3" 130 lbs. and 36 years old)| BMR | Weight (lbs.) | Height (inches) | Age (years) | Total BMR |
|---|
| Male | 170 | 5' 7" | 43 | 1734 |
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| Female | 130 | 5" 3" | 36 | 1347 |
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Next, you need to calculate your TDEE, which is the total number of calories you burn including your BMR. Your TDEE equals your maintenance calories. To calculate your TDEE:
- TDEE = 1.2 × BMR if you have a sedentary lifestyle (little to no exercise and work a desk job)
- TDEE = 1.375 × BMR if you have a lightly active lifestyle (light exercise 1-3 days per week)
- TDEE = 1.55 × BMR if you have a moderately active lifestyle (moderate exercise 3-5 days per week)
- TDEE = 1.725 × BMR if you have a very active lifestyle (heavy exercise 6-7 days per week)
- TDEE = 1.9 × BMR if you have an extremely active lifestyle (strenuous training 2 times a day)
Based on the above TDEEformula, a male (5’ 7” and 155 lbs.) and a female (5’ 4” and 110 lbs.) have a sedentary lifestyle as shown in the below chart.
TDEE chart shows a male (5’ 7” and 155 lbs.) and a female (5’ 4” and 110 lbs.) sedentary lifestyle| Physical activity (Exercise) | Male TDEE | Female TDEE |
|---|
| No Exercise | 2081 | 1617 |
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| Light Exercise (1-3 days/week) | 2385 | 1853 |
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| Moderate exercise (3-5 days/week) | 2688 | 2088 |
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| Heavy exercise (6-7 days/week) | 2992 | 2324 |
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Step 2: Calculate your calorie deficit
According to the American Heart Association, you need to eat 500 calories less than your maintenance calories a day to lose 1 pound of weight a week.
So, if your TDEE is 2,000 calories, eating 1,500 calories a day for 7 days may help you achieve a weight loss of 1 pound a week as long as you keep your daily activities consistent. Increased physical activity means more weight loss.
If you are a beginner, you can start with a deficit of 200 to 300 calories initially and then build up to eating 500 to 750 calories under your maintenance calories.
FAQs
Since you're moderately active, you will use an activity factor of 1.55. Therefore, your TDEE is 2,170 calories (1,400 x 1.55). This means your body burns around 2,170 calories per day, including your BMR and physical activity. To create a healthy calorie deficit, you can subtract 300 to 500 calories from your TDEE.
How do you calculate calorie deficit using TDEE and BMR? ›
Since you're moderately active, you will use an activity factor of 1.55. Therefore, your TDEE is 2,170 calories (1,400 x 1.55). This means your body burns around 2,170 calories per day, including your BMR and physical activity. To create a healthy calorie deficit, you can subtract 300 to 500 calories from your TDEE.
How do I calculate my calorie deficit to lose weight? ›
To perform a manual calculation, moderately active people can multiply their current body weight by 15 to estimate how many calories they would need each day. Anything less than this is a deficit.
Should I eat below my BMR or TDEE to lose weight? ›
Use your BMR to calculate your TDEE, and then you can eat less than your TDEE to lose weight. You need to consume 500 fewer calories than your TDEE each day to lose about a pound in a week.
What is the most accurate calorie deficit calculator? ›
Research has found the Mifflin St. Jeor formula to be more accurate than similar calorie estimation methods such as the Harris-Benedict formula. You should use this calorie calculator in all circ*mstances except when: You're following the book The Leangains Method. You're on a ketogenic diet.
How many calories do I need to subtract from BMR to lose weight? ›
Theoretically, any amount that is less than your normal TDEE can cause you to lose weight; it just depends on how quickly you want to see results. A lot of resources will tell you that you need to subtract 500 calories from your diet each day to lose one pound of fat per week.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight in TDEE? ›
To lose weight, aim to consume 10-20% fewer calories than your TDEE. For example, if your TDEE is 2,000 calories, you might aim for a daily intake of 1,600 to 1,800 calories.
What is a realistic calorie deficit for weight loss? ›
Make These Changes
To lose a pound of fat, you'll need to burn 3,500 more calories than you consume in a week. In other words, to drop one pound a week, you must have a deficit of 500 calories a day. For two pounds, you'll need a deficit of 1,000 calories a day.
What calorie deficit do I need to lose 2 pounds a week? ›
But do you really know what's realistic? Over the long term, it's smart to aim for losing 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week. Generally to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day, through a lower calorie diet and regular physical activity.
How to create a calorie deficit in 2 simple steps? ›
"One way would be to consume fewer calories than you expend, and a second way would be to burn more calories than you take in. A third way would be a combination of the two where you take in fewer calories and burn more calories than you consume overall.”
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is recommended by the American Council on Exercise as an accurate method for calculating Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This equation includes considerations for basal metabolic rate and an activity multiplier, providing an individualized estimate of TDEE.
Do I need to burn more than my BMR to lose weight? ›
Knowing your BMR or RMR can help you better determine your total daily energy expenditure in order to create a caloric deficit, defined as consuming fewer calories each day than you burn for energy. A caloric deficit is required to lose weight.
Why can't I lose weight on a calorie deficit? ›
Insufficient Deficit: If your calorie deficit is too small, you may not be creating a significant enough gap between the calories you consume and those you burn. This can result in slow, negligible, or even no weight loss.
How do I figure out my calorie deficit? ›
Multiply your activity level value with BMR, you will get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Subtract the TDEE from the total number of calories you consume. If the above number is negative, you are in a calorie deficit.
What is the most successful calorie deficit? ›
A low-calorie diet involves consumption of 1,000–1,500 calories per day; deficits of 500–750 calories per day have been used for weight loss and are recommended by many obesity societies and guidelines.
What is the 80 20 calorie deficit rule? ›
If you're aiming for 80 percent of your diet to come from fresh and unprocessed whole foods, why not treat yourself with up to 20 percent of your favorite treats? For someone targeting 1500 calories a day that means you'd use about 1200 calories for healthy, nutritious meals and 300 calories for your treat.
What is the calorie deficit for a 1400 BMR? ›
For example, if your BMR is 1,400 (the average for American women) and you are moderately active, your AMR would be 2,170 (1,400 x 1.55). Since a pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, you would need to cut 500 calories per day to lose a pound per week. This is called your calorie deficit.
How to create a calorie deficit? ›
You can reach a calorie deficit by reducing your calorie intake or increasing your calorie output through physical activity. You can also do both together. 3 For example, you'll create a 500-calorie deficit by cutting 250 calories from your diet per day and burning an additional 250 calories through exercise.
