How Many Calories Should I Eat to Lose Weight?

To lose weight, eat fewer calories than your body burns. For most people, eating about 500 kcal a day below maintenance leads to a steady loss of around 1 lb a week. Here's how to find your number and make it work.

Step 1: Find your maintenance calories

Your maintenance calories, or TDEE, are what you burn in a normal day. They depend on your age, sex, height, weight and how active you are. The quickest way to find yours is the calorie calculator.

For example, a 35-year-old woman who is 5 ft 5 in, weighs 170 lb and exercises 3 times a week burns roughly 2,200 kcal a day. A 35-year-old man who is 5 ft 10 in, weighs 200 lb and exercises 3 times a week burns roughly 2,850 kcal a day.

Step 2: Choose a pace

A pound of body fat holds about 3,500 kcal. That gives these simple rules:

• Lose 0.5 lb a week: eat about 250 kcal below maintenance.
• Lose 1 lb a week: eat about 500 kcal below maintenance.
• Lose 2 lb a week: eat about 1,000 kcal below maintenance.

Using the examples above, the woman would eat about 1,700 kcal and the man about 2,350 kcal to lose around 1 lb a week.

Step 3: Get enough protein

When you eat less, your body can lose muscle along with fat. Eating 0.7–1 g of protein per pound of your goal weight and doing some strength training helps you keep it. The protein calculator gives you a personal target.

Step 4: Track, then adjust

Every calculator gives an estimate. Weigh yourself a few times a week, at the same time of day, and look at the weekly average. After 2–3 weeks:

• Losing about what you planned? Keep going.
• Not losing? Lower your intake by 100–200 kcal, or add more daily walking.
• Losing much faster than planned and feeling drained? Eat a little more.

Step 5: Recalculate as you go

As you get lighter, you burn fewer calories. Recalculate every 10 lb or so to keep your target accurate.

The bottom line

Find your maintenance calories, eat about 500 kcal less, keep protein high and adjust based on real results. Slow and steady weight loss is the kind that lasts.

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CalorieCalculator.online editorial team

We write practical, research-based guides on calories, nutrition and body composition, and build the free calculators on this site. Every article cites its sources and is reviewed for accuracy. Our editorial policy.

This article is for general education and is not medical advice. See our medical disclaimer.