How Many Calories Should You Eat to Lose Weight?

This is one of the most searched questions in fitness — and one of the most poorly answered. You'll find calculators that spit out a number, but no one explains what to do with it. Here's the full framework.

Start With Your Maintenance Calories

Your maintenance calories — the number of calories you need to hold your current weight — is called your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). It's the sum of your resting metabolic rate (what you burn doing nothing), activity thermogenesis (exercise), and NEAT (all other movement). A reasonable starting estimate:

Body weight (lbs) × 14–16 = approximate maintenance calories

If you're sedentary, use 14. If you're active (training 3–5 days/week), use 15–16. A 180 lb moderately active person starts at around 2,700 calories.

Set Your Deficit

A pound of fat contains roughly 3,500 calories. A 500-calorie daily deficit produces approximately 1 lb of fat loss per week. That's the math — but the human body isn't a perfect calculator, and there are real limits on how aggressive a deficit should be.

• Conservative (250–300 cal/day below maintenance): ~0.5 lb/week. Slower, but better for preserving muscle. Best for people close to their goal weight.
• Moderate (400–500 cal/day below maintenance): ~1 lb/week. The sweet spot for most people. Fast enough to see progress, slow enough to maintain muscle and energy.
• Aggressive (600–750 cal/day below maintenance): ~1.25–1.5 lb/week. Only recommended for people with significant weight to lose and adequate protein intake. Risk of muscle loss increases.

Why Protein Changes the Math

At the same calorie level, the person eating 160g of protein per day will lose more fat and less muscle than the person eating 80g. Protein has a thermic effect (burns 25–30% of its calories in digestion), preserves muscle during a deficit, and creates more satiety per calorie. Hit protein first — then set calories around it.

How to Adjust Based on Results

Your calculated number is a starting estimate, not a permanent prescription. Track your weight (weekly average, not daily), track your intake honestly, and adjust every 2–3 weeks based on real-world results. If you're not losing weight at your calculated deficit, the most common reason is underestimating portion sizes — not a broken metabolism. Use a food scale for 1–2 weeks to calibrate your eye.

The Scale Is One Data Point

Scale weight fluctuates 2–5 lbs daily based on water, food volume, hormones, and digestion. Judge progress on the 2–4 week trend, not today vs. yesterday. If the 4-week trend is flat and you're confident in your tracking, reduce by 100–150 calories and reassess.