Weight loss guide

How many calories to eat to lose weight

Updated October 11, 2026 · MyPlate

Search results often show one number, usually 1,200 or 1,500. Those numbers show up because they are the bottom of a range MedlinePlus uses for usual low-calorie diets, not because every adult should eat them. A smaller person with a low TDEE and a larger person with a high TDEE should not share a target. This page is the order of operations: resting energy, activity, deficit, floor, then a check after a few weeks.

Order of operations

1. Estimate BMR with Mifflin-St Jeor. Our BMR calculator does this.
2. Multiply by an activity factor to get TDEE. Sedentary is often 1.2, light activity 1.375, moderate 1.55, very active 1.725, and a heavy training day closer to 1.9. The TDEE calculator lists the factors.
3. Choose a pace. The NHS says aim to lose 1 to 2 lb or 0.5 to 1 kg a week.
4. Turn the pace into a deficit with the estimate of about 7,700 kcal per kilogram. Half a kilogram a week is about 550 kcal a day. One kilogram a week is about 1,100 kcal a day.
5. Subtract the deficit from TDEE. If the result is under the usual low-calorie range, slow the pace.

Calorie floors

MedlinePlus says usual low-calorie diets are about 1,200 to 1,500 kcal a day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 kcal a day for men. This site uses that wording. It is not a personal medical clearance to eat at the bottom of the range, and it is not a rule that every plan must hit 1,200. If your math lands below the range, the pace is too fast for that estimate.

Worked example

A 35-year-old man, 178 cm and 90 kg, activity factor 1.375. BMR is about 1,843 kcal. TDEE is about 2,534 kcal. At 0.5 kg per week the deficit is about 550 kcal, so the daily target is about 1,980 kcal. That is above the MedlinePlus range cited for men. At 1 kg per week the target would be about 1,430 kcal, which is below that range, so this example stays at 0.5 kg per week. Five kilograms at that pace is about 10 weeks. Run a different body through the calorie deficit calculator rather than copying 1,980.

What to eat inside the target

The target is a calorie budget. Protein still matters if you want to keep muscle. The ISSN position stand says 1.4 to 2.0 g per kg per day is sufficient for most exercising adults, with a higher range discussed for resistance-trained people in a deficit (PMID 28642676). See how much protein per day and the USDA food chart so the foods you log have a real record.

Common mistakes

• Setting 1,200 kcal because a headline used that number.
• Subtracting the deficit from BMR.
• Picking an activity factor for the training week you wish you had.
• Judging the plan from one morning on the scale. Water can hide a real deficit for a week or two. See why the scale stalls.

Sources

• NHS weight-loss tips.
• MedlinePlus diet-for-weight-loss instructions.
• Mifflin et al., 1990.
• ISSN protein position stand, 2017.
• Planning estimate of about 7,700 kcal per kilogram, used as an estimate.

The weight loss calculator adds a goal weight and a pace and shows a date. The MyPlate app is free to download, try every feature free, with a 3-day free trial.