How Many Calories You Should Eat to Lose Weight

When you’re in a calorie deficit, it’s easy to mistake hunger for progress.

That discomfort doesn’t mean you’re disciplined. More often, it means you’re pushing too far.

Most people ask, “How little can I eat to lose weight?” The better question is:

“How much can I eat while still losing fat?”

One path leads to burnout, stalled progress, and metabolic adaptation. The other leads to fat loss you can actually sustain.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to find your calorie target, not a random number from an app, and not 1,200 calories just because that’s what everyone else is doing.

Step 1: Calculate Your Maintenance Calories

Before you create a deficit, you need to know your maintenance calories, which is the amount of energy required to maintain your current body weight.

For Women

• Sedentary: bodyweight × 12–13
• Moderately active: bodyweight × 13–14
• Very active: bodyweight × 14–16

For Men

• Sedentary: bodyweight × 14–15
• Moderately active: bodyweight × 15–16
• Very active: bodyweight × 16–18

Examples

• A 150-lb moderately active woman: 150 × 13.5 ≈ 2,025 calories
• A 200-lb moderately active man: 200 × 15.5 ≈ 3,100 calories

After more than a decade of coaching, I’ve seen countless clients come in eating 1,200 calories for months at a time. They’re exhausted, cold, frustrated, and stuck.

They think they’re failing the diet when in reality, the diet is failing them.

If you’ve been dieting for a long time, your current maintenance may be lower due to metabolic adaptation. That’s okay. We still need a starting point, and this gives us one.

Step 2: Create a Sustainable Deficit

This is where most people go wrong.

They slash 800–1,000 calories overnight and then wonder why hunger, cravings, and fatigue take over.

Instead, think of calorie deficits in three levels.

Conservative Deficit (5–10% or ~150–300 calories)

• ~0.5–1% bodyweight loss per week
• Best for those close to their goal weight or building muscle
• Sustainable for 4–6 months
• Example: 2,025 → 1,825 calories

A conservative deficit feels almost invisible. You’re not white-knuckling social events or going to bed starving. You’re just losing weight while living your life.

Moderate Deficit (10–20% or ~300–600 calories)

• ~0.5–1% bodyweight loss per week
• Best for most people, most of the time
• Sustainable for 2–3 months before a break
• Example: 2,025 → 1,525 calories

This is the sweet spot. You feel it, but it’s manageable. You might skip dessert sometimes, but not entire meals. Fat loss happens without your body panicking.

Aggressive Deficit (20%+ or 600+ calories)

• ~1–2 lbs per week
• Best for short-term deadlines
• Sustainable for 6–12 weeks max
• Example: 2,025 → 1,325 calories

This is where late-night hunger, poor sleep, low energy, and stalled workouts show up, especially if you’re already lean.

When this happens, people assume they lack willpower. In reality, the approach is the problem, not the person.

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Step 3: Set Your Protein Target

Calories determine weight loss. Protein determines what you lose.

When calories drop, your body looks for fuel. Without enough protein, muscle becomes an easy target.

Protein guideline:

• 0.7–1.0 g per pound of bodyweight per day
• Aim toward the higher end if you’re lean or in a larger deficit

Example:

• A 150-lb woman → 105–150 g protein/day
• Roughly 4–6 palm-sized portions spread across meals

You can lose weight on low protein, but you’ll lose muscle, slow your metabolism, and often regain the weight later.

Client example:

One client lost 15 lbs eating 1,200 calories with only ~60 g of protein. She looked softer, not leaner, and regained the weight when dieting stopped.

We raised her intake to 1,800 calories and 130 g protein. Over 3 months, she lost 12 lbs; this time looking strong, lean, and energized.

That’s the difference between fighting your body and working with it.

Step 4: Decide Your Timeline

There’s no universal rule for how long a deficit should last. The right timeline depends on how well you’re tolerating it.

Short‑Term (4–12 weeks)

• Moderate deficits work well
• Aggressive deficits only work briefly
• Best for quick pushes or deadlines

Push too hard for too long, and your body adapts: lower energy expenditure, higher hunger, worse recovery.

Medium‑Term (3–6 months)

• Effective but requires monitoring
• Side effects become more likely:
  • Lean mass loss
  • Slower metabolism
  • Hormonal disruption
  • Diet fatigue

Most people benefit from diet breaks here: 1–4 weeks near maintenance or structured refeeds to restore energy and adherence.

The higher your starting body fat, the longer you can safely diet.

Real Client Example

I coached a client for over 8 months who lost 30+ lbs with no crash dieting.

• Start: 235 lbs, maintenance ≈ 3,200 calories
• Initial intake: 2,800 calories (400‑cal deficit)

After 3 months:

• Weight: 224 lbs
• Intake: ~2,600 calories
• Energy, strength, and hunger are all stable

After 6 months:

• Intake: ~2,400 calories
• Weight: 211 lbs (‑24 lbs total)

There was no arbitrary 12‑week cutoff. We adjusted based on performance, hunger, and consistency.

That’s where coaching matters: objective decisions beat emotional ones.

When to Stop or Adjust

Take a break or reassess if you notice:

• Persistent fatigue
• Poor workout recovery
• Stalled progress despite adherence
• Increasing difficulty sticking to the plan

A solid rule of thumb: spend 4–5× more time at maintenance or in surplus than in a deficit over the long term. Many coaches use cycles like:

• 2–4 months deficit
• 2–6 weeks maintenance
• Repeat as needed

The Mindset Shift

Fat loss isn’t about eating as little as possible.

It’s about eating as much as you can while still losing fat.

When you fuel your body properly:

• Metabolism stays responsive
• Hormones stay balanced
• Energy and confidence return

The results you want aren’t on the other side of a 1,200‑calorie diet.

They’re on the other side of alignment.