How Many Calories Should You Eat To Lose Weight?

Here’s the basic equation of how to many calories you should eat to lose weight:
Calorie Burn – Calorie Deficit = Target Calorie Intake

Step 1 – Determine How Many Calories You Burn Per Day
Here’s a quick way to estimate your calorie burn:
Body Weight x 14 = Total Calorie Burn Per Day

(The equations above assumes (1) you have a sedentary job, (2) you exercise moderately 3-5x per week and (3) your body fat is around 20%-25%. Don’t worry too much if you are not perfect with your estimate, just move to the next step)

Step 2 – Determine Your Calorie Deficit Per Day
Many people will choose a random daily calorie deficit say 500, or 1000 calories, but I strongly recommend NOT doing this, because you can easily put yourself in starvation mode. Instead, choose a calorie deficit percentage range of 15%-35% less calories than your total calorie burn.
For example, take a guy who is 190 pounds and wants an aggressive calorie deficit to lose weight. He would take his total daily burn of 2660 (190 x 14) and apply a 30% calorie deficit, which would be 800 calories (30% x 2,660). His target calorie intake is 1860 calories per day.
Now if you multiply your daily calorie deficit by 7, you get your total weekly calorie deficit. Since 1 pound of fat has 3500 calories, you can estimate how many pounds of fat you can lose each week (usually 1-2 pounds) based on your weekly calorie deficit.
Most health organizations recommend men don’t eat below 1600 calories and women don’t eat below 1200 calories, but keep in mind this is a law of averages approach. I think the more accurate method is to never eat less calories than your BMR, which is how many calories your body burns at rest (see: How to Calculate Calorie Burn to estimate your BMR).
So how large of a deficit should you create? The leaner you are the lower your calorie deficit percentage should be (15-20%) whereas for people who have a lot of weight to lose, a 35% deficit could work well.

Losing fat is more complex than simply “calories in and calories out” and establishing a target calorie intake. For optimal fat loss, you should also consider the quality of calories, timing of calories, and breakdown of calories (protein, carbs, and fat). Finally, positive hormonal and metabolic changes from exercise can accelerate losing fat and have a HUGE impact.