Weight loss
How Many Calories Should I Eat to Lose Weight?
By LensNutra Team · June 27, 2026 · 2 min read
To lose weight, eat about 500 calories per day below your maintenance level, which produces roughly 1 pound of fat loss per week. Your maintenance level (TDEE) depends on your size, age, sex and activity — so the exact number is personal. Here’s how to find it and, more importantly, how to actually hit it.
Step 1: Find your maintenance calories (TDEE)
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is how many calories you burn in a day. It’s built from two parts:
- BMR — the calories you burn at rest, estimated with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation from your weight, height, age and sex.
- Activity multiplier — from 1.2 (sedentary) up to 1.9 (very active), covering movement, exercise and digestion.
TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier. You can get your number in a few seconds with our free calorie & TDEE calculator.
Step 2: Subtract a sensible deficit
Once you know maintenance, create a deficit:
| Deficit per day | Approx. weekly loss |
|---|---|
| 250 kcal | ~0.5 lb |
| 500 kcal | ~1 lb |
| 750–1,000 kcal | ~1.5–2 lb |
A 500-calorie deficit is the classic starting point — meaningful progress without feeling starved. More aggressive deficits work faster but are harder to sustain and can cost you muscle.
About the “3,500 calories = 1 pound” rule
You’ll see this everywhere. It’s a useful rule of thumb, but a simplification, not a law of physics. As you lose weight your metabolism adapts and your maintenance drops, so loss usually slows over time. Expect that, and adjust rather than panic.
Step 3: Don’t go too low
Very low intakes backfire — more muscle loss, more hunger, worse adherence. As a general floor, most adults shouldn’t drop below 1,200 calories (women) or 1,500 calories (men) without medical supervision. Slower and sustainable beats fast and miserable.
Step 4: Protein and consistency do the heavy lifting
Two things make a deficit actually work:
- Enough protein — it preserves muscle in a deficit and keeps you full. Aim for roughly 1.6–2.2 g per kg of body weight. See how to track macros.
- Consistency — your average intake over weeks is what changes your body. One high day won’t undo a good week; a good week won’t survive a chaotic month.
Step 5: Track without the friction
The reason most people fail isn’t the math — it’s the daily effort of logging. That’s where a photo-based tracker helps: snap your meal, and LensNutra logs the calories against your goal so you always know how much you have left. Pair it with a smoothed weight trend so a single water-weight spike doesn’t derail you.
The bottom line
Find your TDEE, subtract about 500 calories, prioritize protein, and stay consistent. Do that, and steady weight loss is close to inevitable.
Calculate your calorie target now, then let LensNutra track it for you.
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