Your week-by-week plan
Your body burns a little less as you lose weight, so your calories need to come down slowly to keep the same deficit. This plan does that for you.
| Week | Date | Weight | Eat per day |
|---|
Calorie Deficit Calculator
Tell us where you are, where you want to be, and how fast you'd like to get there. You'll see how many calories to eat each day, the size of your deficit, and the date you're likely to reach your goal weight, with your plan adjusted week by week as you get lighter.
Eat this many calories a day
0 kcal
Steady pace
Goal reached around –
- Daily deficit0
- Maintenance (TDEE) now0
- Weight to lose0
- Time needed0
What is a calorie deficit?
A calorie deficit means eating fewer calories than your body burns. To cover the gap, your body pulls energy from its stores, mostly fat. That's the only way fat loss happens, whatever diet you follow.
A kilo of body fat holds about 7,700 calories. So a deficit of 550 calories a day adds up to roughly half a kilo a week, and 1,100 a day to about a kilo.
New to this? Our step-by-step guide on how to get into a calorie deficit walks you through setting your target and building meals around it.
How big should your deficit be?
| Daily deficit | Loss per week | In 3 months | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 kcal | ≈ 0.25 kg (½ lb) | ≈ 3 kg (7 lb) | Last few kilos, keeping muscle |
| 500 kcal | ≈ 0.45 kg (1 lb) | ≈ 6 kg (13 lb) | Most people |
| 750 kcal | ≈ 0.7 kg (1½ lb) | ≈ 9 kg (20 lb) | Plenty of weight to lose |
| 1,000 kcal | ≈ 0.9 kg (2 lb) | ≈ 12 kg (26 lb) | Short term, larger bodies only |
Based on about 7,700 kcal per kg of body fat. Real results vary, especially in the first two weeks because of water weight.
Making a deficit easier to stick to
- Fill up on protein and vegetables. They keep you full for far fewer calories than snacks and fried food.
- Watch what you drink. Sweet coffee drinks, juice and soda can add 300 calories or more a day without you noticing.
- Walk more. An extra 5,000 steps burns roughly 200 calories, which lets you eat a bit more.
- Sleep 7 hours or more. Short sleep makes you hungrier the next day.
- Expect bumps. Your weight can jump up a kilo overnight from salt or water. Look at the trend over a few weeks, not one morning.
Calorie deficit questions
What is a good calorie deficit?
For most people, 300 to 500 calories a day below maintenance is a good place to start. It leads to roughly 0.25 to 0.5 kg (half a pound to a pound) of fat loss a week and is easy enough to stick with.
How much weight will I lose with a 500 calorie deficit?
About 0.45 kg, or 1 pound, a week. A kilo of body fat holds roughly 7,700 calories, so 500 a day for 7 days is 3,500 calories, close to half a kilo.
Is a 1,000 calorie deficit safe?
It can be for people with a lot of weight to lose, but for most people it's too steep. It often leads to hunger, low energy and muscle loss. Keep weekly loss under about 1% of your body weight unless a doctor is supervising you.
Why has my weight loss slowed down?
As you get lighter, your body burns fewer calories, so the same amount of food becomes a smaller deficit. Water weight also hides fat loss for a week or two at a time. Recalculate every 4 to 5 kg lost and give changes at least two weeks.
Should I create my deficit with diet or exercise?
Both work. Eating less is usually easier to control, while exercise helps you keep muscle and improves health. Many people do best with most of the deficit from food and some from extra walking or training.
Want your protein, carbs and fat for this plan too? The calorie calculator splits your daily target into macros.
Open the calorie calculator