Question 1

How many calories per day to lose 1 kg per week?

Accepted Answer

To lose 1 kg of fat per week, the cumulative deficit required is ~7,700 kcal/week, or ~1,100 kcal/day. That's an aggressive pace, recommended only for people with significant excess weight (BMI > 30) and for a limited time (4–6 weeks max). For most, aiming for 0.5 kg/week (a 500 kcal/day deficit) is more sustainable and better preserves muscle mass (Helms 2014).

Question 2

How many calories to lose 5 kg?

Accepted Answer

Losing 5 kg of fat requires a cumulative deficit of ~38,500 kcal. At a 500 kcal/day deficit (moderate pace), it takes ~11 weeks (2.5 months). At 750 kcal/day, ~7 weeks. For an 80 kg sedentary man with a TDEE of 2,400 kcal, the daily target drops to 1,900 kcal at moderate pace and 1,650 kcal at fast pace.

Question 3

How many calories to lose 10 kg?

Accepted Answer

10 kg of fat = ~77,000 kcal of cumulative deficit. At moderate pace (-500 kcal/day, -0.5 kg/week), expect ~22 weeks (5 months). At slow pace (-250 kcal/day, -0.25 kg/week), ~44 weeks (10 months). Important: recompute TDEE every 5 kg lost, because expenditure drops with weight and metabolic adaptation.

Question 4

How many calories to lose 20 kg?

Accepted Answer

20 kg = ~154,000 cumulative kcal. On a constant moderate pace, theoretically ~44 weeks, but reality is different: metabolic adaptation and the drop in TDEE stretch the timeline to 10–14 months in practice. Recommended strategy: segment into 8–10 week deficit blocks + 2 weeks of diet break at TDEE to preserve metabolism and adherence (Byrne et al., 2018).

Question 5

How many calories per day for a woman who wants to lose weight?

Accepted Answer

Needs are computed from personal TDEE, not from one-size-fits-all numbers. For a 65 kg sedentary woman, typical TDEE is ~1,800 kcal/day; a moderate 20 % deficit gives 1,440 kcal/day. Safety floor: never go below 1,200 kcal/day. If your computed target falls below that, raise expenditure (cardio, walking) instead of dropping intake further.

Question 6

How many calories per day for a man who wants to lose weight?

Accepted Answer

For an 80 kg sedentary man, typical TDEE is ~2,400 kcal/day; a moderate 20 % deficit gives 1,920 kcal/day. Safety floor: 1,500 kcal/day. For active men (TDEE ≥ 2,800 kcal), the deficit can look generous in absolute terms while staying moderate as a percentage — what matters is the ratio, not the raw number.

Question 7

Why 7,700 kcal per 1 kg of fat?

Accepted Answer

1 kg of adipose tissue contains ~87 % pure lipids (the remaining 13 % is water, proteins, structure). 1 g of lipid = 9 kcal of energy. So 1,000 g × 87 % × 9 = ~7,830 kcal, rounded to 7,700 kcal in clinical practice. This rule (Wishnofsky 1958) remains useful as a first approximation, even if modern models (Hall 2011) show that reality is more dynamic.

Question 8

Should I drop below 1,200 kcal to lose weight fast?

Accepted Answer

No, never on your own. Below 1,200 kcal (woman) or 1,500 kcal (man), three risks appear: (1) micronutrient deficiencies (iron, B12, calcium), (2) accelerated muscle loss, (3) persistent metabolic slowdown. If your computed target falls below this floor, your TDEE is very low — raise expenditure (walk 8,000–10,000 steps/day) instead of cutting intake further.

Question 9

Why am I no longer losing weight even though I eat little?

Accepted Answer

Five typical causes. (1) Underestimating intake: 80 % of plateaus come from tracking errors (Lichtman 1992: -47 % gap between self-report and actual). (2) Metabolic adaptation: TDEE drops 10–20 % after several weeks in a deficit. (3) Missed TDEE recompute: if you were at 80 kg and are now at 75 kg, your TDEE has dropped. (4) Water retention (stress, cycle, sodium). (5) Muscle loss if protein is insufficient. Solution: weigh every food for 7 days straight, then recompute.

Question 10

How many calories below my needs?

Accepted Answer

10–25 % of TDEE depending on pace. Slow (-10–15 %, i.e. -250 kcal for a TDEE of 2,000): for advanced users or people close to their target weight. Moderate (-20 %, i.e. -500 kcal): the standard recommended for 80 % of cases. Fast (-25–30 %, i.e. -700–900 kcal): only if BMI ≥ 30 or for short-term goals (4–6 weeks), with strict protein monitoring.

Question 11

Is it better to count calories or macros?

Accepted Answer

Both. Calories determine whether you lose weight. Macros (especially protein) determine WHAT you lose: muscle or fat. Without protein tracking (1.8–2.2 g/kg), a calorie deficit will cost you 30–40 % of muscle mass instead of 10–15 %. The quartet to track: total kcal, protein, fat (min 0.8 g/kg), carbs (the rest).

Question 12

How many calories per day to avoid regaining weight after a diet?

Accepted Answer

Your TDEE recomputed at your new weight — not the TDEE from before the diet. Example: if you went from 80 to 70 kg and were eating 1,800 kcal in a deficit, your new maintenance is ~2,100 kcal (vs 2,400 before). Reverse-diet strategy: gradually raise intake by +100 kcal/week over 4–6 weeks once the goal is reached, to stabilize without rebound. Jumping straight back to old maintenance = +3–5 kg in 2 weeks (60 % as fat).

Profile	TDEE	Target	Pace
Male 60 kg, sedentary	1 800	1 440	−0,33 kg/sem
Male 80 kg, sedentary	2 400	1 920	−0,44 kg/sem
Male 80 kg, sport 3-5×/week	3 200	2 560	−0,58 kg/sem
Female 60 kg, sedentary	1 620	1 296	−0,29 kg/sem
Female 65 kg, sedentary	1 755	1 404	−0,32 kg/sem
Female 70 kg, sport 3-5×/week	2 590	2 072	−0,47 kg/sem

Goal	Cumulative deficit	Slow pace	Moderate pace	Fast pace
1 kg	7 700 kcal	~4 sem	~2 sem	~1,5 sem
2 kg	15 400 kcal	~9 sem	~4 sem	~3 sem
5 kg	38 500 kcal	~22 sem	~11 sem	~7 sem
10 kg	77 000 kcal	~44 sem	~22 sem	~15 sem
20 kg	154 000 kcal	~88 sem	~44 sem	~29 sem

How many calories to lose weight?

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The scientific formula: 7,700 kcal = 1 kg of fat

How many calories by profile

How many calories to lose 1, 5, 10, 20 kg?

5 traps that derail 80% of diets

Underestimating intake

Not recalculating TDEE after losing 5 kg

Going below 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 (men)

Neglecting protein

Bouncing back too fast after reaching the goal

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