How To Eat Calories To Lose Weight

When you are starting a weight loss diet , you know to eat well and healthy foods, but how do you work out how many calories you should eat?

We know that creating a calorie deficit will help us lose weight, but how much should be reducing our intake by for weight loss?

If we are not careful, we can over-reduce our calories and when you do that, you risk not losing weight, because your body is in starvation mode and holds on to fat and you could find yourself being lethargic and unwell, as you don’t have enough fuel to keep your body functioning optimally.

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So how can you work out the right calorie balance for you on your weight loss diet, if you’re trying to lose a few lbs?

As a rule, we know that general NHS guidance states that women should eat about 2000 calories a day and men should eat 2500 to maintain weight.

This will be really dependent on each person, but the good news is, you can work it out and get a good idea of how many calories you should eat to lose weight.

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To do this you need to work out your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) – basically the number of calories your body burns just by functioning.

We know this could look a little complex, so here is an example using Susan, who is 36, she’s 167cm (about 5ft6) and weighs 81kg (about 12 and a half stone).

So, as a minimum, Susan should be eating 1834 calories per day to sustain her energy levels and standard of living as that is how many calories her body burns, roughly, just by simply existing!

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But it doesn’t end there, we also need to factor in movement and activity, and this helps us calculate our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).

Your TDEE is the total number of calories you burn in a given day by simply moving around, doing things like taking the stairs, hoovering, walking to the car and any exercise you do.

In Susan’s case, she has a sedentary desk job, but does attend a few Zumba classes a week, so we are going to multiply her BMR by the lightly active category of 1.375.

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Typically, if you want to lose weight, you would look to reduce your TDEE number by 20% and this should see you losing a sustainable 1-2lbs per week.

Using a 504-calorie deficit, Susan would lose just over 1lb per week, as we know that 1lb of weight loss = 3, 500 calorie deficit.

If you’ve been watching your calories, how many have you been having? Have you ever checked your TDEE numbers to see how many you should eat?

How Many Calories Should You Eat Per Day To Lose Weight?

We have expert weight loss doctors who can give your medical-based advice on how to lose weight sustainably and sensibly, without putting your health in danger.

But it doesn’t end there, we also need to factor in movement and activity, and this helps us calculate our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).

Your TDEE is the total number of calories you burn in a given day by simply moving around, doing things like taking the stairs, hoovering, walking to the car and any exercise you do.

In Susan’s case, she has a sedentary desk job, but does attend a few Zumba classes a week, so we are going to multiply her BMR by the lightly active category of 1.375.

How Many Calories Should I Eat A Day To Lose Weight Or Gain Muscle?

Typically, if you want to lose weight, you would look to reduce your TDEE number by 20% and this should see you losing a sustainable 1-2lbs per week.

Using a 504-calorie deficit, Susan would lose just over 1lb per week, as we know that 1lb of weight loss = 3, 500 calorie deficit.

If you’ve been watching your calories, how many have you been having? Have you ever checked your TDEE numbers to see how many you should eat?

How Many Calories Should You Eat Per Day To Lose Weight?

We have expert weight loss doctors who can give your medical-based advice on how to lose weight sustainably and sensibly, without putting your health in danger.