What Is Calorie Deficit (2023)

FAQs

What Is Calorie Deficit? ›

Calculating calorie needs

What Should Your Calorie Deficit Be? A good rule of thumb for healthy weight loss is a deficit of about 500 calories per day. That should put you on course to lose about 1 pound per week. This is based on a starting point of at least 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day for men.

If you're not already in a caloric deficit, first aim for a maximum daily deficit of 250 to 500 calories when you're trying to shed some pounds. (Again, healthy and sustainable weight loss is one half to one pound a week.)

As a rough guide, a woman will need a minimum of 1200-1400 calories each day, whereas a man who generally has more muscle mass will need 1400-1800 calories. To lose 0.5-1kg of body fat each week, you will need to create a calorie deficit of 200-300 calories each day.

Scientific research recommends that individuals should enter a calorie deficit of ~500 calories a day to facilitate weight loss (which works out to be about 20%).

Too much of a calorie deficit can slow down your metabolism, cause psychological changes, increase fatigue, and risk your health. A healthy calorie deficit of approximately 500 to 1,000 calories per day can be achieved through managing calorie intake and increasing physical activity.

For weight loss, 1,200 calories per day is still often touted as a goal, and for most people, weight loss will occur at such a low caloric intake. A 1,200 calorie per day diet is considered a low-calorie diet and is generally not recommended for the long term.

Although many individuals can lose weight by consuming fewer than 2,000 calories a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it takes a 3,500-calorie deficit a week to lose a pound of body fat.

As previously stated, a 500-calorie deficit means cutting 500 calories from your daily meal plan or 3500 calories a week. On the other hand, a 500-calorie diet is a very-low calorie diet that requires eating only 500 calories a day.

Even if on a calorie deficit, you may not lose weight due to an inaccurate calculation of your calorie intake, hormonal reasons, medication intake, lack of sleep, increased muscle mass, water retention, and eating an unhealthy diet.

Is 300 calorie deficit ok? ›

Cutting just 300 calories from your daily diet could significantly benefit your cardiovascular health, even if you're already at a healthy weight, according to a new study. Such caloric restriction can be achieved through techniques such as intermittent fasting, or by skipping that slice of cheesecake for dessert.

Either way, I wouldn't suggest a calorie deficit of no more than 20%. For a slower cut, an decrease of 10-15% calories is advisable. I often advise starting with a decrease of 10% for a few weeks, take measurements (weight and photos) and see how things go.

Generally to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day, through a lower calorie diet and regular physical activity. Depending on your weight, 5% of your current weight may be a realistic goal, at least for an initial goal.

How long does it take to lose 15 pounds? “The safest and most sustainable timeline to lose about 15 pounds would be about two to four months,” says Jonathan Valdez, RDN, owner of Genki Nutrition and spokesperson for New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Losing one pound of body fat requires generating a caloric deficit of 3500 calories, so losing 20 pounds in 30 days requires burning 2,333 calories more per day than you are eating, every day, for 30 days.

Losing weight is simpler than you think

At the end of the day, fat loss is just a matter of burning more calories than you consume. Since a pound of fat contains around 3800 calories, losing ten pounds a month requires a caloric deficit of around 1200 calories a day.

For most people with overweight, cutting about 500 calories a day is a good place to start. If you can eat 500 fewer calories every day, you should lose about a pound (450 g) a week. Always talk with your health care provider to determine a healthy weight for you before starting a weight-loss diet.

A 1,000 calorie diet plan is an eating strategy that drastically cuts the number of calories an individual consumes each day. Experts consider this type of diet dangerous because they provide significantly fewer calories than the average adult needs for health and well-being.

A larger person with more fat tends to have larger Total Energy Expenditure so they can have a 1000 - 1500 calorie deficit and still be okay. But, for someone who needs to lose 10 - 20 pounds of weight a large deficit could be detrimental to their weight loss as it could result in their metabolism shutting down.

That is to day — it depends. If you're very overweight and your BMR is 3000Cals per day (that is how many calories your body consumes at rest), then, yes, having a deficit of 1500 Calories is not only healthy, but could save your life. But if your BMR is, say, 2000, then no, such a high deficit is dangerous.