How many calories a day to lose weight, and why a weekly view works better than a daily target
A daily calorie target only works if the weekend fits inside it, because your body responds to what you eat across the whole week, not on a single Tuesday. Many people stick to their number from Monday to Thursday, then give it back by Sunday night.
Estimate calories burnt in a day
Your device does the sums. Nothing is stored or sent. Adults only.
Also take a look at the BMI calculator, the waist size calculator and every other calculator from the club.
How this sum is worked out
The sums use the method the European Food Safety Authority adopted in 2013. Your sex, age and weight feed the Henry equations, which estimate resting energy needs, and an activity factor then scales the result, anywhere from 1.4 if you sit most of the day to 2 if you are very active.
Example. A woman aged 45 with a weight of 70, seated most of her day, burns around 1,950 kcal daily.
A coach at the club looks closely at where you stand and offers the best guidance.
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The starting point
UK reference figures are around 2,000 kcal a day for women and 2,500 kcal for men. Your own needs depend on age, size, muscle and how active you are, so these are only a guide. A modest, steady reduction is easier to live with than a crash, and it protects muscle.
Multiply by 7
Take whatever target you use and multiply it by 7. A target of 1,800 kcal, for example, gives 12,600 kcal for the week. Seen this way, a Saturday at 3,000 kcal is not a disaster, but it shows why a whole weekend at that level wipes out the gains of 5 careful days.
- Plan 1 relaxed meal at the weekend, not 2 relaxed days.
- Keep breakfast normal on Saturday and Sunday.
- Write down weekend drinks as carefully as weekday meals.
The drinks column
Alcohol is often the biggest hidden item in a weekly total. The NHS page on alcohol units advises no more than 14 units a week, spread over 3 days or more, with several drink free days. That is about 6 pints of average strength beer. Alcohol also carries 7 kcal per gram, almost as much as fat, before any mixer is added.
Swaps that pay all week
A small change repeated every day adds up faster than a single heroic effort. The NHS Healthier Families page on healthier food swaps points out that even 1 or 2 everyday swaps make a real difference. Sugary drinks for water or sugar free versions, a lower sugar cereal, a smaller plate of cheese and crackers in the evening. Our guide to eating out and takeaways covers the Friday night meal.
Not too low
Going far below your needs leaves you tired and hungry and tends to eat into muscle. Very low calorie plans are only for people under medical supervision. A target you can hold for months beats one you can barely hold for a fortnight, and our tips on feeling fuller for longer help you stay on it.
A morning rhythm
At Willerby Nutrition, the founders Phillipa and Pete Fox and their coaches, all trained in nutrition, see members every morning at breakfast, which makes the week easier to steer than a monthly check. The club is close to Willerby, Cottingham and Brough, and the free assessment is where the conversation starts. Speak to your GP before changing your diet if you have a health condition, as this article does not replace medical advice.
Your own weight loss curve
Type in your profile and the line redraws immediately.
At the middle pace, 8 kg comes off in about 11 weeks. At the gentlest pace you are looking at about 4 months.
The usual guide for weight loss that lasts is between 500 g and 1 kg per week, which forms the best band on the chart. Keep exceeding 1 kg per week and the body burns muscle nearly as much as fat. That is the striped band.
A rough projection only. Everyone follows their own path and results differ. Your device does the sums and nothing is stored or sent. At 65 or older, see your doctor first.
The way this curve is worked out
The zone tops out at 500 g every week, the gentlest pace, and bottoms out at 1 kg every week, the level where the risk starts.
Early weeks go quicker, largely because of water, and then things level off. After 40, the typical curve flattens gradually as metabolism slows. For similar effort, men tend to shed weight slightly sooner than women.
The journey curve includes flat spells lasting several days and slight regains, just like everyday life. It cannot tell you how yours will go.
These tips are general ones. They do not stand in for medical advice.
Further reading
For help from day to day, take a look at the healthy eating programme.