How to Calculate Calories for Weight Loss
The number of people who tell me they are "eating very little" and still not losing weight is enormous. When we actually log a week of their food, the number is almost never what they estimated. The gap is usually between 400 and 700 calories a day, and it is almost always coming from oil, chai and portion sizes nobody measured.
So before you cut anything, learn the number you are working with. Here is the exact method I use, the arithmetic included, and the limits you should not cross.
Step 1: Calculate your BMR
Your basal metabolic rate is what your body burns at complete rest, just to run your heart, brain, kidneys and everything else. It is the largest part of your daily burn, usually 60 to 70 percent of it.
Use the Mifflin St Jeor equation. It is the most accurate of the common formulas for the general population.
Men: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age) + 5
Women: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age) - 161
Step 2: Multiply by your activity factor
This gives your TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure. It accounts for exercise, work, walking and everyday movement.
● Sedentary, desk job with almost no exercise: BMR x 1.2
● Lightly active, exercise one to three days a week: BMR x 1.375
● Moderately active, exercise three to five days a week: BMR x 1.55
● Very active, hard exercise six or seven days a week: BMR x 1.725
● Extremely active, physical job plus daily training: BMR x 1.9
Be honest here. Forty minutes at the gym followed by eleven hours of sitting is lightly active, not very active. Overestimating this step is the most common reason a calculated plan fails.
Step 3: Set your deficit
Take 15 to 25 percent off your TDEE. That range is aggressive enough to produce visible results and gentle enough that you keep your muscle, your energy and your sanity.
A deficit of roughly 500 calories a day produces close to half a kilo of fat loss per week for most people. One kilogram of body fat holds approximately 7,700 calories, but do not treat that as a fixed law. As you get lighter, your body burns less, and your unconscious daily movement tends to drop. Real world loss slows down over time even when your intake does not change.
A sensible rate is 0.5 to 1 percent of your body weight per week. Faster than that and you are losing muscle along with fat.
A worked example
Take a 32 year old woman, 70 kg, 160 cm tall, working a desk job with three workouts a week.
BMR = (10 x 70) + (6.25 x 160) - (5 x 32) - 161 = 700 + 1000 - 160 - 161 = 1,379 calories
TDEE = 1,379 x 1.375 = approximately 1,900 calories
20 percent deficit = 1,900 x 0.8 = 1,520 calories per day
That is her starting target. Not a life sentence, a starting target.
Step 4: Split the calories into macros
The total decides whether you lose weight. The split decides whether you lose fat or muscle.
Protein: 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight. Protein is the one number I refuse to compromise on in a deficit, because it protects lean mass and keeps you full.
Fat: 0.8 to 1 gram per kilogram, minimum. Going lower interferes with hormone production.
Carbohydrate: whatever calories are left.
Protein and carbohydrate give 4 calories per gram. Fat gives 9. Alcohol gives 7, which is worth remembering on weekends.
Applying that to our example at 1,520 calories and 70 kg:
● Protein: 112 g, which is 448 calories
● Fat: 56 g, which is 504 calories
● Carbohydrate: the remaining 568 calories, which is 142 g
The calculated number is a starting point, not a verdict
Every one of these equations carries an error margin of roughly 10 to 15 percent for any individual. Your thyroid status, medication, sleep, gut health, muscle mass and genetics all shift the real number.
So use the calculation to start, then let the scale correct it.
Track for two to three weeks. Weigh yourself at the same time each morning, and compare weekly averages rather than single days. Daily weight swings of one to two kilos are water, glycogen, sodium and menstrual cycle, not fat.
If you have lost nothing after three consistent weeks, reduce by 150 to 200 calories or add 2,000 steps a day. If you are dropping more than one percent of body weight per week, eat a little more. That speed costs you muscle.
Where Indian calorie counting goes wrong
Cooking oil. One teaspoon is about 45 calories. Ghee is the same. Most home kitchens use three to five teaspoons per dish without measuring. That is 200 calories nobody logged.
Portions. One medium chapati made from 30 grams of atta is roughly 70 to 80 calories. A small bowl of cooked rice, about 150 grams, is close to 200. People log "two rotis" when the actual plate held four large ones.
Chai. With milk and one spoon of sugar, roughly 80 to 100 calories. Four cups a day is 400 calories, which is an entire meal.
Liquid calories generally. Juice, buttermilk with added salt and sugar, sweetened protein shakes, weekend alcohol. These vanish from memory faster than solid food.
Weigh your food for two weeks. Not forever, just long enough that your eye becomes accurate. That skill is worth more than any app.
The limits you should respect
Do not drop below approximately 1,200 calories a day if you are a woman or 1,500 if you are a man without medical supervision. Below those levels it becomes very difficult to meet your protein, calcium, iron and B12 requirements, and the risks include muscle loss, gallstones, hair fall and menstrual disturbances.
Do not attempt this calculation on your own if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, have a history of disordered eating, or are being treated for thyroid disease, PCOS, diabetes or kidney disease. Those situations need a plan built with your doctor.
And if counting starts to feel compulsive or anxious rather than useful, stop counting. Portion based eating and a good protein target work almost as well without the mental load.
FAQs
How many calories should I eat to lose 1 kg per week?
That requires roughly a 1,100 calorie daily deficit, which is too aggressive for most people. Target half a kilo per week instead.
Is BMR the same as TDEE?
No. BMR is your resting burn. TDEE is BMR plus all your movement and digestion. You set your deficit from TDEE, never from BMR.
Do I need to count calories forever?
No. Count long enough to learn portion sizes accurately, usually four to eight weeks, then maintain by habit with occasional check ins.
Why has my weight loss stopped?
Usually because your TDEE fell as you got lighter, portions crept up, or daily movement dropped. Recalculate at every five kilos lost.
Are online calorie calculators accurate?
Most use the same equations shown here, so they are a reasonable starting estimate. They still carry the same 10 to 15 percent error margin.
The bottom line
Calculate your BMR, multiply by an honest activity factor, take 15 to 25 percent off, protect your protein, then let three weeks of real data correct the number. That process works. Guessing does not.
If you want this built around your blood reports, medical history and actual routine rather than a formula, book a consultation with my team
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