Super Accurate Calorie Deficit Calculator
Find your ideal calorie deficit to lose weight & keep it off.
If you’ve tried calculating your calorie deficit, you know it’s not easy. And it’s different for everyone.
Some people claim that a 500 calorie deficit results in 1 lb per week of fat loss. Yet that’s not always true – it could be the reason your progress stalls!
Instead, you need a calorie target calculated for your unique body type and lifestyle. That’s why I created this super accurate calorie deficit calculator.
So you can find exactly how many calories you should eat to lose weight.
How To Calculate A Calorie Deficit
Before we get into the calorie deficit calculator, it’s important to understand the concept of “calories in” vs “calories out”.
“Calories in” is the food you eat each day. Whereas “calories out” is the energy you burn.
When you burn more calories than you eat, you’re in a calorie deficit.
Calories In < Calories Out = Calorie Deficit
Related: 3 Powerful Calorie Deficit Tweaks To Lose More Weight
Calories In
Most people choose to eat less to increase the calorie deficit. However, this is a slippery slope!
When you consistently under-eat, your metabolism slows down. And that makes it harder to lose weight.
Instead, you need to create a calorie deficit while eating enough to feed your metabolism for sustainable weight loss.
To do this, you need to understand how many calories you burn.
Calories Out
Generally, you burn calories in two ways – through your metabolism and your activity. Together, this is called TDEE (total daily energy expenditure).
First, the calories you burn just staying alive is called BMR (base metabolic rate). Including your heartbeat, breathing, and even blinking. While it may sound minor, BMR accounts for 60% to 80% of the calories you burn.
In addition, 10-20% of the calories you burn come from normal daily activities. Like walking around and digesting your food.
Related: 5 Foods That Burn More Calories
Finally, you burn another 10-20% by working out. To illustrate, the chart below shows percentages of calories burned on a typical day when you workout.
Calorie Deficit
The key to creating a sustainable calorie deficit is to eat fewer calories than you burn but not less than your metabolism burns. In other words, target below total calories burned but above BMR.
In this example, a woman has a BMR of 1,600 calories. But she only burns 400 calories from normal activity and doesn’t exercise.
That means she shouldn’t have a deficit greater than 400 calories per day. Because if she did a 500 calorie deficit, her metabolism would slow – likely causing weight gain later.
However, she also wouldn’t lose much weight with such a small deficit. To lose weight faster she has to increase activity, not decrease calories!
In the chart above, she’s burning another 400 calories from exercise. Now her max calorie deficit is 800 calories per day. Meaning she could lose weight twice as fast!
But again, it’s best to target somewhere between BMR and total calories burned. That way you have room for adjustments.
How To Use The Calorie Deficit Calculator
At this point, you should understand the basics of calorie balance. But how do you know your metabolic rate? And how do you figure out how many calories you burn?
That’s where the calorie deficit calculator comes in. It finds your metabolic rate and determines how many calories you burn. Then shows you how much to eat.
Find Your Metabolic Rate
First, we need to establish your body composition. Because the amount of lean muscle you have determines your metabolic rate.
In reality, most of us don’t have an accurate way to measure body fat. That’s why I made it easy with a fun picture and slider.
Another factor that affects your metabolism is your unique genetics and body type. So I help you find your body type based on how hard it is for you to lose weight or gain weight.
Or you can try my free body type quiz and see how you compare to nearly 50,000 other people.
Find Your Calories Burned
All that’s left is to find your total calories burned based on your activity level.
First, you choose how active you are during your workday or school day. Then you select how often you exercise and how intense your workouts are.
And that’s all there is to it. Once you complete the calculator you’ll see your custom calorie deficit based on your body and your lifestyle. Fill out the form below to get started.
Get Your Personal Calorie Deficit Plan
Calculating your calorie deficit is only part of the solution. You also have to know what and when to eat to maximize fat loss.
With a Custom Meal Plan, you get a complete solution based on your body type, lifestyle, and goals. Including custom meals and recipes, so there’s no calorie counting required!
Transform your body with goal-specific calories & macros
Easily plan meals with a daily menu built around your schedule
Simplify meal prep with delicious recipes formulated to fit your macros
Make better food choices with a grocery list right on your phone
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