How Many Calories Do You Need Each Day To Lose Weight?
Daily Calorie Needs for Females
Important: these are averages and provide a guideline only.
Age/years | Sedentary | Low activity | High activity |
2-3 | 1100 | 1250 | 1400 |
4-5 | 1200 | 1350 | 1500 |
6-7 | 1300 | 1500 | 1700 |
8-9 | 1400 | 1600 | 1850 |
10-11 | 1500 | 1800 | 2050 |
12-13 | 1700 | 2000 | 2250 |
14-16 | 1750 | 2100 | 2350 |
17-18 | 1750 | 2100 | 2400 |
19-30 | 1900 | 2100 | 2350 |
31-50 | 1800 | 2000 | 2250 |
51-70 | 1650 | 1850 | 2100 |
71+ | 1550 | 1750 | 2000 |
Daily Calorie Needs for Males
Age/years | Sedentary | Low activity | High activity |
2-3 | 1100 | 1350 | 1500 |
4-5 | 1250 | 1450 | 1650 |
6-7 | 1400 | 1600 | 1800 |
8-9 | 1500 | 1750 | 2000 |
10-11 | 1700 | 2000 | 2300 |
12-13 | 1900 | 2250 | 2600 |
14-16 | 2300 | 2700 | 3100 |
17-18 | 2450 | 2900 | 3300 |
19-30 | 2500 | 2700 | 3000 |
31-50 | 2350 | 2600 | 2900 |
51-70 | 2150 | 2350 | 2650 |
71+ | 2000 | 2200 | 2500 |
How Many Calories Do You Need to Reduce By?
In weight loss studies carried out by health scientists, women who ate 1000 calories less than their daily requirement lost around 2 pounds per week. This is considered a healthy and sustainable level of weight loss. The same rule applies to men. So, how many calories should you be eating?
The following two tables show the average calories requirements for males and females at various ages for varying levels of activity, i.e. sedentary (no exercise, rarely active), low activity (walking, housework, some play) and high activity (regular exercise, generally more active in work and life).
This is a general guide to the amount of calories you need to be in deficit to lose a specific amount of weight:
- If you are in a deficit of 500 calories per day you will lose approximately 1 pound per week
- A calorie deficit of 750 calories will help you lose about 1.5 pounds per week
- A calorie deficit of 1000 calories will help you lose about 2 pounds per week (about 1 kg weight loss per week)
- To lose 20 pounds in a year you will need to eat 200 calories less per day than you were eating when your weight was stable
- To lose 20 pounds in 1 month you would need to eat 2400 calories less per day (this is why very overweight people who have been eating around 4000 calories per day can lose weight quicker than lighter people, as they can reduce their intake by 2400 calories per day and still eat enough to sustain themselves).