The number of calories you should eat per day to lose weight depends on your weight, height, lifestyle, gender, and exercise levels. In general, an average woman needs around 2, calories per day to maintain her weight but 1, calories to lose 1 pound 0. A slow, even rate of weight loss — such as 1 pound 0.
Although a larger calorie deficit may help you lose weight faster, research has shown that it increases your risk of losing muscle, which is not ideal for this diet 4 , 6. Numerous studies have found that high protein intake can aid fat loss by boosting your metabolism , reducing your appetite, and preserving lean muscle mass 7 , 8 , 9.
Most studies suggest that 0. Fat plays a key role in hormone production, which makes it crucial for a cutting diet However, some evidence suggests that a drop in testosterone levels does not always lead to muscle loss — as long as you eat enough protein and carbs 5 , One gram of fat contains 9 calories, so anyone on a 2,calorie regimen should eat 33—67 grams of fat per day on a cutting diet.
If you do intense exercise, the lower end of that fat range may be best because it allows for higher carb intake. Because your body prefers to use carbs for energy instead of protein, eating an adequate number of carbs may combat muscle loss Additionally, carbs can help fuel your performance during workouts On a cutting diet, carbs should comprise the remaining calories after you subtract protein and fat. Protein and carbs both provide 4 calories per gram, while fat stands at 9 per gram.
After subtracting your protein and fat needs from your total calorie intake, divide the remaining number by 4, which should tell you how many carbs you can eat per day.
When to start is another, and in some ways, it's just as important. Unfortunately, there's not a single answer I can give you since, as you might expect, it depends on your unique body and lifestyle.
What I can do, however, is help you plan out a healthy approach to cutting weight that won't leave you scrambling for answers or feeling miserable with a crash diet. Answer these five questions in the order I have them here, and you'll be well on your way to chiseling a body that's worth a double- or even triple-take. One pound of body fat, you may have heard, is equal to approximately 3, calories.
That number doesn't do justice to the full complexity of the systems involved in human fat production and loss, but it's a surprisingly effective benchmark—provided you use it right. The more pounds in fat you want to lose, the greater amount of time you will need to safely and truly shed fat weight, not mere water weight, or even worse, muscle.
A general guideline that works for many people is to aim to lose body fat at a pace of 1 pound per week without resorting to extreme dieting. That means eating at a deficit of approximately calories per day.
Set your calendar accordingly. If you have 10 pounds or fewer to lose, you should start at least months out. If you have more than 20 pounds to torch, begin your cutting phase months prior. Sure, a more aggressive diet can achieve weight loss in a fraction of the time, but research and experience have shown there are limitations to how deep in calorie debt you can get before you wreck your metabolism.
For men, it's thought to be below 1, calories; for women, it could fall below 1, calories of deficit. And besides, if your diet is so extreme that you can't stick to it, that in itself is wasted time and effort! If this is your first time cutting in general, you're probably not familiar with how your body responds to eating fewer calories than you consume. Some people can feel just fine, while others find that at least initially, they feel, well, not so fine.
Just remember that nothing happens in isolation. Now depending on your training and cardio regimen, you may lose slightly more than this. If you can elevate your metabolism through advanced training strategies such as HIIT and plyometrics, which will boost your metabolism following the workout, it will be much easier to lose weight. Believe it or not, carbohydrates will play a very important role in our cutting diet during our training days. Keep in mind that the goal of maintaining our lean muscle mass and having the energy for maximum intensity workouts is crucial for success on this diet.
There are a few times during the day that you will need to consume carbohydrates. This will maximize your energy levels and maintain your lean muscle mass.
The two times of the day when carbohydrate consumption is crucial is before your workout and after your workout. On your heavy weight training days, you want to consume about 1 gram of carbohydrates per 1 lb of body weight during this 4-hour window. This can be broken up throughout a pre-workout meal hours before your workout, a post-workout shake directly after your workout, and a post-workout meal about hours after your workout.
The kind of carbohydrates that you consume become crucial during these times if you want to maximize your energy and post-workout insulin spike. For the pre-workout meal, you will want to consume about 25 percent of your carbohydrates in the form of slow-digesting and complex carbs.
This means that you are consuming things like sweet potatoes, oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, fresh fruit, lentils, quinoa, and whole grains. These carbohydrate sources will give you a sustainable source of energy so you can train at maximum intensity. Directly after your workout, you will want to consume about 35 percent of your carbohydrate intake in the form of a rapid digesting carbohydrate source.
This means that you will consume a simple sugar in the form of maltodextrin or dextrose along with your fast-digesting protein. You will consume the rest of your carbohydrates in about hours following your workout in the form of slow-digesting carbohydrates. These will maintain your post-workout anabolic spike and will replenish your muscle glycogen so you can train at the maximum intensity the next day.
Your protein intake will be essential if you want to maintain all of your lean muscle mass while following this cutting diet. A good rule of thumb is that you want to consume between If you are a naturally skinny guy , you may want to keep this number closer to 1. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12 1 , Bamman, M. Changes in body composition, diet, and strength of bodybuilders during the 12 weeks prior to competition.
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International Journal of Obesity, 14 1 , Broeder, C. The effects of either high-intensity resistance or endurance training on resting metabolic rate. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 55 4 , Davoodi, S. Calorie shifting diet versus calorie restriction diet: a comparative clinical trial study.
International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 5 4 , Donnelly, J. Is exercise effective for weight loss with ad libitum diet? Energy balance, compensation, and gender differences.
Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 33 4 , Elia, M. Differences in fat, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism between lean and obese subjects undergoing total starvation. Obesity Research, 7 6 , Forbes, G. Body fat content influences the body composition response to nutrition and exercise. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1 , Glass, S. Goedecke, J. Determinants of the variability in respiratory exchange ratio at rest and during exercise in trained athletes.
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What is the required energy deficit per unit weight loss? International Journal of Obesity, 32 3 , Decrease of serum total and free testosterone during a low-fat high-fibre diet. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry, 18 3 ,
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