How Many Calories Do I Need to Lose Weight? You Might Be Surprised

How Many Calories Do I Need to Lose Weight? You Might Be Surprised

You may have heard that there are 3500 calories in a pound. Using this standard, its logical to assume that if you reduce your calorie intake by 3500 calories per week you will lose 1 pound of fat. Or if you double that number and reduce your weekly calories by 7000 then you would lose 2 pounds, etc. How many calories do I need to lose weight? The answer seems pretty straight-forward and logical right? Well, there is more to it...

Unfortunately, lean body mass (muscle) is lost along with the fat, so the 3500 calorie formula in oversimplified. How much muscle is lost depends on the person's body fat levels and the degree of calorie restriction. For instance, someone with a high body fat percentage will lose more fat and retain more muscle. This is why obese people perform well under aggressive low-calorie diets (at least in the beginning.) Leaner people react just the opposite... they will lose much more muscle when under an aggressive low-calorie diet.

A pound of fat equals 3500 calories. But a pound of muscle equals only 600 calories. So if you create a 3500 calorie deficit in one week and the loss you experience is 100% fat, you will lose exactly 1 pound. But if a 3500 calorie deficit results in 100% muscle loss, you would lose about 6 pounds of muscle weight!

Based on this information, should you forget about how many calories do I need to lose weight?

Not entirely... you can still use the old calorie formula to get a basic idea of how much you should eat. Then use a daily deficit of about 500-1000 calories as a guideline to gauge how many calories you should be eating to lose a pound or two per week.

How many calories do I need to lose weight? I wish the answer were simple but there are many factors involved. It differs for each individual. Some of these factors include initial body fat percentages, types of foods eaten, how frequently you eat, activity levels and so on. The best thing to do is follow the advice of a fitness professional who can steer you in the right direction and help keep you from getting lost in the sea of information that surrounds the weight loss industry.