how many calories you need to eat to lose two pounds a week

Calorie Needs Calculator

The Best Calorie Level For You

Jeanier, your magic number is 1257 calories a day.

Your magic number is calculated assuming that your goal is to lose 2 pounds a week. To meet this goal, the best meal plan calorie level for you is 1,200–1,400.

Once you’ve met your weight-loss goals, it’s time to go into maintenance mode. To maintain your weight, you should aim for 2257 calories a day.

Update your Meal Plan calorie level.

How is your magic number calculated?

(Well, it isn't really magic!) Weight loss is simple math. You must burn more calories than you consume. You've got to know how many calories go in and how many go out!

A. How to Calculate Calories Burned
The number of calories you're burning (your Active Metabolic Rate, more commonly known as your Total Energy Expenditure, or TEE) varies from person to person and takes into account three factors: what your body burns doing nothing (known as Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR), your basic daily activity level, and the amount of exercise you do on a daily basis.

Learn more about this formula

B. How to Calculate Calories Consumed:
It's pretty basic. Everything you eat has a caloric value. To stay within your number of calories, you need to know what you're eating (that includes reading food labels) to stay on track. Be sure to record the calories you consume each day in your Food Log.

C. How to Calculate Your Weight Loss:

A pound equals 3,500 calories, so if you want to lose two pounds a week, you'll need to burn an extra 7,000 calories a week (or 1,000 calories a day).

Since you burn 2257 calories per day, simply subtract 1,000 from that number to arrive at the number of calories you may consume daily, i.e., your magic number:

2257

1,000

1257*

Now that you know how many calories you need to eat to lose two pounds a week, find out what kinds of foods you should be eating to fuel your workouts and weight loss efforts!