How many calories do I need to burn off per day in order to lose weight?

Question

I have cut down on what I am eating, so I am making the necessary calorie deficit required to lose weight.

I have found a website detailing how many calories are burned by doing certain activities for a duration of time, but I don't know how many calories I need to be burning per day in order to lose weight.

I am aiming to eat around 1500 cals per day - I think this is the recommended daily limit for women in order to lose weight.

Answer 1

1,500 is a good level to pick, its just below your basal (resting requirement) which is about 1,700 and not too little as to risk entering starvation mode. Even moderate regular exercise 5 days a week for about 30 minutes should result in gradual loss.

Answer 2

Ok well one pound is equal to 3500 calories. however you dont need to burn anywhere near to this per day to lose weight. If you either cut your calorie intake by 500 calories per day, For example, for females who weigh about 10 stone, the daily requirement is about 2300 calories per day - they would then eat 1800 per day.
So, in order to lose a healthy 1-2lbs per week, either cut your daily calorie intake by 500 calories, or burn off 500 calories at the gym per day, of course you can do a mix of both...say 300 cals at the gym and cut you normal intake by 200 cals.
I suggest you take one day, and eat normally as you would, but note down everything you eat then add up the calories for this, then you will know what your daily intake is, take 500 away from that and that is you new calorie intake.
Good Luck xx

Answer 3

It's useful to know that 1 pound of body fat costs you 3500 calories. If you want to lose one pound every week this is how you would calculate it:

As someone already pointed out, just staying alive costs your body (more or less) 1800 (this is called your Resting Energy Expenditure). Add onto that any exercise activity (any activity, like walking to the bus stop, doing the hoovering, pushing the trolley round tesco etc.) you do on a daily basis and that will give you your 'break-even' figure. Now if you can deduct 500 calories from this figure and that's your target calorie intake for the day. Stick to that and you will continue to lose weight.

If you plan to do extra exercise, you can either use this to 'buy' yourself extra food for the day or you can bank it and your weight loss will be quicker.

Best wishes to you for a successful diet!

Answer 4

Losing weight is a simple equation: if you burn more calories than you eat, the weight will come off. Start off by estimating how many calories you burn each day using the calorie calculator http://straighthealth.com/pages/tools/caloriecalclb.html This will give you an idea of how many calories to eat. Healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. To lose 1 pound per week you need to create a calorie deficit (burn more than you eat) of 500 calories per day. To lose 2 pounds a week, you have to double the deficit to 1000 calories per day. You can achieve this by eating less, exercising more or a combination of both.

Guide to Dieting - http://straighthealth.com/pages/guides/dieting.html
Health, Exercise and Diets - http://straighthealth.com

Answer 5

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Answer 6

You just have to burn more than you consume. So if you consume 2000 calories a day and burn 2001, you'll lose weight. 100-200 calories burned off a day is usually enough to give you a healthy amount of weight loss. If you lose too much weight too quickly, you can wind up gaining all back or get health problems.

Answer 7

If you exercise 3 times a week, you can eat 1400 calories a day and lose weight.

Answer 8

Your need to loose more calories than you ingest, fact.

The number of calories your body burns each day is called your total energy expenditure. The following three factors make up your total energy expenditure:

Basic needs. Even when your body is at rest, it requires energy for the basics, such as fuel for organs, breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, plus growing and repairing cells. Calories expended to cover these basic functions are your basal metabolic rate. Typically, a person's basal metabolic rate is the largest portion of energy use, representing two-thirds to three-quarters of the calories used each day. Energy needs for these basic functions stay fairly consistent and aren't easily changed.

Food processing. Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume also takes calories. This accounts for about 10 percent of the calories used each day. For the most part, your body's energy requirement to process food stays relatively steady and isn't easily changed.


Physical activity. Physical activity — such as playing tennis, walking to the store, chasing after the dog and any other movement — accounts for the remainder of calories used. You control the number of calories burned depending on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities.

Answer 9

No no no do not go on a 500-600 calorie diet!
It's so unhealthy for you & you can actually gain weight if you do!
Have at least 1200 calories a day..It's a much healthier diet & it gives you more energy to burn fat while you work out.

Good luck Hun

Answer 10

The average persone burns 1800 Calories a day just living. Use this as a guide. Just eat less than you burn and you will be fine.