How many calories does it take to lose a pound a week?

In short. About 3,500 calories make a pound, so about 500 fewer a day is roughly a pound a week. It is an estimate: judge it by your trend weight over two or three weeks.

The rule of thumb

A pound of body weight is often put at about 3,500 calories. Divide by seven and you get roughly 500 calories a day. Eat 500 fewer than you burn, every day for a week, and the rule says you lose about a pound.

It is a rough average, not a law. It is useful because it gives you a first number to try and a way to talk about pace.

Why real weeks drift

• You do not know your burn exactly. Calculators estimate it from formulas, and so does your watch.
• Food logs are estimates too. Portions, oils and restaurant meals are rarely exact.
• Scale weight carries water. A salty dinner or a hard workout can move it a pound without changing fat.
• Bodies adapt. The same deficit does not always give the same result week after week.

How to use it

1. Get a starting estimate for maintenance. The calorie calculator lets you pick the formula and shows a pace table.
2. Choose a pace you could repeat for weeks, not the fastest one on the table.
3. Judge it by your trend weight over two or three weeks, not one weigh-in.
4. Adjust by small amounts, and give each change a couple of weeks to show up.

A deficit is a weekly total, so a day over your number is part of the week. See a calorie deficit is a week, not a day.

When slower is better

If your lifts are dropping, you are always hungry or tired, or the number would put you under your BMR, a slower pace is worth considering. The calculator warns you instead of stopping you, because it is your decision. Anyone with a health condition should talk to a doctor first.

Quick answers

• Is 500 calories a day right for everyone? No. It is a starting point. A smaller deficit is easier to keep and may suit you better.
• Why did the scale not move? Scale weight carries water, and your food log and your burn are estimates. Look at two or three weeks of trend, not one weigh-in.
• Does exercise change the arithmetic? Burned calories raise what you can eat at the same deficit, but they are estimates as well.

Where One Fitness Hub helps

• Weight loss tracker brings food, weight and lifting into one record.
• Nutrition’s Week view adds each day against its own target.
• Body tracking shows a trend weight beside your check-ins.
• Estimates are labelled. Targets are fitness estimates for adults 18 and over.

This post is general information, not medical or dietary advice. Results vary from person to person. Check with a doctor before starting a new eating or exercise plan, especially if you have a health condition, are pregnant, or have a history of disordered eating.

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