Calorie plan
A calorie plan for losing weight
Enter your age, size, and a typical week. The form returns maintenance and four plans around it: a slow cut, a standard cut, a faster cut, and a small surplus. Pick one number and feed it. MyPlate: Calorie Deficit App is where that number becomes the meals you actually log.
What each row is for
Maintenance is your TDEE, the intake that holds weight steady. Every other row is that line plus or minus a gap. About 7,700 kcal lines up with a kilogram of body weight, so a 550 kcal daily gap is about 0.5 kg a week.
- Mild weight loss (about 250 kcal under maintenance) is a slow cut you can keep while training.
- Weight loss (about 550 kcal under) is the usual plan, near 0.5 kg a week.
- Aggressive loss (about 1,000 kcal under) moves the scale faster and is harder to hold. The form stops at 1,500 kcal for men and 1,200 kcal for women.
- Lean muscle gain (about 250 kcal over) is a small surplus for building, paired with lifting.
A worked plan
A 42-year-old woman, 163 cm, 74 kg, light activity (factor 1.375). Resting energy with Mifflin-St Jeor is 10×74 + 6.25×163 − 5×42 − 161 = 1,387.75 kcal, about 1,388. Times 1.375 is about 1,908 kcal for the day. The weight-loss row is about 1,358 kcal. That sits inside the 1,200 to 1,500 kcal range MedlinePlus describes for usual low-calorie diets for women. Five kilograms at 0.5 kg a week is about 10 weeks. Run your own numbers above, and read the floor rules onhow many calories to eat to lose weight.
Put the plan in the app
A target on a webpage does not log Tuesday's lunch. InMyPlate: Calorie Deficit App, set the goal, then photograph the plate or scan the barcode. The day view keeps calories left next to protein, carbs, and fat. Free to download, try every feature free. 3-day free trial. Split the same budget on the fat-loss macro plan, or set a date on thecalorie deficit calculator.
The equation, written out
This form estimates resting energy with Mifflin-St Jeor, multiplies by your activity, then applies the gap for the goal you want. For the arithmetic written step by step, see how to calculate calories on Calories Calculator. The branded walkthrough on this site is theMyPlate calorie calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn this number into a weight-loss plan?
Use the weight-loss row as the daily budget, about 550 kcal under maintenance, which lines up with roughly 0.5 kg a week. Log what you eat against that budget for two or three weeks, then move the target if your weight trend is flat or falling faster than you planned.
Which calorie target should I follow?
Pick one row and keep it. Mild loss (about 250 kcal under maintenance) is the easier hold. The weight-loss row is the usual plan. Aggressive loss is a short push, and the form will not go under 1,500 kcal for men or 1,200 kcal for women. Maintenance holds weight. The lean-gain row is a small surplus.
What if my loss target looks too low?
Raise the activity you actually do, or choose the milder row. A target under the usual low-calorie range is a sign to slow the pace. The calories-to-lose-weight guide walks through that floor.
How does the MyPlate app use this plan?
MyPlate: Calorie Deficit App can set a daily calorie target from your goal. You log meals with a photo or a barcode and the day view shows what is left. Free to download, try every feature free. 3-day free trial.
Where are the formula steps?
This page is the plan. The calorie calculator on Calories Calculator writes out the Mifflin-St Jeor steps and the activity multipliers.