BodyCalThe honest ballpark
Most women lose weight steadily eating somewhere between 1,200 and 1,600 calories a day, but the truth is there's no single number that fits everyone. Your right figure depends on your height, current weight, age, and how active you are — a tall, active woman may lose weight eating 1,800 calories, while a shorter, sedentary one might need closer to 1,300.
Rather than copying a generic number off the internet, the reliable approach is to work out your own maintenance calories and subtract a sensible deficit. That way your target actually reflects your body.
How to find your number
Start with your maintenance calories — the amount that keeps your weight stable, known as your TDEE. Then subtract a moderate deficit of around 300 to 500 calories a day for steady, sustainable loss of about half a kilogram (one pound) a week. For many women that lands the target in the 1,400 to 1,600 range.
Our calorie deficit calculator does this for you: enter your details, pick your pace, and it gives you a personalized daily target plus a week-by-week forecast, so you're not guessing.
Don't drop below 1,200
Most health authorities advise women not to eat below about 1,200 calories a day without medical supervision. Below that it becomes very hard to get enough protein, vitamins, and minerals, and your body responds to the shortage by shedding muscle and slowing your metabolism — the opposite of what you want.
If the deficit you'd need pushes you under that floor, choose a slower rate of loss instead. Losing weight a little more gradually and keeping it off beats crashing and rebounding.
Why crash diets backfire for women
Very aggressive calorie cuts look appealing but consistently underperform. They strip away muscle alongside fat, leave you tired and irritable, disrupt hormones, and trigger intense hunger that makes rebound eating almost inevitable. The weight tends to come back, often with a little extra.
A moderate deficit paired with enough protein protects your muscle, keeps energy up, and is something you can actually live with for the months real change takes. Slow and steady genuinely wins here.
Putting it together
Find your maintenance calories, take a 300 to 500 calorie deficit, keep protein high, and never dip below roughly 1,200 calories a day. Track your weekly average weight and adjust after three or four weeks based on what actually happens. Use our calorie deficit calculator to set your target and the TDEE calculator to understand the maintenance number behind it.