BodyCalStep 1: Know your numbers
Before you can lose weight, you need to know how many calories your body burns in a day — your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). It's built from your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — what you burn at rest — multiplied by an activity factor. This is your maintenance number: eat below it to lose weight. Work it out with our TDEE calculator and BMR calculator, and read what TDEE is and how to calculate it.
Step 2: Set a sensible calorie deficit
Once you know your maintenance calories, subtract a moderate deficit — around 500 calories a day gives roughly a pound of fat loss per week. Keep it to 15–25% below your TDEE and never crash below the safe minimums (about 1,200 kcal for women, 1,500 for men). Our calorie deficit calculator builds your target and a week-by-week forecast. Learn more in how to calculate a calorie deficit and, for women specifically, how many calories a woman should eat to lose weight.
Step 3: Get your protein and macros right
A calorie deficit decides how much you lose; your protein intake decides how much of it is fat versus muscle. Aim for roughly 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight to preserve muscle and stay full, then split the rest between carbs and fat. Use the macro calculator and protein calculator, and read how to count macros for weight loss.
Step 4: Move more every day
You can't out-train a bad diet, but daily movement meaningfully increases your calorie burn and protects your health. Steps are the easiest lever — aim to add 2,000–4,000 to your usual count. Find your target with the daily steps calculator and see how many steps a day you should walk.
Step 5: Protect your sleep
Poor sleep raises hunger hormones, drives cravings, and causes you to lose more muscle and less fat on the same diet. Treat 7–9 hours as part of your plan, not an optional extra. Our sleep calculator helps you time your nights, and how sleep affects weight loss explains why it matters.
Track your progress the right way
The scale alone can mislead you, so track a few things together. Use the BMI calculator for a quick population-level check, the body fat calculatorto confirm you're losing fat rather than muscle, and the ideal weight calculator for a healthy target range. Judge progress by weekly averages, not daily swings.
Optional: intermittent fasting
Some people find it easier to control calories by confining eating to a set window. It's a tool, not a requirement — it works by helping you eat less overall. If you're curious, plan a schedule with our intermittent fasting calculator.
The mistakes that derail most people
- Crash dieting. Aggressive deficits strip muscle and rebound. Moderate wins.
- Under-eating protein.The fastest way to end up "skinny fat".
- Never recalculating. As you lose weight your TDEE drops — re-run your numbers every 5–7 kg.
- Judging by daily weigh-ins. Water and food weight swing 1–2 kg daily; track weekly averages.