Calorie Formula for Weight Loss

Losing weight takes hard work and discipline, but before you cut calories or start working out, you need to do some math. Developing a formula for weight loss requires you to know how many calories your body needs every day, how much weight you want to lose and how fast you want to lose it.

Set a Baseline Number

Your body needs a certain number of calories to get through the day. This is called your basal metabolic rate. It's different for everyone, and it's the first number you need to figure out to develop your weight-loss plan.

The basic metabolic rate is determined by your age, body composition, gender and level of activity. In general, the younger, larger and more active you are, the more calories your body burns as part of its normal everyday function. Your doctor or dietitian can help you determine your BMR, and several reputable health organizations have free online BMR calculators.

Create a Deficit

The trick of weight loss is getting your body to tap into its reserve energy, which is stored in the form of fat. The way to do this is to eat and drink fewer calories than your BMR number. This is called creating an energy defecit. For example, if your BMR number is 2,400 calories and you consume only 2,000, your body will burn 400 calories' worth of fat to cover the deficit.

Daily Activity

Simply eating and drinking fewer calories will help you lose weight, but so will raising your BMR through increased activity. To promote weight loss and general good health, the Mayo Clinic recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity most days of the week.

Make Your Calculations

A pound of fat burns about 3,500 calories. To lose a pound in the course of a week, you need to create a daily deficit of 500 calories.

The Mayo Clinic recommends losing weight at a rate between half a pound and two pounds a week. It's important not to cut calories too far, both for health reasons and for long-term weight loss. If you don't eat enough, your body panics and starts hoarding fat because it thinks you are in danger of starvation.