Losing weight
Pages in this list checked · How we check
Losing weight takes 6 of the pages on this site, not one. What you burn, what to eat, and how long it takes. Every figure here is a screening estimate from a published formula, not medical advice — the page says which formula each one uses. Each page in the list computes its own figure from a published formula and prints the working, so the whole sequence can be checked rather than trusted.
- 1TDEE CalculatorWhat you burn in a day at your activity levelCalculator
- 2Calorie Needs CalculatorThe intake for a target rate of lossCalculator
- 3Weight Loss Timeline CalculatorHow long the target takes at that intakeCalculator
- 4Macro CalculatorProtein, carbs and fat in gramsCalculator
- 5BMI CalculatorWhere you sit against the CDC categoriesCalculator
- 6Body Fat CalculatorThe Navy tape method, which BMI cannot doCalculator
What goes wrong on this job
The deficit is arithmetic; the adherence is not
A pound of fat is about 3,500 calories, so a 500-a-day deficit is roughly a pound a week. That figure is a starting estimate rather than a promise: the body adjusts as weight falls, and the same deficit slows over months.
Intensity times time, not distance
MET values scale with intensity. Walking at 3.5 mph is 4.3 MET and running at 6 mph is 9.8, so an hour of brisk walking and twenty-five minutes of running come out close to level.
BMI cannot see muscle
It is height and weight and nothing else, which is why a heavily muscled person at 5 ft 11 and 200 lb reads 27.9 — nominally overweight — on a body that is not. The Navy tape method uses neck, waist and height instead, and answers a different question.
What a deficit is worth
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| A pound of fat | ≈ 3,500 kcal |
| 500 kcal/day deficit | ≈ 1 lb a week |
| Walking, 3.5 mph | 4.3 MET |
| Cycling, 12–14 mph | 8.0 MET |
| Running, 6 mph | 9.8 MET |
Typical figures for orientation. Every one is recomputed by the calculators above from the dimensions you actually have.
What the figures rest on
Every quantity above is computed by one of the calculators in the list, from these published standards.
- Mifflin MD et al., A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure (Am J Clin Nutr, 1990)
- NIH — dietary reference intakes for energy
- NHLBI Obesity Education Initiative — Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults
- Hall KD, Chow CC. Why is the 3500 kcal per pound weight loss rule wrong? Int J Obes 2013;37:1614
- Hall KD. What is the required energy deficit per unit weight loss? Int J Obes 2008;32:573-6
- NIDDK Body Weight Planner — the dynamic model this page approximates
- USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans
- CDC — about adult BMI
- NHLBI — body mass index and health risk
- WHO — obesity and overweight, and the BMI classification
- US Navy Physical Readiness Program — body composition assessment
- NIH — assessing body composition