One of the main reasons why most people have trouble losing weight is because they are eating more calories than what is necessary for them to lose weight.

According to most studies, people under report their calorie consumption by about 47%.

Just because you lower your portion sizes or start a “healthier” diet, does not necessarily mean that you are going to lose weight.

Regardless of what you will read on the Internet, if you wish to lose weight then you need to be in a caloric deficit.

It’s simply how our bodies work.

A good place to start is a calorie calculator.  With the calculator you can roughly measure what your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is. Your TDEE shows you how many calories per day you potentially burn based on your age, weight, height and weekly activity.

In order for you to lose weight, you have to be about 300-500 calories below your TDEE.

If you cover your TDEE calorie intake, you will maintain your weight. If you eat fewer calories than your TDEE you will lose weight. And, following the same logic, if you eat more than your TDEE in calories you will gain weight.

For example, if your estimated TDEE is 2,000 calories (i.e. you need 2,000 calories to maintain your weight) then you should be consuming about 1,700 to 1,500 calories per day to lose weight.

You should not take what the calorie calculator gives you as the golden rule. A calculator cannot estimate the exact number of calories you need to eat in order to lose weight. However, it’s a good place to start.

And do not worry!

You will not be counting calories for the rest of your life. Once you get the hang of it, you will understand how much is too much. And as a result, you will control your portion sizes without having to search each meal’s caloric values.

Summary:

To lose weight you must be in a caloric deficit of 300-500 calories. Use a calorie calculator to ballpark measure your TDEE. Once you have your TDEE, subtract 300-500 calories (preferably 500). This will give you your daily caloric goal to lose weight.