Calories to lose weight for a 41 kg woman
About 1,200 kcal on training days and 1,050 kcal on rest days, with 80 g protein, if you are 26, 158 cm and train 3–5 days a week. Your maintenance is about 1,716 kcal.
How the number is worked out
- Resting energy (Mifflin-St Jeor): 10 × 41 + 6.25 × 158 − 5 × 26 − 161 = 1,107 kcal.
- Times 1.55 for moderate activity = 1,716 kcal to stay the same weight.
- Minus 500 kcal to lose weight, rounded to 50 = 1,200 kcal. Rest days are 150 kcal lower.
- Protein at 2 g per kg = 80 g. Fat at 25% of calories = 35 g. Carbs fill the rest: 140 g.
By how active you are
| Activity | Maintain | Training day | Rest day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk job, little exercise | 1,328 | 850 | 700 |
| Light: 1–3 workouts a week | 1,522 | 1,000 | 850 |
| Moderate: 3–5 workouts a week | 1,716 | 1,200 | 1,050 |
| Active: 6–7 hard sessions a week | 1,910 | 1,400 | 1,250 |
By age (moderately active)
| Age | Resting | Maintain | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 1,137 | 1,762 | 1,250 |
| 26 | 1,107 | 1,716 | 1,200 |
| 30 | 1,087 | 1,685 | 1,200 |
| 35 | 1,062 | 1,646 | 1,150 |
| 40 | 1,037 | 1,607 | 1,100 |
| 50 | 987 | 1,530 | 1,050 |
Height matters too: every 5 cm taller adds about 31 kcal to resting energy, or about 50 kcal a day at moderate activity.
What to expect
A 500 kcal daily gap is about 0.5 kg of fat a week, so losing 5 kg takes roughly 11 weeks. Expect the scale to jump around by 1 kg from water and salt; judge the trend over 2–3 weeks.
A vegetarian Indian day at this target
This day lands at 1,231 kcal and 73 g protein. Most of the protein comes from whey shake (with water) (24 g), besan chilla (11 g), rajma (11 g).
| Food | Portion | kcal | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 239 | 11 g | |
| Besan chilla | 2 chilla | 239 | 11 g |
| Lunch | 308 | 14 g | |
| Rajma | 1 katori | 209 | 11 g |
| Roti | 1 roti | 99 | 3 g |
| Evening snack | 312 | 33 g | |
| Chana chaat | 1 katori | 192 | 9 g |
| Whey shake (with water) | 1 scoop | 120 | 24 g |
| Dinner | 372 | 14 g | |
| Dal makhani | 1 katori | 212 | 10 g |
| Lauki sabzi | 1 katori | 63 | 2 g |
| Plain rice | ½ katori | 98 | 2 g |
| Day total | 1,231 | 73 g | |