Calories to lose weight for a 48 kg woman
About 1,300 kcal on training days and 1,150 kcal on rest days, with 95 g protein, if you are 26, 158 cm and train 3–5 days a week. Your maintenance is about 1,824 kcal.
How the number is worked out
- Resting energy (Mifflin-St Jeor): 10 × 48 + 6.25 × 158 − 5 × 26 − 161 = 1,177 kcal.
- Times 1.55 for moderate activity = 1,824 kcal to stay the same weight.
- Minus 500 kcal to lose weight, rounded to 50 = 1,300 kcal. Rest days are 150 kcal lower.
- Protein at 2 g per kg = 95 g. Fat at 25% of calories = 35 g. Carbs fill the rest: 150 g.
By how active you are
| Activity | Maintain | Training day | Rest day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk job, little exercise | 1,412 | 900 | 750 |
| Light: 1–3 workouts a week | 1,618 | 1,100 | 950 |
| Moderate: 3–5 workouts a week | 1,824 | 1,300 | 1,150 |
| Active: 6–7 hard sessions a week | 2,030 | 1,550 | 1,400 |
By age (moderately active)
| Age | Resting | Maintain | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 1,207 | 1,871 | 1,350 |
| 26 | 1,177 | 1,824 | 1,300 |
| 30 | 1,157 | 1,793 | 1,300 |
| 35 | 1,132 | 1,755 | 1,250 |
| 40 | 1,107 | 1,716 | 1,200 |
| 50 | 1,057 | 1,638 | 1,150 |
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 1,349 kcal and 97 g protein. Most of the protein comes from whey shake (with water) (48 g), paneer bhurji (15 g), moong dal chilla (12 g).
| Food | Portion | kcal | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 218 | 12 g | |
| Moong dal chilla | 2 chilla | 218 | 12 g |
| Lunch | 407 | 16 g | |
| Chole | 1 katori | 230 | 9 g |
| Roti | 1 roti | 99 | 3 g |
| Cucumber raita | 1 katori | 78 | 4 g |
| Evening snack | 240 | 48 g | |
| Whey shake (with water) | 2 scoops | 240 | 48 g |
| Dinner | 485 | 21 g | |
| Paneer bhurji | 1 katori | 275 | 15 g |
| Bhindi masala | 1 katori | 111 | 3 g |
| Roti | 1 roti | 99 | 3 g |
| Day total | 1,349 | 97 g | |