Calorie Requirement to Lose Body Fat

Half a kilogram (1 pound) stored body fat is about 3500 calorie. It simply means that every time you give a deficit of 3500 calorie from your daily meals, or exercise, or a combination of both exercise and diet, you will lose 450 g body fat. This 3500 calorie is, on an average, 25% of your lean mass and 75% of your body fat.

The best way for calorie requirement to lose body fat cannot and should not be done through diet alone. It has to be a combination of diet (less calories in) and exercise (more calories out). And if you stick to this, you will get to lose fat fast and maintain your fitness level for a long time.

Follow the guidelines provided by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM); it states that for women, calorie requirement per day should never go down below 1200, and for men calorie requirement should never go down below 1800. 

Personally speaking, I would say this ACSM guideline for calorie requirement to lose body fat is quite low. Every body composition differs from one another, and ‘one guideline cannot work for all’. It can utmost be taken as a base guideline that can be customized (with proper guidance) to suit one’s body composition.

For people wanting to lose body fat, reducing calorie intake by 500 daily (from the current calorie intake) will be easy to start with. Another good option will be to first calculate your daily calorie requirement, and accordingly, reduce your calorie intake by 15% to 20%.

Check this CALORIE CALCULATOR
 

 But before you reduce your calorie, know that it all depends on your fat loss goals. This means that first, you have to know (a) your body fat % and (b) lean body mass; second, whether you are a vegetarian, non-vegetarian, lacto vegetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian; third, you need to count your macronutrient intake for each meal you take; and fourth, you need to take into count your daily physical activities… meaning, whether you exercise daily/4 times a week/thrice a week.

TIP: Stay away from CARBOHYDRATES and SUGAR as much as possible.

NOTE: If you are strictly on HIGH FAT, MODERATE PROTEIN and LOW CARB meals, then YOU DO NOT NEED TO CALCULATE your daily calorie intake.