# How Many Calories Should I Eat to Lose Weight? A 2026 Target That Holds

> Stop guessing a round number. Learn how to estimate maintenance calories, pick a 300-500 calorie deficit, and track it without weighing every gram.

The most searched question in fat loss is also the one most apps answer badly. They spit out 1,200 calories like it is a personality. That number is a crash plan, not a target. You need a personal maintenance number first, then a small cut you can live with for months.

This guide shows you how to estimate how many calories to eat to lose weight, why weekly averages beat perfect days, and how to log real meals fast enough that the target actually gets used. Option 1 is Khatwa. Log what you already eat for three days, then set a 300-500 calorie cut. Photograph dinner. Ask the coach what is left. Free on iOS and Android.

## Start with maintenance, not a deficit

Your maintenance calories (TDEE) are the energy you burn on a normal week: rest, work, walking, training. Eat around that number and weight stays roughly flat. Eat below it and you lose tissue. The tissue you lose is more fat and less muscle if protein and training stay in place.

A useful first estimate uses the Mifflin-St Jeor formula for basal metabolic rate, then an activity multiplier:

- **Sedentary desk week:** BMR × 1.2
- **Light movement, some walks:** BMR × 1.375
- **Training 3-5 days plus daily steps:** BMR × 1.55
- **Physical job or two-a-days:** BMR × 1.725

Treat that number as a hypothesis. The real answer is what happens to your 7-day weight average after two weeks of honest logging. If the average is flat, you found maintenance. If it drops about 0.25-0.5% of bodyweight per week, the cut is working.

## The 300-500 calorie cut that people actually keep

A 1,000-calorie crash looks productive on day two and falls apart by day eight. Hunger, bad sleep, and skipped training show up together. A 300-500 calorie daily deficit is slower on the scale and far more likely to still be there in week twelve.

At a 500-calorie daily average, you are looking at roughly 0.5 kg of fat per week in the early phase, then slower as you get smaller. That is the pace that keeps muscle if you train and eat enough protein. For a beginner walkthrough of those two numbers, read [calorie counting for beginners](https://www.khatwa.se/en/blog/calorie-counting-for-beginners-simple-guide-2026.md).

### Example targets, not prescriptions

These are illustrations. Your coach or clinician should override them if you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or have a history of disordered eating.

- **70 kg adult, mostly desk work, 3 gym sessions:** maintenance often lands near 2,100-2,400. Fat-loss intake often lands near 1,700-2,000.
- **90 kg adult, walks 8,000 steps, lifts 4 days:** maintenance often lands near 2,600-2,900. Fat-loss intake often lands near 2,200-2,500.

If an app hands you a number under 1,500 and you are not a small, sedentary person, treat it as a bug. Floor your intake, keep protein high, and let time do the work.

## Why the weekly average matters more than Tuesday

One wedding, one late shawarma, one missed log does not ruin a cut. Seven-day calorie average does. Hit your target on five days and land a bit over on two, and you are still in a deficit if the week nets 300-500 under maintenance.

That is also why logging has to be fast. If logging takes ten minutes, you skip weekends and the average becomes fiction. Photograph the plate, save favorites for the meals you repeat, and ask the coach what dinner can look like with the calories you have left.

## Adjust after two weeks, not after one scale day

Water, salt, and training make daily weight noisy. Use a morning average. If two weeks of logging show no drop and adherence was real, cut 100-200 more calories or add a daily walk. If the drop is faster than 1% of bodyweight per week, eat a bit more. For a stall that lasts longer, see [how to fix a weight-loss plateau](https://www.khatwa.se/en/blog/weight-loss-plateau-fix-ai-diet-adjustments.md).

## How Khatwa keeps the target usable

Khatwa is built around the number you can hit, not a spreadsheet you abandon.

- **Log the meal you ate.** Photo, search, or type it. Homemade food and takeout both count.
- **Ask what is left today.** The coach answers from today's log, your goal, and your remaining budget.
- **Keep steps in the same picture.** Apple Health or Health Connect can pass steps and calories burned so the day is not food-only.

### Pick a number you can still hit on a busy Thursday

Download Khatwa, log what you already eat for three days, then set a 300-500 calorie cut. Free on iOS and Android.

[Download Khatwa Free](https://www.khatwa.se/en#download)

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