Calories to lose weight for a 46 kg woman
About 1,300 kcal on training days and 1,150 kcal on rest days, with 90 g protein, if you are 26, 158 cm and train 3–5 days a week. Your maintenance is about 1,793 kcal.
How the number is worked out
- Resting energy (Mifflin-St Jeor): 10 × 46 + 6.25 × 158 − 5 × 26 − 161 = 1,157 kcal.
- Times 1.55 for moderate activity = 1,793 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 = 90 g. Fat at 25% of calories = 35 g. Carbs fill the rest: 160 g.
By how active you are
| Activity | Maintain | Training day | Rest day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk job, little exercise | 1,388 | 900 | 750 |
| Light: 1–3 workouts a week | 1,591 | 1,100 | 950 |
| Moderate: 3–5 workouts a week | 1,793 | 1,300 | 1,150 |
| Active: 6–7 hard sessions a week | 1,996 | 1,500 | 1,350 |
By age (moderately active)
| Age | Resting | Maintain | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 1,187 | 1,840 | 1,350 |
| 26 | 1,157 | 1,793 | 1,300 |
| 30 | 1,137 | 1,762 | 1,250 |
| 35 | 1,112 | 1,724 | 1,200 |
| 40 | 1,087 | 1,685 | 1,200 |
| 50 | 1,037 | 1,607 | 1,100 |
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 1,288 kcal and 79 g protein. Most of the protein comes from whey shake (with water) (24 g), palak paneer (15 g), paneer sandwich (12 g).
| Food | Portion | kcal | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 274 | 12 g | |
| Paneer sandwich | 1 sandwich | 274 | 12 g |
| Lunch | 346 | 18 g | |
| Palak paneer | 1 katori | 247 | 15 g |
| Roti | 1 roti | 99 | 3 g |
| Evening snack | 272 | 34 g | |
| Sprouts salad | 1 katori | 152 | 10 g |
| Whey shake (with water) | 1 scoop | 120 | 24 g |
| Dinner | 396 | 15 g | |
| Moong dal | 1 katori | 176 | 9 g |
| Mixed veg sabzi | 1 katori | 122 | 3 g |
| Roti | 1 roti | 99 | 3 g |
| Day total | 1,288 | 79 g | |