Adults need to eat under 2000 calories a day to lose weight
Full stop.
In this article, we will explain that adults need less than 2000 calories a day to lose weight.
For men – its under 2000 calories. Women – may need to eat under 1500 calories a day.
They are general rules only. When it comes to losing weight, a general rule of thumb is to consume 500 fewer calories than needed to maintain your present weight. This depends on your age and gender (see below).
Calorie requirement: how is this affected by age and gender?
Calorie requirement decreases as you get older, and men need more calories than women:
- Men aged 18-30 years need 2,500-3,000 calories per day to maintain weight
- Men aged 31-59 years need about 2,500 calories
- Men over 60 years require 2,000-2500 calories.
These are equivalent numbers for women:
- Women aged 18-30 years need 2,000-2,500 calories to maintain weight
- Women aged 31-59 years need about 2,000 calories
- Women over 60 years require 1,500-2,000 calories.
So that answers the question how many calories should I eat. But. How many calories should I eat a day to lose weight?
How to lose weight
To lose weight in a healthy way, you need to use more energy than you consume by eating a healthy, balanced diet with fewer calories while increasing your physical activity.
For most men, this means eating less than 2000 calories a day, and for most women, it is less than 1500 calories a day.
If you like using a calorie counting method to lose weight, this is a good one: https://www.mynetdiary.com/
Our advice on how to lose weight are in the links below.
If you have been severely obese for some time, and all diets have failed, you should consider asking your GP to refer you for bariatric (weight loss) surgery at your local hospital. You will be seen by a senior doctor (a consultant or their deputy called a registrar) or specialist nurse or dietitian.
Summary
We have explained that adults need to eat under 2000 calories a day to lose weight. We hope it has been helpful.
