Are you confused on how many calories you need to eat to lose weight? Are you’re a mom or busy professional struggling to lose fat, you’ve probably tried diets, skipped meals, or even pushed through painful workouts without seeing results. The truth is: fat loss isn’t magic—it’s math and mindset. And it starts with three key terms: calories, BMR, and TDEE.
What Are Calories?
Calories are simply units of energy your body uses to function. Every bite of food you eat contains calories, and your body uses them to:
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Breathe
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Pump blood
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Walk, talk, digest, and even think
Key Point:
If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain fat.
If you burn more than you eat, you lose fat.
What is BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)?
Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest—just to stay alive. It depends on your:
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Age
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Weight
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Height
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Gender
Example: A 35-year-old Nigerian mom weighing 80 kg may have a BMR of around 1,500 calories/day.
What is TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)?
TDEE is your BMR plus all your activity in a day, like:
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Walking to work
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Cooking
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Caring for your baby
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Exercising
Example: If your BMR is 1,500 but you’re moderately active, your TDEE might be 2,200 calories/day.
4. How Many Calories Do You Need Eat to Lose Weight?
Use a TDEE calculator and subtract:
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15% for slow fat loss
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20–25% for more aggressive fat loss (but still safe)
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If your TDEE = 2,200 → Eat around 1,700–1,800 calories/day for fat loss
5. Why Most Diets Fail
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Some women eat too little, slowing metabolism and triggering bingeing
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Others don’t know how many calories to eat for weight loss, so they eat “clean” but still overconsume
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Some overestimate calories burned from exercise and overeat
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No numbers = no results.
6. How to Apply This to Your Weight Loss Journey
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Use our free TDEE calculator to know your daily target
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Track your food intake for 3–5 days using a simple food diary
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Adjust calories slightly and watch your body respond
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Join our “FAT MUST GO” Challenge where we calculate everything for you and coach you daily
Conclusion:
“You don’t lose weight by starving your body. You lose it by understanding how your body works and feeding it the right way.”
Stop guessing and start using science to transform your body.
👉 To know how many calories you need to lose weight, use our TDEE Calculator
👉If you are interested in losing weight naturally with precision, then join the FAT MUST GO Challenge
2 thoughts on “How Many Calories Do You Need to Eat to Lose Weight?”
TDEE
Hi Mariya, Thanks for commenting. You should use our TDEE Calculator here : https://sf9fitness.com/daily-calorie-needs-tdee/ to calculate your daily caloric needs.
The calculator will give you the estimated number of calories you need daily to:
1. Maintain your current weight
2. Fat loss (Recommended)
3. Extreme fat loss.
If your goal is to lose weight, I recommend you go with the Fat loss value.
After which you will need to count how many calories that you consume every day to ensure that you do not eat above or below your recommended TDEE for fat loss.
You can order for a Free copy of our “100 Nigeria Foods and their caloric content” to help you with counting the amount of calories in the foods you eat daily.