You will lose one pound for every 3,500 calories you burn, according to the Mayo Clinic. To lose 15 lbs. you will need to burn a total of 52,500 calories more than you consume. The fewer calories you consume, the faster you will lose the weight. However, you should not sacrifice your health and safety just to drop pounds quickly. According to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, you should consume at least 1,200 calories per day--this will limit how quickly you can lose your 15 lbs.
Step 1
Aim to consume a net of 1,200 calories per day to maximize your weight loss rate. "Net" calories means the number of calories you consume minus the number you burn through exercise. For example, if every day you burn 300 calories on the treadmill, you should consume 1,500 calories worth of food; 1,500 minus 300 is 1,200.
Step 2
Figure out the number of calories you should consume just to keep your weight as it is. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC, you can do this by multiplying your weight, in pounds, by 10, 12, 13 or 15, depending on whether you are an inactive female, active female, inactive male or active male, respectively.
As an example, a 165-lb., active female who eats 1,980 calories every day will neither gain nor lose weight.
Step 3
Calculate how long it will take you to lose 15 lbs. Do this by subtracting 1,200 from your weight-maintenance calorie level. This will tell you how many net calories you will burn per day. Then divide 3,500 by the result to discover how many days it will take you to lose a pound. Finally, multiply that result by 15 to determine the number of days it should take you to lose 15 lbs. For example, the calculation for the 165-lb. woman would look like this.
Total days = 15 x 3,500 / (1,980 - 1,200) = 67 days
Step 4
Track your progress. If you are not losing weight as fast as you expect, your metabolism may be slower than average--everyone is different, after all. If that's the case, lower your net calorie intake to 1,000 to 1,100 calories per day and continue to monitor your progress.
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