The number of calories you need to lose pounds depends on your gender, height and current weight. One pound is equivalent to 3,500 calories. To lose 1 pound a week, you need to create a daily 500-calorie deficit in your diet.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Calculate the number of calories your body uses when at rest to maintain your current weight by calculating your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. This formula, outlined by the BMI Calculator website, calculates your height, weight and gender.
Harris-Benedict Equation
Use the Harris-Benedict equation, outlined by BMI Calculator, to figure the number of calories your body actually uses each day. You will multiply your BMR by a number that represents your activity level.
Cut Calories
Eat 500 fewer calories a day to lose 1 pound a week, the Medline Plus website advises. You can also burn calories through exercise to drop pounds. If you cut 500 calories from your diet and burn 500 calories a day through exercise, for example, you can lose 10 pounds in five weeks.
Warnings
The American Academy of Family Physicians suggests not losing more than 2 pounds a week. Talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise or diet regimen.
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