How Much Will I Lose With A 1400 Calorie Diet?

You can estimate the amount of weight you will lose on a particular diet based on your energy balance, or the amount of calories your body requires versus the amount of calories you actually consume. While other factors may influence your weight-loss, such as hormones and metabolism, calculating your energy balance can provide a fairly accurate way to track or plan your weight-loss timeline. The USDA estimates that moderately active young adults generally require at least 2,100 calories a day, so a diet of 1,400 calories is likely to be low for most people. Talk with your doctor before beginning any weight-loss program.

Estimating Caloric Requirements

To document how much weight you'll lose with a 1,400-calorie diet, you need to determine your daily caloric requirements. Your daily caloric requirement is based on both your basal metabolic rate, which is the number of calories your body requires to perform basic natural functions such as digestion, and your typical physical activity level. The simplest way to estimate your daily caloric requirement is to use an online calorie calculator.

Calculating Energy Balance

Once you know your daily caloric requirement, you can calculate your energy balance. Subtract the number of calories you plan to consume each day, which in this case is 1,400, from your daily caloric requirement. If your body requires 2,100 calories each day, you will achieve a daily negative energy balance of 700 calories.

Estimating Weight Loss

It takes a 3,500-calorie negative energy balance to lose 1 lb. of body fat. To obtain an estimate of how much weight you will lose, multiply your energy balance by the number of days you plan to diet, and then divide this total by 3,500. For example, if you obtain a negative energy balance of 700 calories for 30 days, you will achieve a total negative energy balance of 21,000 calories, resulting in a loss of about 6 lbs.

Nutrition Tips

Though you are restricting your total daily caloric intake while dieting, you still need to obtain a balanced meal plan with plenty of carbohydrates, fat and protein. A 1,400-calorie diet should consist of about 770 calories from carbohydrates, 385 from fat and 315 from protein. Make sure to consume plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, as they contain an abundance of nutritional value with much fewer calories than alternative foods. About 20 percent of your hydration needs are met through the food you eat, so diets can result in dehydration. Increase your fluid intake when dieting to ensure adequate hydration.