Free tool
Weight loss timeline calculator
Choose the pace you want to lose weight at and this tells you the date you would get there, and the daily calorie target that pace requires. The honest version, with no motivational rounding.
How the date is worked out
Roughly 7,700 calories correspond to a kilogram of body mass. So a weekly rate converts directly into a daily calorie adjustment: half a kilo a week is about 550 calories a day below maintenance, and a quarter of a kilo is about 275.
Maintenance itself comes from the Mifflin–St Jeor equation applied to the midpoint of your current and goal weight, multiplied by your activity level. Using the midpoint rather than your current weight matters over a long timeline, because a lighter body burns less and a target set from your starting weight slowly stops being a deficit.
The date is then simply the distance divided by the rate. It assumes you hold the target consistently, which nobody does perfectly — treat it as the optimistic end of a range rather than an appointment.
Which pace should you pick?
0.5 kg a week suits most people. It is fast enough to see progress within a month and slow enough that hunger stays manageable and most of what you lose is fat rather than muscle.
0.25 kg a week is better if you have less to lose. Once you are close to a healthy weight, the risk of losing muscle rises and the deficit needed for a faster pace becomes a larger share of your daily intake. The last five kilograms are genuinely slower than the first five, and planning for that is more useful than being surprised by it.
0.75 kg a week is only reasonable at a higher starting weight. It requires an 800-calorie daily deficit, which for a smaller person means a target low enough to make hitting basic nutritional needs difficult. If the calculator flags the target as below the sensible floor, that is what has happened.
The pace you will actually hold beats the pace that looks best on this page. What a calorie deficit is and how big yours should be →
Why the real timeline is usually longer
Almost nobody follows a linear line down. Weight moves in steps: a fortnight of nothing, then half a kilogram overnight, mostly because water, glycogen and digestive contents mask the underlying trend.
Then there are the weeks that do not go to plan — a holiday, a wedding, a fortnight of bad sleep. A plan that assumes 100% adherence for six months is a plan that will look like a failure by week five. Assume roughly 80%, add a few weeks, and the estimate becomes something you can actually meet.
If the scale is genuinely flat for three weeks or more, the deficit is usually smaller than the log suggests rather than the plan being wrong. Why you're not losing weight in a calorie deficit →
Frequently asked questions
Is 0.5 kg a week realistic?
Yes, for most people with a moderate amount to lose. It needs roughly a 550-calorie daily deficit, which is achievable without the diet becoming miserable. Progress will not look linear week to week even when the average is exactly on target.
Why does my daily target change as I get lighter?
A smaller body burns fewer calories, so the same intake becomes a smaller deficit over time. This calculator uses the midpoint of your current and goal weight to smooth that out, but it is worth recalculating every 5–7 kg of loss.
Can I lose weight faster than 0.75 kg a week?
Briefly, and usually at a cost. Faster loss means more muscle lost alongside fat, more hunger, and a much higher chance of abandoning the whole thing. Very low intakes are also difficult to meet nutritional needs on, which is a conversation for a doctor rather than a calculator.
Does the calculator account for exercise?
Through the activity level, yes. Do not also add calories burned from a workout tracker on top — that double-counts the training and is one of the most common ways a deficit disappears on paper. See TDEE vs BMR explained.
Nothing is stored, is it?
Nothing. The arithmetic runs in your browser, there is no sign-up, and no values are sent anywhere or saved.
Next step
A target you can actually measure against.
A date is only useful if you know what you ate against the target. Describe the meal; BetterCal does the arithmetic. Free to start on iPhone and Android.
