Free tool
Weight loss timeline calculator
Enter your current weight, your goal weight and a pace. You get the date you would reach your target, a week-by-week calendar of milestones, and the daily calorie target that pace requires. The honest version, with no motivational rounding.
Updated
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.
How long does it take to lose 5, 10 or 20 kg?
The quick reference, assuming you hold the pace. Real timelines run 10–30% longer once holidays, illness and ordinary bad weeks are included. See below.
| To lose | 0.25 kg / week | 0.5 kg / week | 0.75 kg / week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 kg (≈ 7 lb) | 12 weeks | 6 weeks | 4 weeks |
| 5 kg (≈ 11 lb) | 20 weeks | 10 weeks | 7 weeks |
| 10 kg (≈ 22 lb) | 40 weeks | 20 weeks | 13–14 weeks |
| 15 kg (≈ 33 lb) | 60 weeks | 30 weeks | 20 weeks |
| 20 kg (≈ 44 lb) | 80 weeks | 40 weeks | 27 weeks |
Each pace also has a price in calories: roughly 275, 550 and 825 a day below maintenance respectively. How long it really takes to lose 10 kg →
Choosing a goal weight
The date is only as sensible as the target. A goal weight picked from an old photo or a number that sounds round is the most common reason these timelines look impossible.
Start with 5–10% of your current weight. For someone at 90 kg that is 4.5–9 kg. It is achievable in two to five months, it is where most of the measurable health benefit sits, and reaching it tells you far more about the next target than guessing now would.
Use the healthy BMI range as an outer boundary, not a destination. It spans roughly 15 kg for most heights, so it cannot tell you where in that band you belong. Your waist measurement is often a better guide. Goal weight calculator →
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.
How long will it take me to lose 10 kg?
About 20 weeks at 0.5 kg a week, or 13–14 weeks at 0.75 kg a week if you have a lot to lose. In practice, allow five to six months: very few people hold a deficit every single week, and the last few kilograms come off more slowly than the first.
How much weight can I lose in a month?
A sustainable month is 1–3 kg of actual fat loss. The first month often shows more on the scale (3–5 kg is common) because water and glycogen drop quickly when you cut carbohydrates or total food. That early drop does not continue. More on what a month realistically looks like.
Can I use this as a weight loss calendar?
Yes. After you calculate, the table under the result lists the expected weight every few weeks with the date beside it. Treat each row as a checkpoint for your weekly average weight, not a number the scale must show on that exact morning.
Why am I behind the calendar after a few weeks?
Usually because the scale is noisy rather than because the plan failed. Daily weight swings by 0.5–2 kg on water, salt and food volume alone. Compare weekly averages, and give it three weeks before changing anything. Why your weight fluctuates day to day.
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.
