TempoLife › Nutrition & fitness glossary › Calorie deficit
Calorie deficit
Eating fewer calories than you burn, so the body draws on stored fat.
A calorie deficit means eating fewer calories than your body burns (your TDEE). Facing a shortfall, the body draws the difference from stored energy — mostly fat.
About 7,700 kcal of deficit corresponds to roughly 1 kg of fat. A steady 500 kcal/day deficit is about 0.5 kg a week — sustainable for most people without excessive hunger or muscle loss.
Too large a deficit backfires: it is harder to sustain, costs more muscle, and as weight drops, TDEE drops with it — so the same deficit needs recalculating every few kilograms.
Use the calculator
Frequently asked questions
Calorie deficit?
Eating fewer calories than you burn, so the body draws on stored fat. A calorie deficit means eating fewer calories than your body burns (your TDEE). Facing a shortfall, the body draws the difference from stored energy — mostly fat.
