UK weight-loss calculator
Weight loss plateau calculator
Nothing has gone wrong. See how much of the deficit you started with is still there, now that there is less of you to run.
Updated
I started at st lb and I’m now st lb, I’m cm tall, I’m and , and I eat about kcal a day. Most weeks I’m .
5blanks still to fill
Enter where you started, where you are now and what you are eating, and this will show how much of your original deficit is left.
Why the same food stopped working
A plateau is usually described as the body "fighting back". Often something simpler is at work: a smaller body uses less energy, so an intake that opened a wide gap at your starting weight opens a narrower one now.
Nothing about your effort changed. The arithmetic did. Losing three stone can take several hundred calories a day off what your body needs, and if what you eat stayed the same, that comes straight out of your deficit.
This is also why the projection on this site gives a range rather than a date, and why the calorie target it produces falls as you go.
How this is calculated
deficit now = maintenance at your weight now − what you eatMaintenance is estimated at both weights using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation[American Journal of Clinical Nutrition] and the activity level you choose, holding everything else constant, so the only thing that differs between the two figures is your body weight.
The weekly loss each deficit buys uses the conventional figure of about 7,700 kcal per kilogram of body fat.
Important limitations
This assumes what you eat has not changed
The comparison only means something if the intake you enter is genuinely what you were eating before and are eating now. Intake reported from memory tends to drift downwards, and portion sizes tend to drift upwards, so a shrinking deficit is not always the whole story.
Estimated maintenance is exactly that, an estimate from an equation, with a meaningful margin either side for any individual. The difference between the two figures is more reliable than either number on its own.
Weight also moves for reasons that have nothing to do with fat: water, food in transit, hormonal cycles and salt can all mask several weeks of real progress. A plateau on the scales is not always a plateau.
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Frequently asked questions
Why has my weight loss stopped?
The most common reason is that your maintenance requirement fell as you lost weight, so the intake that used to create a deficit now creates a smaller one, or none. This page shows you exactly how much of the original gap is left, using your own numbers.
Have I damaged my metabolism?
Probably not in the way the phrase implies. Energy needs fall when body weight falls, which is expected and reversible. A modest additional reduction is also associated with sustained dieting, though it is generally described as smaller than the effect of simply being lighter. If nothing has moved for a long stretch despite consistent effort, that is worth raising with your GP rather than working it out alone.
What should I do about it?
That is a decision rather than a calculation, and it depends on where your intake already sits. If your intake is close to your resting need, eating less is not the obvious answer, and this site will not recommend going below it. Whether to change intake, change activity, or hold steady for a while is worth discussing with a professional.
Sources
- A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Calories and weight loss, NHS Better Health
Important information
The calculators on this site provide general information and estimates. They are not medical advice and they do not diagnose any condition.
Everyone is different, and individual energy needs vary for reasons these equations cannot capture. If you have a health condition, take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have any concerns about your weight, speak to your GP, pharmacist or a registered dietitian.