- Woman lost 26 kgs by gradually reducing calorie intake from 2,000 to 1,450 daily
- Calorie deficit occurs when intake is less than maintenance calories, leading to weight loss
- She reduced calories by 100 to 150 each week over 12 weeks and then cycled back to maintenance
Losing weight can often feel challenging, with unexpected cravings and inconsistent progress discouraging many people from staying on track. However, real-life transformations continue to inspire many people to adopt healthier habits. One such story has gone viral after a woman shared how she lost 26 kgs by making a simple but consistent change to her calorie intake.
In a video posted on Instagram, the woman revealed that she was initially consuming more than 2,000 calories a day but was not losing any weight. She said that understanding the concept of a calorie deficit was the turning point in her fitness journey.
Explaining the idea in simple terms, she said that every person's body requires a certain number of calories each day to perform basic functions such as breathing, thinking, moving and maintaining bodily processes. This number is known as maintenance calories.
So, if a person eats exactly their maintenance calories, their weight generally remains stable. Eating more than maintenance may lead to weight gain, while eating less than maintenance creates a calorie deficit, which can result in weight loss over time. “That's the whole science,” she said.
The digital content creator then shared that instead of making a drastic cut, she followed a gradual reduction strategy.
Starting from around 2,000 calories, she reduced her intake by 100 to 150 calories every week until she reached approximately 1,450 calories per day. She maintained this deficit for 12 weeks, then returned to her maintenance calories before repeating the cycle again.
The woman credited this slow and sustainable approach for helping her lose 26 kgs without following any extreme dieting methods.
How to calculate calorie deficit?
She recommends the following steps:
Find your maintenance calories (TDEE): Use a free online TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator and enter your age, gender, height, weight and activity level.
Create a small deficit: Subtract 100–300 calories from your maintenance calories to begin with.
Monitor progress weekly: If you do not see any results, reduce calories slightly or increase physical activity.
At the end, the woman proves that weight loss does not always require extreme restrictions. Instead, understanding maintenance calories, creating a manageable calorie deficit and staying consistent over time may be a more practical and sustainable way to reduce body weight.