A Medical and Sustainable Weight Loss Plan for Women

Daily calorie intake for women to feel well

A common guideline is that women with a healthy weight need around 2,000 calories a day to maintain their weight. However, this is only an average, and needs can vary considerably between individuals depending on factors such as age, body size and activity levels. How many calories you need therefore depends on several different factors. A plan with healthy eating habits and regular exercise can make it easier to lose weight, maintain your results and feel well along the way.

When the goal is to reduce body fat, an average number of calories for women is not enough. You need to calculate your own energy expenditure and use that as your starting point. Many popular weight loss plans for women focus solely on drastically reducing this intake, which often leads to extreme tiredness and loss of muscle mass. 

What matters is not just the number, but the quality of the food. Meeting your energy needs with nutrient-dense, healthy food helps ensure that your body gets the vitamins and minerals it needs, even while dieting. Working out how many calories a woman should eat per day during a weight loss journey often requires reviewing current habits through food tracking and following a plan that also includes support to become more active.

Recommended calorie intake for women who want to lose weight

For many people, reducing energy intake by around 500 calories per day can be a good starting point for weight loss. However, the right calorie deficit depends on several factors, such as age, body size, health and activity levels. For some people, a more intensive start to treatment, for example with a very low energy diet (VLED) under medical supervision, may be a good option. Research shows that greater weight loss at the beginning of treatment can provide good conditions for maintaining results over the longer term.

When you eat less, it is important that your food still provides the nutrients your body needs. Protein helps increase feelings of fullness and preserve muscle mass during weight loss. Vegetables, wholegrains and healthy fats, for example from olive oil, nuts and oily fish, provide important nutrients and can make it easier to maintain healthy eating habits. The appropriate calorie deficit should always be tailored to the individual, as a deficit that is too large can be difficult to maintain over time.

The best weight loss plan for women over 50 and why it is important to get started

A good weight loss plan for women over 50 takes into account the changes that happen in the body during and after the menopause. Regular strength training, enough protein and healthy eating habits can help preserve muscle mass and make it easier to lose weight. As oestrogen levels fall, the way the body stores fat often changes, which for many people can make it more difficult both to lose weight and to maintain the new weight.

After the age of 50, the body tends to store more visceral fat (abdominal fat) while muscle mass decreases, a condition known as sarcopenia. This causes the basal metabolic rate to fall, and diets that worked in the past may suddenly no longer work. The best weight loss programmes for women at this age therefore focus not on eating as little as possible, but on eating more wisely and being more active. Strength training becomes essential for counteracting muscle loss and improving insulin sensitivity in the cells, which reduces fat storage around the abdomen.

The best weight loss programme for women with obesity

For women living with chronic overweight or obesity, the best weight loss programme for women combines modern medical treatment, such as GLP-1 receptor agonists, with personalised lifestyle support from a multidisciplinary healthcare team. Obesity is a biological disease that can often make it impossible to maintain a calorie deficit through willpower alone.

A purely diet-based weight loss programme for women rarely works in the long term for obesity because the body defends its highest weight by sending intense hunger signals. Medicines that mimic the gut hormone GLP-1 help reduce these signals in the brain's appetite centres, creating a feeling of fullness and reducing the constant urge to eat (food noise). The right calorie intake for women to lose weight can then suddenly become manageable in everyday life.

For treatment to provide sustainable results, medication must always be integrated into a broader, medically supervised weight loss plan for women. This means regular monitoring of blood test results, support from doctors and dietitians to ensure a nutrient-dense calorie intake, as well as psychological support to build new habits and a lifestyle that works for you. Regular movement, through both exercise and everyday physical activity, is also important for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight over time.