Lose 5 kg in 12 weeks
By Jesús Narváez Tamés ·
The daily deficit to go from 80 to 75 kg in 12 weeks, using about 7700 kcal per kilo of fat.
458kcal/day
0.42 kg/week
- Current weight
- 80 kg
- Target weight
- 75 kg
- Timeframe
- 12 weeks
From 80 to 75 kg in 12 weeks is a bit under half a kilo a week. The figure above is the daily deficit that, on paper, burns those 5 kg if almost all of what you lose is fat.
The scale does not drop in a straight line: week one usually falls more from water and glycogen, then it slows. If nothing has happened after four weeks, do not double the deficit. Check you are actually eating what you think, and stretch the timeline before you eat under your basal metabolic rate.
How this was calculated
1 kg of body fat ≈ 7700 kcal. Daily deficit is (kg × 7700) / days. Past roughly 0.5–1% of body weight per week it gets hard to sustain.
Nearby values
The same calculation changing only the timeframe. The highlighted row is this example.
| Timeframe | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 weeks | 1375 kcal/day | 1.25 kg/week |
| 8 weeks | 688 kcal/day | 0.63 kg/week |
| 12 weeks | 458 kcal/day | 0.42 kg/week |
| 16 weeks | 344 kcal/day | 0.31 kg/week |
| 20 weeks | 275 kcal/day | 0.25 kg/week |
Adjust it to your numbers
The calculator starts from this example. If you change a field, that value is saved only on this device.
Weekly loss speed
0.52 % / wk → Optimal
To preserve muscle mass, stay between 0.5% and 1% of body weight per week. Above 1.5% increases the risk of sarcopenia and fatigue.
Want to know what to eat with this deficit?
Generate a sample daily menu hitting your target macros.
Open the calculator without this example
Frequently asked questions
What deficit does it take to lose 5 kg in 12 weeks?+
Dropping from 80 to 75 kg in 12 weeks takes a 458 kcal/day deficit. It comes from 7700 kcal per kilo spread across the days. It is an average, not what the scale shows every morning.
Can you lose 5 kg in a month?+
Dropping from 80 to 75 kg in 12 weeks takes a 458 kcal/day deficit. The number would be about three times as aggressive, and it is almost never just fat. Twelve weeks is the example because one month is not.