Updated July 14, 2026. The truth is, most women don’t need to eat fewer calories to lose weight—they need to eat the right amount of calories and focus on protein, carbs, fat, fibre, whole foods, and strength training – lifting. A question I’m asked a lot is: “Trina, how many calories should I eat to lose weight?” Most women expect me to give them a number.
Instead, I ask these questions.
- How active are you?
- Are you nursing, in perimenopause, menopause or beyond?
- Are you trying to build muscle?
- How well are you sleeping?
- Do you eat protein with each meal?
- Are you hungry and snacking at night?
Everyone requires a different number of calories depending on age, activity level, muscle mass, hormones, and overall health.
After coaching thousands of women since 1999, I’ve noticed something surprising. In fact, most women aren’t eating too much—they’re eating too little.
They skip breakfast, survive on coffee, eat a light lunch, and then wonder why they’re exhausted, craving sugar at night, and struggling to lose weight.
In addition, many extra calories come from emotional eating rather than physical hunger. Download this Workbook
Calories Matter… But They’re Only Part of the Story
Many women become obsessed with calories while overlooking what really matters—the quality of those calories. A 400-calorie meal filled with protein, fibre, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates will fuel your body very differently than 400 calories of highly processed food.
Instead of asking:
“How can I eat less?”
Start asking:
“How can I fuel my body better?”
When you consistently fuel your body with nutritious food, you’ll have more energy, better workouts, improved recovery, and a much easier time creating healthy habits that last.
Stop Starving Your Body
One of the biggest mistakes I see is women trying to eat as little as possible because they think that’s the fastest way to lose weight.
Unfortunately, eating too little often has the opposite effect.
Consistently eating too few calories can leave you feeling:
- Tired and lacking energy
- Hungry all day
- Craving sugar and processed foods
- Unable to recover from workouts
- Losing muscle instead of building it
- Frustrated because your progress has stalled
- You are storing fat in all the wrong places
Healthy weight loss isn’t about seeing how little you can eat.
It’s about eating enough to support your body while creating healthy habits you can maintain for years—not just a few weeks.
Every Season of Life Requires Something Different
Your calorie needs won’t stay the same forever.
Think about the different seasons of your life.
Maybe you’re raising young children or caring for aging parents.
Maybe you’re navigating perimenopause, menopause, or post-menopause.
Are you recovering from an injury or illness?
In addition, stress, sleep, hormones, activity level, muscle mass, and age all influence how much food your body needs.
Rather than comparing yourself to someone else, learn to listen to your own body.
Small kids make for a busy season in your life
My Simple Nutrition Rules
I don’t spend my days counting calories.
Instead, I focus on a few habits that have served me for years.
- Eat when I’m hungry.
- Stop when I’m comfortably full.
- Follow my PCFF Method: Include protein, healthy carbohydrates, healthy fats, and fibre at every meal.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Eat mostly whole, minimally processed foods.
- Enjoy treats without guilt and avoid emotional eating, download this and start here.
- Stay active and build muscle.
- Start with my 10 Day Reset, details here.
So… How Many Calories Do I Eat?
Years ago, I tracked my food for one week because my clients kept asking.
My average intake was 2,177 calories per day, it probably would have been higher during a normal week.
Here’s the surprising part.
Instead, focus on giving your body the fuel it needs to thrive.
I am eating to fuel my body, support my workouts, run my business, raise my family, and feel my best.
That number shocks many women because they’ve been told they should survive on 1,200-1,500 calories a day.
In my experience, for most active women, that isn’t enough.
Dehydration can be confused with hunger, drink up
My Fitness Pal Calorie Counting
I wanted to test my knowledge, so I embarked upon a “calorie tracking” journey using an app. These were my results:
- Monday: 2103
- Tuesday: 2252
- Wed: 2461
- Thurs: 2050
- Friday: 2104
- Saturday: 2060
- Sunday: 2212
Total: 15,242 calories
Daily Average: 2177 calories per day – I was right!
What did the calories consist of?
Out of 21 meals per week or approximately 85% of the time, eat one ingredient whole, minimally processed food organic, unprocessed food that provides energy for workouts and daily life including protein, carbs, fat and fibre with every meal. Before I give you the list of what my diet consisted of for the week, remember that not all calories are created equal. Calories can come with a dose of sugar, additives, unhealthy fats or healthy fat and so much more.
My diet for the week includes:
- I meal plan from my book Trina’s Kitchen: Healthy Food Made Easy
- Lots of salads and colourful vegetables
- Chicken
- Fish
- Organic Tofu
- Seeds (chia, flax, hemp, sunflower…)
- Eggs
- Nuts
- Quinoa
- Gluten free bread
- A natural protein smoothie made with my favourite plant-based protein powder
- Fruits
- Plant-based milk
- Extra virgin olive oil and vinegars
Stock your house with good food
Daily Movement and Lifting
My training schedule consists of 4 tough workouts/week including lifting weights, mobility, dynamic movements and rowing for 30-70 minute sessions (my focus: increase muscle mass and maintain healthy body fat percentage). I teach this in Small Group Training, join us.
Are you surprised by my calorie intake?
I tracked this for 2 weeks in June 2026 and it was so close to these numbers when I did it 10 years ago. Apps don’t take into account your metabolism, activity level, muscle mass, hormones, or lifestyle into consideration, you have to:
- Know your body.
- Pay attention to what you eat and how you feel.
- Find the calories that are right for you.
- Don’t get caught up in numbers.
- Be aware of portion sizes and make the best choices possible (nobody’s perfect, including me).
- Live in balance with fitness, nutrition and wellness.
You don’t need to eat clean 100% of the time
Balance—not perfection—is the key to long-term weight loss.
Thanks to my clients for always keeping me intrigued and teaching me along the way. As always, thanks for reading and I welcome your comments and thoughts!
Finally
Trina Medves xo
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