While exercise is an important part of any weight-loss plan, your nutrition has the most impact on your ability to lose weight. To lose body fat, you need to eat in a calorie deficit — as in, expend more calories than you take in.
"You've got to burn more calories than you eat," Kimberly Gomer, MS, RD, LDN, director of nutrition with the Pritikin Longevity Centre, told POPSUGAR. "Create a calorie deficit, keep at it, and you will lose excess fat, wherever it is on your body."
To lose about a pound a week, you need to eat 500 fewer calories a day. Just make sure you don't eat fewer than 1,200 calories a day for women; eating too few calories will slow down your metabolism (not to mention make you deprived of essential nutrients!)
To find an approximate daily calorie target to lose weight, use this formula. However, it's not just the quantity of calories that matter, but also the quality. You need to focus on nutrient-dense foods that give you more bang for your buck. Think: leafy greens, nonstarchy vegetables, and fruit.