How many calories should you eat to lose 5 pounds a week?
If you want to lose 5 pounds in a week, you will need to reduce your food intake by 17,500 calories, which is a huge calorie deficit. If you weigh 250-pound, you will need to reduce your daily calorie intake to about 1,250 calories per day, an amount which is too low amounting to starvation.
It does this first by burning fat, and then eventually, other tissue, including muscle. Most people need significantly more than 1,200 calories a day.