Calories to lose 1 lb a week — the math + AI deficit plan

The textbook says 3,500 kcal = 1 lb of fat, so a 500 kcal daily deficit drops 1 lb per week. The textbook is right on the math, wrong on the strategy: a flat 500 cut from your maintenance feels different on a 1,400 kcal baseline (35% reduction — extreme) vs a 2,800 baseline (18% — sustainable). Volya calculates YOUR maintenance from age + sex + weight + activity + lean mass estimate, then suggests a deficit shaped to your data — usually 15-20% off maintenance, slower but holdable.

What goes in the deficit matters more than the deficit itself. Cut 500 kcal of soda and you keep protein high, satiety stable, no muscle loss. Cut 500 kcal of protein and you lose muscle, slow your metabolism, and rebound when you go back to normal eating. Volya's AI coach watches your food log + macros + workout RPE and tells you what to trim THIS week — usually carbs at dinner, occasionally fat at breakfast, never protein.