Calorie Calculator

What Calorie means

This works out how many calories to eat per day to hit a specific goal — losing fat, maintaining, or gaining weight. It starts from your TDEE (total daily burn) and applies a deficit or surplus. Weight change comes down to energy balance: roughly 7,700 calories equals 1 kg of body fat (about 3,500 per pound), so a consistent daily gap produces predictable change over weeks.

How the target is set

A 500-calorie daily deficit works out to roughly 0.45 kg (1 lb) of fat loss per week. Aggressive deficits look faster on paper but tend to cost muscle and get abandoned.

Worked example

Someone with a TDEE of 2,400 calories who wants to lose fat at a sustainable rate:

1. Maintenance: 2,400 calories
2. Moderate deficit: 2,400 − 500 = 1,900 calories/day
3. Expected loss: about 0.45 kg (1 lb) per week

Over 12 weeks that's roughly 5-5.5 kg, assuming they stay consistent and adjust as their weight drops.

Making the number work in practice

• Consistency beats precision. Hitting 1,900 most days matters far more than hitting 1,873 exactly.
• Keep protein high in a deficit (see the protein calculator) — it protects muscle and keeps you full.
• Don't chase the scale daily. Water, sodium, and glycogen swing it by a kilo or more; weekly averages tell the truth.
• Weight loss slows as you get lighter because your TDEE drops. Recalculate every few kilos.
• Very low intakes (under ~1,200 for women or ~1,500 for men) are hard to hit nutritionally and should involve a professional.

Frequently asked questions