Calculate your daily calorie needs for weight loss, gain or maintenance
A calorie is a unit of energy. Your body needs calories from food and drink to function, move, and stay warm. If you consume more calories than you burn, your body stores the excess as fat (weight gain). If you consume fewer calories than you burn, your body taps into its fat reserves for energy (weight loss).
This Calorie Calculator estimates how many calories you need to consume daily based on your goal, using your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and adjusting it up or down to create a surplus or deficit.
Current TDEE (Maintenance): 2,400 calories/day
Daily Goal: 2,400 − 500 = 1,900 calories/day
By consistently eating 1,900 calories while maintaining the same activity level, this person will safely lose about 0.5 kg of fat per week.
For weight loss, a calorie is mostly a calorie (thermodynamics apply). 100 calories of broccoli and 100 calories of candy provide the same energy. However, for health, body composition, and hunger management, they are very different. Protein has a high thermic effect (burns more calories to digest) and keeps you full, while refined sugar spikes insulin and leaves you hungry soon after.
Macronutrients depend on your goals. A standard balanced diet is roughly 50% Carbs, 20% Protein, and 30% Fat. If you are lifting weights and trying to build muscle, aim for higher protein (e.g., 40% Carbs, 30% Protein, 30% Fat). 1 gram of Protein/Carb = 4 calories, 1 gram of Fat = 9 calories.
Medical professionals strongly advise against "crash diets" under 1,200 calories for women or 1,500 for men. Severe caloric restriction leads to muscle loss, hair thinning, vitamin deficiencies, fatigue, and gallstones. Worse, it slows your metabolism, meaning you'll quickly regain the weight once you start eating normally again.