Find your daily calories for maintaining, losing or gaining weight.
Maintenance calories (TDEE) keep your weight steady; about 550 kcal a day less loses roughly 0.5 kg a week. A 35-year-old woman (165 cm, 70 kg, lightly active) aiming for 0.5 kg a week would eat about 1,368 kcal a day.
The Calorie Calculator estimates your maintenance calories and adjusts them for your goal: losing, maintaining or gaining weight at a gradual pace. If you enter a target weight it also estimates how many weeks it might take. It never recommends fewer than the usual safe minimum of 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 kcal for men, and it shows no deficit at all if your BMI is under 18.5.
Rates of 0.25–0.5 kg a week are easier to sustain. Estimates change as your weight changes, so recalculate every few kilograms. See your maintenance level in the TDEE Calculator, split calories into nutrients with the Macro Calculator, and check your BMI.
The calculator applies the standard published formulas step by step.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| BMR | 1,395 kcal |
| Maintenance calories (TDEE) | 1,918 kcal |
| Calories for your goal | 1,368 kcal |
| Difference from maintenance | −550 kcal |
| Time to reach 65 kg (143.3 lb) | about 10 weeks |
| Goal | Calories a day |
|---|---|
| Maintain weight | 1,918 kcal |
| Lose 0.25 kg (0.5 lb) / week | 1,643 kcal |
| Lose 0.5 kg (1 lb) / week | 1,368 kcal |
| Lose 0.75 kg (1.5 lb) / week | 1,200 kcal (safe minimum) |
| Lose 1 kg (2 lb) / week | 1,200 kcal (safe minimum) |
| Gain 0.25 kg (0.5 lb) / week | 2,193 kcal |
| Gain 0.5 kg (1 lb) / week | 2,468 kcal |
| Goal | Calories a day |
|---|---|
| Maintain | 1,918 kcal a day |
| Lose 0.25 kg / week | 1,643 kcal a day |
| Lose 0.5 kg / week | 1,368 kcal a day |
| Lose 0.75 kg / week | 1,200 kcal a day |
| Gain 0.25 kg / week | 2,193 kcal a day |
Your TDEE — your BMR times an activity factor. Average adult needs range from about 1,600 to 3,000 kcal.
About 250–550 kcal below maintenance for 0.25–0.5 kg a week. Larger deficits are harder to sustain and may cost muscle.
Eating too little makes it hard to get enough nutrients. Very low calorie diets should only be done under medical supervision.
It is a rule of thumb for body fat. Real weight change varies with water, muscle and metabolic adaptation.
If your BMI is under 18.5, calorie restriction is not appropriate to calculate — please talk to a doctor or dietitian.
A surplus of 250–500 kcal a day with enough protein and strength training favours muscle gain. Slower is better.
It uses the published formula: goal calories = TDEE ± (kg per week × 7,700 ÷ 7) The full method and a worked example are shown on this page.
No. The calculator gives general estimates for information and education. It cannot diagnose or treat anything, so please speak to a doctor or qualified professional about your own health.
Yes. Choose centimetres or feet and inches for height, and kilograms, pounds or stone for weight; the results are converted for you.
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing you enter is uploaded or saved.
