Most adult women need roughly 1,600–2,200 kcal a day and most adult men 2,000–3,000 kcal, but a personal number is worth far more than an average. It comes from two steps: your resting metabolic rate, then a multiplier for how active you are. To lose weight, eat below that total — about 15% under maintenance, which is roughly 500 kcal for an average adult and a pound a week. Smaller bodies need a smaller gap, and no adult should be aiming under 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 (men).
The form below does both steps. No account is needed, and nothing you enter is stored.
What the calculator does
It runs the two steps every calorie calculator runs, and shows both rather than just the answer. First your resting metabolic rate — the energy your body spends staying alive. Then a multiplier for how much you move, which turns that into a maintenance figure. Your goal is applied last.
Daily calorie targets at a glance
If you would rather not fill in a form, this is roughly where most people land. Figures are maintenance calories for an average height at each age, so treat them as a starting point and not as your number.
| Age | Sedentary | Lightly active | Moderately active | Very active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | ||||
| 25 | 1,797 | 2,059 | 2,321 | 2,583 |
| 35 | 1,737 | 1,990 | 2,243 | 2,496 |
| 45 | 1,677 | 1,921 | 2,166 | 2,410 |
| 55 | 1,617 | 1,852 | 2,088 | 2,324 |
| 65 | 1,557 | 1,784 | 2,011 | 2,238 |
| Men | ||||
| 25 | 2,258 | 2,587 | 2,917 | 3,246 |
| 35 | 2,198 | 2,518 | 2,839 | 3,160 |
| 45 | 2,138 | 2,450 | 2,762 | 3,073 |
| 55 | 2,078 | 2,381 | 2,684 | 2,987 |
| 65 | 2,018 | 2,312 | 2,607 | 2,901 |
Important. Every figure here is an estimate. Two people with identical height, weight and age can differ by several hundred calories a day. Track what you actually eat for two weeks, watch what your weight does, and adjust from your own data — that beats any equation.
How big should a calorie deficit be?
About 500 kcal a day below maintenance. A pound of fat tissue holds roughly 3,500 kcal, so a 500-a-day gap works out at about a pound a week. That is the figure most guidance settles on, and it is slow enough that the weight lost is mostly fat rather than muscle.
Two adjustments are worth making. Smaller people should take a smaller gap — 500 off a 1,600 kcal maintenance is nearly a third of the day's food, which is why this calculator works in percentages. And nobody should be aiming below about 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 (men) without a doctor involved; the calculator refuses to return less than that.
Please read. Losing more than two pounds a week, eating below those floors, or setting a target while pregnant or breastfeeding are all things to discuss with a doctor or a registered dietitian rather than with a calculator. If counting calories is making your relationship with food worse rather than better, that is a good reason to stop and talk to someone — in the US, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline is 1-866-662-1235. Nothing on this page is medical advice; see our health disclaimer.
Why your target changes as you lose weight
A smaller body costs less to run. Lose 20 lb and your maintenance figure drops by roughly 100–200 kcal a day, which is why a deficit that worked in month one stops working in month four. Recalculate every 10–15 lb rather than waiting for progress to stall.
The other half of the effect is behavioural: people move less when they eat less, without noticing. If the scale has stopped and the food log has not changed, the honest first suspect is that the log has drifted, not that metabolism has broken.
You can earn the full version instead of paying for it
You have a number. The work is logging against it, and that part is free here — permanently, with no card and no trial that quietly starts charging.
- Create an account and log a few meals. New accounts open with a two-day Plus trial — three days if somebody invited you — and then settle onto the free plan: no card, no end date, one meal scan a day.
- Publish an honest post, story, write-up or short video about what you found — or invite three people who go on to actually use it.
- Send us the link. A published piece unlocks the higher tier; three qualified invites unlock 90 days of the full version.
Your post has to say you got free access in exchange — that is an FTC requirement in the United States. Access is granted whether what you write is positive or critical. Full terms: promotional access.