Find the daily calories to lose weight safely. Enter your stats and goal to get your deficit, target calories, macros, and a weight-loss timeline.
Pick a scenario, then adjust your stats, activity, and goal to match yours.
Educational estimate, not medical or nutrition advice. The 3,500-cal/lb rule is approximate and weight loss slows over time. Consult a doctor or dietitian before a large deficit.
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Losing weight comes down to a calorie deficit — eating fewer calories than your body burns. This calculator estimates your maintenance calories (TDEE) using the proven Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then subtracts a deficit based on how fast you want to lose, to give your target daily calories. It also projects how long it'll take to reach your goal weight and suggests macros to hit. Most importantly, it keeps you safe: it never recommends eating below your resting metabolic rate (BMR) or below 1,200 calories for women / 1,500 for men, and caps the pace at a sustainable 2 pounds per week. Enter your details for a clear, realistic plan — no app signup required.
A calorie deficit is the gap between the calories you burn each day (your TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and the calories you eat. Burn more than you eat and your body draws on fat stores, so you lose weight. The rough rule is that one pound of fat equals about 3,500 calories (one kilogram ≈ 7,700), so a 500-calorie daily deficit produces roughly one pound of loss per week. To find your numbers: calculate BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, multiply by an activity factor (1.2 sedentary to 1.9 extremely active) to get TDEE, then subtract your deficit. A moderate deficit of 300–500 calories/day (about 0.5–1 lb/week) is sustainable for most people; 500–750 (1–2 lb/week) is more aggressive. Never drop below your BMR or under 1,200 calories (women) / 1,500 (men) — eating too little backfires by slowing your metabolism and costing you muscle.
Calorie Deficit Formula
Get your target calories and a realistic timeline before you begin.
Compare 0.5, 1, and 2 lb/week to find a deficit you can stick to.
Pair your calorie target with protein, carb, and fat goals.
Recalculate as your weight drops, since your TDEE falls with you.
See the safe floor so you don't undercut your metabolism.
Work backward from a goal weight to see how long it takes.
Get the specific daily calories to lose weight at your chosen pace, based on your own stats.
Never recommends below your BMR or 1,200/1,500 calories, and caps the pace at 2 lb/week.
Projects how many weeks to reach your goal weight, with a weight-over-time chart.
Suggests protein, carbs, and fat at your target — higher protein to protect muscle in a deficit.
Uses the equation research finds most accurate for estimating BMR and TDEE.
No app signup or paywall — just the plan, in English or Spanish.
A calorie deficit means eating fewer calories than your body burns in a day. The shortfall forces your body to use stored fat for energy, which is how you lose weight. A deficit of about 500 calories a day produces roughly one pound of loss per week, since a pound of fat is about 3,500 calories.
Subtract a deficit from your maintenance calories (TDEE). For a 1-pound-per-week loss, that's about 500 calories below maintenance; for 2 pounds, about 1,000 below. This calculator computes your TDEE from your stats and applies your chosen pace — but never below a safe minimum. Enter your details above for your number.
Roughly 500 calories a day below maintenance for 1 pound per week, and about 1,000 for 2 pounds. Two pounds a week is the upper limit most experts recommend, and only larger bodies can do it safely without dropping below their minimum calories.
1,200 is the commonly cited minimum for women (1,500 for men), and going below it — or below your BMR — is generally not recommended without medical supervision. It can slow your metabolism, cost you muscle, and be hard to sustain. This calculator won't set your target below that floor and warns you if your chosen pace would.
Divide the weight you want to lose by your weekly loss rate. Losing 20 pounds at 1 pound per week takes about 20 weeks. Enter a goal weight and this calculator shows your timeline and a projected-weight chart — keeping in mind that real loss slows as you get lighter.
It's the formula this calculator uses to estimate your BMR (the calories you burn at rest): for men, 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5; for women, the same but − 161. Research finds it more accurate than older equations like Harris-Benedict for most people.
This calculator already accounts for exercise through your activity level, so you generally shouldn't add those calories back on top — doing so would shrink your deficit. If you select a lower activity level and track workouts separately, that's a different approach. Pick one method and be consistent.
As you lose weight your body needs fewer calories, so your old deficit becomes your new maintenance — a plateau. Recalculate with your current weight to find a smaller target, or increase activity. Plateaus are normal; water weight and hormones also cause week-to-week noise.
A higher-protein split helps preserve muscle while losing fat. This calculator suggests roughly 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fat at your target calories. Protein and carbs have about 4 calories per gram and fat about 9. Adjust to your preference, but keep protein high in a deficit.