How Many Calories Should You Eat to Lose Weight?

The short answer

To lose weight, eat 250–500 calories below your maintenance level each day. That creates a gentle deficit of about 0.25–0.5 kg (0.5–1 lb) per week — fast enough to see progress, slow enough to keep your energy and muscle. The fastest way to find your number is our free calorie calculator.

Step 1: Find your maintenance calories (TDEE)

Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the number of calories you burn in a typical day. It depends on your age, sex, weight, height, and activity level. Eat at your TDEE and your weight stays stable; eat below it and you lose fat.

Step 2: Subtract a sensible deficit

Once you know your TDEE, subtract a deficit based on how fast you want to go:

• Gentle: ~250 kcal/day → about 0.25 kg (0.5 lb) per week.
• Standard: ~500 kcal/day → about 0.5 kg (1 lb) per week.
• Aggressive: ~750 kcal/day → about 0.75 kg per week (harder to sustain).

A common floor is to not drop below roughly 1,200 calories for women or 1,500 for men without professional guidance — going too low backfires with fatigue, muscle loss, and rebound hunger.

Step 3: Prioritize protein and whole foods

Calories decide weight; food quality decides how you feel. Keep protein high to protect muscle and stay full — see how much protein you need. Fill the rest of your plate with vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and healthy fats.

A sample day around 1,800 calories

• Breakfast: Greek yogurt with berries and oats (~350 kcal)
• Lunch: Grilled chicken salad with olive oil (~450 kcal)
• Snack: Apple and a handful of almonds (~200 kcal)
• Dinner: Salmon, rice, and roasted vegetables (~600 kcal)

Track it without obsessing

You don't need to weigh every gram. Snap a photo with the AI food scanner for quick estimates, look up foods in the nutrition database, and check your weekly trend on the dashboard. Aim for a weekly average, not a perfect day.