How many calories you should eat to lose weight depends on your maintenance calories (TDEE) minus a daily deficit. Most adults lose about 1 pound per week eating 500 calories below TDEE. For example, a woman with a TDEE of 2,000 would eat about 1,500 calories daily. Use a calorie deficit calculator to find your exact target based on your age, size, and activity.
Why Is There No Single Number?
Search this question online and you will see guesses like “1,200 calories” or “1,500 calories” thrown around as if they fit everyone. They do not. A 5-foot-2 woman with a desk job might maintain her weight at 1,700 calories, while a 6-foot man who trains daily might maintain at 3,000. A deficit that is perfect for one of them would starve the other.
The only honest answer is personal: your weight-loss calories = your TDEE – your deficit. That means you need two numbers before you can answer the question at all. This article shows you how to get both.
How Do You Find Your Maintenance Calories?
Step one is your BMR, the calories your body burns at rest, estimated with the Mifflin-St Jeor formula:
- Men: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age + 5
- Women: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age – 161
Step two is multiplying by an activity factor: 1.2 (sedentary), 1.375 (lightly active), 1.55 (moderately active), 1.725 (very active), or 1.9 (extra active). The result is your TDEE, the calories that hold your weight steady.
How Many Calories Should Different People Eat?
Let us work through three fully calculated profiles so you can see how the answer changes.
Profile 1: Sedentary woman, 30, 68 kg, 163 cm
- BMR = 10 x 68 + 6.25 x 163 – 5 x 30 – 161 = 680 + 1,018.75 – 150 – 161 = 1,387.75, about 1,388
- TDEE = 1,387.75 x 1.2 = 1,665.3, about 1,665 calories per day
- For 1 lb per week: 1,665 – 500 = 1,165 calories per day
This result teaches an important lesson: 1,165 falls below the commonly suggested 1,200-calorie floor for women. Her better options are a gentler goal of 0.5 lb per week (1,665 – 250 = 1,415 calories per day) or adding exercise to raise her TDEE before cutting food further.
Profile 2: Moderately active man, 45, 95 kg, 178 cm
- BMR = 10 x 95 + 6.25 x 178 – 5 x 45 + 5 = 950 + 1,112.5 – 225 + 5 = 1,842.5, about 1,843
- TDEE = 1,842.5 x 1.55 = 2,855.9, about 2,856 calories per day
- For 1 lb per week: 2,856 – 500 = 2,356 calories per day
- For 2 lb per week: 2,856 – 1,000 = 1,856 calories per day
His size and activity give him comfortable targets either way. At 1 lb per week he still eats over 2,300 calories, which leaves plenty of room for satisfying meals.
Profile 3: Very active woman, 25, 60 kg, 165 cm
- BMR = 10 x 60 + 6.25 x 165 – 5 x 25 – 161 = 600 + 1,031.25 – 125 – 161 = 1,345.25, about 1,345
- TDEE = 1,345.25 x 1.725 = 2,320.6, about 2,321 calories per day
- For 0.5 lb per week: 2,321 – 250 = 2,071 calories per day
Even while losing weight, she eats over 2,000 calories a day because her training burns so much. Activity is the biggest lever most people have for eating more while still losing fat.
What Deficit Size Should You Pick?
| Weekly Goal | Daily Deficit | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 lb | 250 calories | Smaller people, near goal weight, preserving performance |
| 1 lb | 500 calories | Most adults; the standard sustainable rate |
| 1.5 lb | 750 calories | People with 30+ lb to lose, planned carefully |
| 2 lb | 1,000 calories | Larger starting weights, ideally with professional input |
Pick the smallest deficit you can stick with. A 250-calorie deficit you follow for six months beats a 1,000-calorie deficit you abandon in two weeks.
What Are the Safe Minimums?
Most nutrition guidelines suggest women stay at or above 1,200 calories per day and men at or above 1,500 per day unless a doctor or dietitian is supervising. Below those floors, it becomes very hard to get enough protein, vitamins, and minerals, and the risks of muscle loss, hair shedding, and hormonal disruption rise sharply. If your calculated target lands under your floor, choose a smaller deficit or raise your activity instead of eating less.
How Do You Split Calories Across the Day?
The total matters far more than the timing, but a protein-first split makes any target easier to follow. Aim for roughly 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of goal body weight per day, spread across 3 to 4 meals. For example, someone eating 1,800 calories might target 150 grams of protein (600 calories from protein) and fill the rest with fiber-rich carbs and healthy fats. Protein protects muscle and keeps hunger lower during a deficit.
When Should You Adjust Your Target?
- Every 10 to 15 pounds lost. A lighter body burns fewer calories, so recalculate your TDEE and shrink your target.
- After two weeks with no trend change. If the scale has not moved in 14 days, your true TDEE is lower than estimated. Cut 100 to 200 calories or add two short walks per week.
- If energy, sleep, or workouts crash. That is a sign the deficit is too deep. Raise calories by 200 for two weeks and reassess.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories should I eat to lose 2 pounds a week?
Eat 1,000 calories below your TDEE each day. First calculate your TDEE with the Mifflin-St Jeor formula times your activity level, then subtract 1,000. Make sure the result stays above 1,200 calories (women) or 1,500 (men).
Can I eat 1,200 calories a day to lose weight?
Only if 1,200 is at least 250 to 500 calories below your TDEE. For smaller sedentary women this can be a reasonable target, but for most adults it is unnecessarily low and hard to sustain. Calculate your own numbers rather than copying a flat figure.
Should I eat back my exercise calories?
Usually no, because your activity multiplier already includes typical exercise. If you do intense training beyond what your multiplier covers, eating back about half of the extra tracked calories is a safe compromise.
Why do calorie needs differ so much between people?
Body size, muscle mass, age, sex, and daily movement all change energy use. A larger, more muscular, more active person burns far more than a smaller sedentary one, which is why personalized calculation beats any universal number.
How fast will I see results on my calorie target?
Water weight often drops in the first week or two, then fat loss settles near your planned rate of 0.5 to 2 pounds per week. Judge by the two- to four-week trend, since daily weigh-ins bounce with food, water, and hormones.
Do I need to count calories forever?
No. Most people count for 8 to 12 weeks to learn portion sizes, then maintain by habit, periodic check-ins, and the scale trend. Recount briefly if weight creeps back up.
