Home / Calorie calculator
Optional tool

A starting estimate, not a finish line.

This calculator gives you a defensible starting estimate of the calories your body uses each day, and a sustainable target you can aim toward. It is one input — not the most important one.

Before you start

Calorie targets are starting estimates, not promises. Individual variation is large, and your body will adapt to any deficit you create. The most important number is not on the scale or in the calculator — it is your level of effort, sustained over time. Read the Expectations module if you haven't yet.

Step 1 · About you
years
Please enter an age between 18 and 100.
Step 2 · Height & weight
ft
in
Please enter a valid height.
lb
Please enter a valid weight.
Step 3 · Activity level
Step 4 · Daily calorie deficit
500cal / day
≈ 1 lb (0.45 kg) per week, at the start
250 500 750
A note on larger deficits. Larger deficits often feel possible early on, but adherence becomes harder as the body adapts — appetite rises and metabolic rate falls. Smaller, sustainable deficits typically outperform aggressive ones over the long run. The Expectations module covers why.
Your starting estimate

Three numbers — one of them more important than the others.

Estimated maintenance
—cal / day
The calories your body uses on an average day at your current weight and activity level.
Suggested daily target
—cal / day
A sustainable starting target. Not a goal weight, not a finish line — a number to aim toward each day.
Approximate starting pace
—lb / week
Will slow over time as the body adapts. This is normal, not failure.

Adherence over time matters far more than perfection on any single day. The behaviours and effort level you adopt to lose weight will be the same behaviours needed to maintain the loss — so consider whether the target above is one you could realistically live with, long term.

If it feels tight, ease it. Read the Expectations module for why a sustainable smaller deficit usually outperforms an aggressive one, and the Resilience module for what to do on the days the target is missed.

A few things to know