Calculate Your Daily Calories in 30 Seconds
Get your personalized calorie target for weight loss, muscle gain, or maintenance
Enter Your Information
Quick Guide
Weight Loss: 20% calorie deficit for 0.5kg/week loss
Maintenance: Eat at your TDEE to maintain weight
Muscle Gain: 10% surplus for 0.25kg/week gain
Your Daily Calorie Plan
BMR
Base metabolic rate
TDEE
Maintenance calories
Goal Target
For your goal
Your Strategy
Understanding Calorie Calculations
BMR vs TDEE
BMR is calories burned at rest. TDEE is BMR multiplied by your activity level, representing total daily energy needs.
Calorie Balance
Weight loss requires a deficit (eat less than TDEE). Muscle gain requires a surplus (eat more than TDEE). Maintenance equals TDEE.
Tracking Progress
Monitor weekly weight averages, not daily fluctuations. Adjust calories based on 2-4 week trends for best results.
Complete Your Nutrition Plan
Mastering Your Calories: Strategy Guide by Goal
Knowing your calorie number is just the start. What separates successful transformations from failed diets is understanding how to use those calories strategically based on your specific goal.
Fat Loss Strategy
A moderate deficit of 300-500 calories creates fat loss while preserving muscle. Anything more aggressive risks muscle loss, hormonal issues, and metabolic adaptation.
- Rate: 0.5-1% bodyweight per week
- Protein: 0.8-1g per lb bodyweight
- Training: Maintain strength, add cardio
- Avoid: Extreme deficits below 1200 cal
Muscle Gain Strategy
A controlled surplus of 200-400 calories provides the energy for muscle growth without excessive fat gain. Your body can only build muscle so fast - more isn't better.
- Rate: 0.25-0.5% bodyweight per week
- Protein: 0.7-0.8g per lb bodyweight
- Training: Progressive overload focus
- Avoid: Dirty bulking, excessive surplus
Maintenance Strategy
Eating at maintenance allows for body recomposition - slowly building muscle while losing fat. Perfect for beginners or after aggressive dieting phases.
- Rate: Stable weight, changing composition
- Protein: 0.8g per lb bodyweight
- Training: Consistent strength training
- Avoid: Impatience, expect slow progress
Common Calorie Mistakes That Kill Progress
What Doesn't Work:
- Extreme deficits: Eating 800-1000 calories "for faster results"
- Not tracking: "I'll just eat less" without measuring
- Ignoring protein: Only focusing on total calories
- Weekend binges: Perfect weekdays, destroying progress on weekends
What Actually Works:
- Moderate deficits: 300-500 calories below maintenance
- Consistent tracking: Weighing food for 2-4 weeks minimum
- High protein: 0.7-1g per lb bodyweight daily
- 80/20 consistency: Perfect most days, flexible sometimes
Your Calorie Target Is Your Starting Line, Not Your Finish Line
The calculator gave you a number. Now comes the real work: hitting that target consistently, tracking your results weekly, and adjusting based on real-world feedback. That's how transformations happen - not through perfect calculations, but through consistent execution and intelligent adjustments.