Find the calories you burn, what to eat to lose weight at a realistic pace, and how much protein protects your muscle while you do it. We’ll also flag any target that’s too low to do on your own.
Female
Male
yrs
ft
in
cm
lb
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Calories/day to maintain your weight
Target calories to lose weight
- Protein target
- —
- Resting burn (BMR)
- —Calories at complete rest
How these numbers are worked out
- Resting burn (BMR) uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula most widely used in clinical practice for its accuracy in adults.
- Maintenance calories multiply your BMR by an activity factor (1.2 sedentary → 1.9 extremely active).
- Loss targets assume roughly 3,500 calories per pound of fat, so a 500-calorie daily deficit ≈ 1 lb a week. Real-world results vary — metabolism adapts as you lose.
- Protein is set at about 0.7–0.9 g per pound of a healthy reference weight for your height (not your current weight), which is the range associated with preserving lean muscle during a calorie deficit.
These equations estimate averages. Thyroid conditions, medications, PCOS, menopause and previous dieting history all shift the real number — which is exactly what a supervised programme accounts for.
Educational tool — not medical advice. Very-low-calorie diets (under about 1,200 calories a day) should only be followed with medical supervision and monitoring. Talk to a qualified clinician before making significant changes to how you eat.
