How many calories do I need? A simple way to find your number

Every calorie target you see, whether in an app, a fitness tracker or on a nutrition label, is an estimate. That's fine. The goal is a sensible starting point that you adjust based on how your body actually responds over a few weeks.

Step 1: estimate what you burn at rest

Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is roughly the energy your body uses just to keep you alive: breathing, circulation, keeping you warm. One of the most widely used formulas is Mifflin-St Jeor:

• Men: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5
• Women: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161

For example, a 35-year-old woman who is 165 cm and 65 kg has a BMR of about 1,345 calories a day.

Step 2: account for how active you are

Multiply your BMR by an activity factor to estimate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE):

• Mostly sitting, little exercise: × 1.2
• Light exercise 1–3 days a week: × 1.375
• Moderate exercise 3–5 days a week: × 1.55
• Hard exercise 6–7 days a week: × 1.725

Our example woman, exercising moderately, lands at around 2,085 calories a day. That's roughly what she'd eat to keep her weight steady.

Step 3: adjust for your goal

• To lose weight: eat around 300–500 calories below your TDEE. That's a pace most people can sustain without feeling miserable.
• To maintain: eat close to your TDEE.
• To gain muscle: eat around 200–300 calories above your TDEE, paired with strength training and enough protein.

Very aggressive deficits tend to backfire: more hunger, less energy, lost muscle and a higher chance of giving up. Slow and steady is genuinely faster in the long run.

Step 4: check in and adjust

Weigh yourself a few times a week at the same time of day and look at the weekly average, not single readings. Water, salt and hormones can shift the scale by a kilo or more day to day. If the average hasn't moved in the direction you expect after two or three weeks, nudge your target by 100–200 calories and try again.

Turning a number into meals

A target is only useful if your meals actually hit it. When you set up Mealful, it works out a daily calorie goal from your details and activity level, then builds plans where each meal takes its share of that number. You can change the goal any time from your profile.

If you're pregnant, managing a medical condition or have a history of disordered eating, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before setting a calorie target.