If you've ever Googled 'how many calories should I eat,' you've probably seen the same answer everywhere: 2,000 for women, 2,500 for men. That number is a federal labeling shortcut, not your daily target. Your actual maintenance calories depend on your height, weight, age, activity, and goal — and they can vary by 1,000+ calories between two people the same height and weight.
Start with TDEE, not 2,000
TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure — is the number of calories you burn in a day, all in. It has four parts: your basal metabolic rate (BMR, what you burn at rest), the thermic effect of food (calories burned digesting), activity (exercise), and non-exercise activity (everything else — fidgeting, walking, gesturing).
BMR is the biggest chunk — usually 60–70% of total. You can estimate it with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is what most modern calculators use:
Multiply BMR by an activity factor to get TDEE: 1.2 (sedentary, desk job), 1.375 (light exercise 1–3 days/week), 1.55 (moderate, 3–5 days), 1.725 (heavy, 6–7 days), or 1.9 (very heavy, twice-daily or physical job).
Then pick a goal
TDEE is your maintenance number — eat that, weight stays flat (assuming the estimate is accurate, which it's roughly always 10–15% off, hence the 10–14 day calibration we'll get to).
| Goal | Calorie adjustment | Expected change per week |
|---|---|---|
| Aggressive cut | TDEE − 500 to 750 | 0.5–1 kg loss |
| Moderate cut (recommended) | TDEE − 300 to 500 | 0.3–0.5 kg loss |
| Maintenance | TDEE | Flat (±0.2 kg noise) |
| Lean gain | TDEE + 200 to 300 | 0.2–0.3 kg gain |
| Aggressive bulk | TDEE + 500 | 0.5–0.7 kg gain |
Cuts past 750 below TDEE are doable but rough — energy drops, hunger climbs, training suffers. Gains past 500 above TDEE put on more fat than muscle. The middle is where the math actually works.
Don't forget protein
Calorie targets matter most for weight. But the macro split — protein, carbs, fat — drives whether you lose muscle while cutting or build it while gaining. The non-negotiable: protein.
For most adults trying to change body composition, aim for 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight (about 0.7–1.0 g per lb). On a cut, this protects lean mass. On a bulk, it builds it. Carbs and fat split the remaining calories — usually 25–40% from fat, the rest from carbs.
Then calibrate against the scale
Calculators are estimates. Your actual TDEE is whatever number, eaten consistently, keeps your weight flat. So track for 10–14 days, weigh daily (it bounces — use the weekly average), and check the trend.
- If you lost more than expected, your TDEE estimate was high — raise calories.
- If you didn't lose, your TDEE was low — drop another 100–200 calories.
- If you're trying to maintain and you're gaining, drop 100–200. Losing, add 100–200.
Two weeks is enough to see the trend through water-weight noise. Three weeks is even better. Don't adjust faster than that — you'll just chase noise.
Tracking — the part most people quit
All of the above assumes you can actually measure your intake. This is where most people give up: typing every meal into a search box becomes a chore by day three, and inaccurate by day five.
We built Nouri because we hit this wall ourselves. Snap a photo, our AI estimates calories and macros in about three seconds. You edit if it's off. Voice logging if you're driving. Manual entry if you already know the numbers. Three logging modes, all faster than what you're using now.
The 5-step recipe
- Calculate your BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor) and multiply by your activity factor → TDEE.
- Subtract 300–500 to cut, add 200–300 to gain, eat at TDEE to maintain.
- Lock in protein at 1.6–2.2 g per kg bodyweight. Split the rest between fat (25–40%) and carbs.
- Track consistently for 10–14 days. Weigh daily, average weekly.
- Adjust by ±100–200 calories based on what the scale actually does. Repeat every 2–3 weeks.
That's it. No magic numbers, no special foods, no carb cycling. Just consistent input + measurement + small adjustments. The hardest part is doing it for 2 months — which is why a tracker you don't dread using matters more than the perfect macro split.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1,200 calories a day safe?
For most adults, 1,200 calories is too aggressive a cut. It's below most adults' BMR — meaning you'd burn lean muscle to make up the deficit. Use the TDEE math instead: subtract 300–500 from your maintenance. For someone whose TDEE is 1,800, 1,200 is reasonable. For someone at 2,800, it's an unnecessary 1,000-calorie hole.
How accurate is calorie tracking?
Calorie counts are estimates — typically within 10–15% of the true value for packaged foods, and 15–25% for restaurant food and homemade meals. AI photo estimation is in the same range. The accuracy is good enough for the math to work if you're consistent, because errors average out over weeks of logging.
Should I count weekends or take a break?
Count weekends. The honest math is the entire week. 'Cheat days' that add 1,500 calories on Saturday wipe out a Monday–Friday deficit. If you want flexibility, hit your weekly target — not your daily one — so a higher Saturday is offset by a lower Sunday.
Do calories matter more than macros?
For weight, yes — calorie balance is the dominant lever. For body composition (muscle vs fat), macros matter more. The order: total calories first, then protein, then fat/carb split. The last two are personal preference; protein is non-negotiable if you want to keep or build muscle.
How long until I see results?
Visible body composition changes typically take 4–8 weeks of consistent tracking. The scale moves faster — usually within 1–2 weeks — but a lot of that is water/glycogen, not fat. Stick with it past the first month before judging whether the plan works.
Stop typing your meals.
Nouri snaps your meal photos and gives you calories + macros in three seconds.
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