Calorie calculator
Free, no sign-up · Facts checked 18 Oct 2026
Calories a day to keep, lose or gain weight, with a gentle weekly plan.
Work it out
Eat about, a day
1,588 kcal
To lose 0.5 kg a week · light activity
To lose 0.5 kg a week at 65 kg with light activity, eat about 1,588 kcal a day; your body burns about 2,138 kcal.
- Daily burn
- 2,138 kcal
- Under your burn
- −550 kcal
- Change a week
- −0.5 kg
- BMR, at rest
- 1,555 kcal
Eating 1,588 kcal a day, you could lose about 5.6 kg in 12 weeks.
Weight lost, week by week
In kg, eating 1,588 kcal a day. The line bends because a lighter body burns a little less.
Your plate: protein, carbs and fat
kcal a day from each, on a balanced starting split (20 / 55 / 25%).
- Protein
- Carbs
- Fat
From your numbers
Worked out from what you entered. Try one.
- A 30-minute walk at a steady pace burns about 114 kcal for you: roughly 1.1 roti.
- Add a goal weight to see the week you could reach it and the milestones on the way.
Milestones
Calories a day for each pace
kcal a day at your size and activity. Losses never go below 1,500 kcal here.
Slower loss keeps more muscle and is easier to keep up.
Your weight, week by week
Always open. Point at a row to find it on the chart.
| Week | Weight | Change so far | Daily burn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 0 | 65 kg | 0 kg | 2,138 kcal |
| Week 1 | 64.5 kg | −0.5 kg | 2,131 kcal |
| Week 2 | 64 kg | −1 kg | 2,124 kcal |
| Week 3 | 63.5 kg | −1.5 kg | 2,118 kcal |
| Week 4 | 63 kg | −2 kg | 2,111 kcal |
| Week 5 | 62.6 kg | −2.4 kg | 2,105 kcal |
| Week 6 | 62.1 kg | −2.9 kg | 2,098 kcal |
| Week 7 | 61.6 kg | −3.4 kg | 2,092 kcal |
| Week 8 | 61.2 kg | −3.8 kg | 2,085 kcal |
| Week 9 | 60.7 kg | −4.3 kg | 2,079 kcal |
| Week 10 | 60.3 kg | −4.7 kg | 2,073 kcal |
| Week 11 | 59.8 kg | −5.2 kg | 2,067 kcal |
| Week 12 | 59.4 kg | −5.6 kg | 2,061 kcal |
Full breakdown
- Daily burn
- 2,138 kcal
- Under your burn
- −550 kcal
- Change a week
- −0.5 kg
- BMR, at rest
- 1,555 kcal
- Protein · carbs · fat
- 79 g · 218 g · 44 g
- BMI, Indian bands
- 23 · overweight
- Water, a rough guide
- 2.3 litres
Guide
How many calories do you need?
A calorie (kcal) is a unit of energy. Your body spends energy all day: at rest (your BMR), digesting food and moving. Add those up and you get your daily burn. Eat about that much and your weight stays steady; eat less and you lose weight slowly; eat more and you gain. This tool works out your daily burn, sets a target for the pace you choose, and shows what that means week by week.
How to use this tool
- Pick units, then type your sex, age, weight and height. Decimals are fine.
- Choose how active a normal week is, and a goal: lose 0.25, 0.5 or 1 kg a week, keep your weight, or gain 0.25 or 0.5 kg.
- Read your daily target, the split into protein, carbs and fat, and a 12-week timeline.
- Turn on Goal weight for a goal date and milestones, Meal plan to split the day, Calorie cycling for an optional higher-weekend week, or Pregnant or nursing for the ICMR-NIN addition.
The method
- BMR by the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (1990): 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women.
- Daily burn = BMR × an activity factor: 1.2 (desk job), 1.375 (light), 1.55 (moderate), 1.725 (active) or 1.9 (very active).
- The goal: a kilo of body fat holds roughly 7,700 kcal, so losing 0.5 kg a week needs about 550 kcal a day less than your burn. The target never drops below 1,500 kcal for men or 1,200 kcal for women, the floor most tools and dietitians use without medical supervision.
- The timeline works out your burn again each week at your new weight, so the line gently bends: a lighter body burns a little less.
What Indian guidance says
The ICMR-NIN Nutrient Requirements for Indians (2020) put a sedentary 65 kg man at about 2,110 kcal a day and a sedentary 55 kg woman at about 1,660 kcal. They add about 350 kcal a day in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, about 600 kcal while breastfeeding in the first six months and about 520 kcal from seven to twelve months. The Dietary Guidelines for Indians (ICMR-NIN, May 2024) ask for less added sugar and fried food, more pulses, vegetables and whole grains, and advise healthy adults against protein powders. The protein, carbs and fat split here (20 / 55 / 25%) is a balanced starting point, not a rule. Figures checked as of October 2026.
Kavitha, a teacher in Tiruvannamalai
Kavitha is 38, 155 cm and 68 kg, and walks to school most days (light activity). Her daily burn is about 1,784 kcal. Losing 0.5 kg a week would mean about 1,234 kcal, close to the 1,200 floor, so she picks 0.25 kg a week instead: about 1,509 kcal, with roughly 75 g of protein. She turns on Goal weight for 62 kg and sees she could get there around week 29, about seven months. She plans idli with sambar in the morning, a millet and dal lunch, sundal in the evening and chapati with vegetables and curd at night.
Common mistakes
- Cutting too hard: 1 kg a week is a lot for most people. Muscle goes with the fat and the weight often comes back.
- Counting exercise twice: if you picked an active level, don’t eat back your workout calories on top.
- Forgetting drinks: tea with sugar, juices and soft drinks add up quickly.
- Expecting a straight line: water and salt move the scale by a kilo from day to day. Judge the trend over three or four weeks.
- Dieting in pregnancy: pregnancy and breastfeeding need more energy, not less.
Sources
Facts checked 18 Oct 2026AJCNA new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals (Mifflin, St Jeor et al.) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (PubMed)1990
BMR, the base of the daily burn: 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women. Feb 1990
ICMRA brief note on Nutrient Requirements for Indians, the RDA and EAR (ICMR-NIN, 2020) · ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition2020
Reference needs (2,110 kcal sedentary man, 1,660 kcal sedentary woman) and the additions: +350 kcal in pregnancy, +600 nursing 0–6 months, +520 at 7–12 months. 2020
ICMRDietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024 · ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition2024
Less added sugar and fried food, more pulses and vegetables, and no protein supplements for healthy adults. May 2024
Questions
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
About 550 kcal a day under your daily burn loses roughly 0.5 kg a week. The tool works out your burn from your size, age and activity, and never goes below 1,500 kcal for men or 1,200 for women.
How many calories does an Indian adult need a day?
ICMR-NIN (2020) puts a sedentary 65 kg man at about 2,110 kcal and a sedentary 55 kg woman at about 1,660 kcal. Active people need more.
Is 1,200 calories a day enough?
For most women it is the lowest intake advised without a doctor, and for most men it is too low. Very low intakes make it hard to get enough protein, iron and calcium.
How fast can I safely lose weight?
About 0.25 to 0.5 kg a week for most people, up to 1 kg if you have a lot to lose and a doctor agrees. Faster loss is often water and muscle.
Why has my weight loss slowed down?
As you get lighter, your body burns a little less, so the same intake makes a smaller gap. That is why the timeline curves. Recheck your numbers every few kilos.
What is calorie cycling?
Eating a little more on some days and a little less on others, with the same weekly total. It is optional; some people find weekends easier this way.
How many extra calories do I need in pregnancy?
ICMR-NIN suggests about 350 kcal a day extra in the second and third trimesters, and about 600 while breastfeeding in the first six months. Your doctor will guide you.