Find your personalised daily calorie target for weight loss, maintenance or muscle gain based on your TDEE.
A deficit of 500 kcal/day creates ~0.5 kg/week loss. Never go below 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men) without medical supervision.
Eating at TDEE keeps your current weight. Track for 2–4 weeks and adjust if the scale moves unexpectedly.
A surplus of 250–500 kcal/day with adequate protein (1.6–2.2 g/kg) and resistance training maximises lean muscle gain.
Regardless of goal, aim for 1.6–2.0 g protein/kg bodyweight. Protein preserves muscle during cuts and supports recovery during bulks.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a day, combining your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - the calories needed to sustain basic functions at rest - with an activity multiplier. This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (validated in 1990 and considered the most accurate for the general population) to compute BMR from age, sex, height, and weight, then multiplies by an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (very active) to give your TDEE. It then shows calorie targets for weight loss (500 kcal deficit), maintenance, and weight gain (500 kcal surplus).
India's National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, revised the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) in 2020. For a reference Indian adult man (65 kg, moderate activity), the RDA is approximately 2,710 kcal per day; for a woman (55 kg, moderate activity), it is approximately 2,235 kcal. The Indian diet - rich in rice, roti, dal, and vegetables - is generally lower in saturated fat but can be high in refined carbohydrates and cooking oil. The FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) has mandated calorie labelling on packaged food since 2022, making calorie literacy increasingly important for Indian consumers managing weight and lifestyle diseases.