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Calorie Deficit Calculator

A kilogram of body fat holds roughly 7,700 kcal, so losing 0.5 kg a week needs a deficit of about 550 kcal a day.

Your numbers

Calories

1,750kcal

Daily deficit

550kcal

What it means

Eating 1750 kcal a day gives about 0.5 kg per week.

Formula

Daily deficit = Target weight × 7700 ÷ 7

Dropping below roughly 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 for men risks nutrient shortfalls and muscle loss.

What to enter

InputDefaultAccepted range
TDEE (kcal)Daily calories burned once activity is included.2,300800 ~ 6,000
Target weight (kg)The weight that lands you on the target BMI.0.50.1 ~ 2

Step by step

FormulaDaily deficit = Target weight × 7700 ÷ 7
With the default numbersDaily deficit = 0.5 × 7700 ÷ 7
AnswerCalories = 1,750 kcal

Quick reference table

Results when only TDEE (kcal) changes and everything else stays put.

TDEE (kcal)Calories (kcal)Daily deficit (kcal)
1,150600550
1,7251,175550
2,3001,750550
3,4502,900550
4,6004,050550

What each result means

ResultAt default values
Calories (kcal)Energy, in kilocalories.1,750
Daily deficit (kcal)How many more calories you burn than you eat each day.550

Common mistakes

Dropping below roughly 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 for men risks nutrient shortfalls and muscle loss.

Glossary

TDEE
Daily calories burned once activity is included.
Target weight
The weight that lands you on the target BMI.
Calories
Energy, in kilocalories.
Daily deficit
How many more calories you burn than you eat each day.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How is Calorie Deficit Calculator calculated?

Daily deficit = Target weight × 7700 ÷ 7 — A kilogram of body fat holds roughly 7,700 kcal, so losing 0.5 kg a week needs a deficit of about 550 kcal a day.

Q. Can you walk through an example?

With TDEE 2,300kcal, Target weight 0.5kg, the answer is Calories 1,750kcal.

Q. What do I need to enter?

Enter TDEE, Target weight. The result recalculates as you type, and an empty box counts as zero.

Q. How much does the answer move if I change a number?

Changing only TDEE (kcal) moves the answer to TDEE (kcal) 1,150 → Calories (kcal) 600 and TDEE (kcal) 4,600 → Calories (kcal) 4,050. The table below lays out five steps.

Q. How are the numbers rounded?

Money is shown to the nearest whole unit, percentages to one decimal place and everything else to two. What you see is rounded; the calculation itself carries the unrounded value forward.

Q. Anything to watch out for?

Dropping below roughly 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 for men risks nutrient shortfalls and muscle loss.

Related calculators

These calculators help you understand health figures; they do not replace diagnosis or prescription. See a clinician if you have symptoms.