Use our free weight loss calculator to determine how many calories you need to eat in a day for weight loss.
You have a weight loss goal. You may wonder, how many calories do you need to eat in order to get to your goal weight? Use our free calculator as a guide.
- Free Weight Loss Calculator – Daily Food Calorie Intake
- Should You Count Calories to Lose Weight?
- Benefits of Calorie Counting for Weight Loss
- Disadvantages of Calorie Counting for Weight Loss
- SmartPhone Apps to Count Calories
- FAQ about Counting Calories
- Q:Do I have to hit my calorie goal exactly?
- Q: Should I use my exercise calories?
- Q: My Fitness Pal says I need 1,200 calories a day. Is that okay?
- Q: If I eat too little, will my body go into starvation mode?
- Q: How much should I eat whole foods and how much can I eat treats?
- Q: I can't eat that much food.
- Q: I get busy during the day and forget to eat. Then I binge when I get home.
- Q: Tracking takes too long.
- Q: Do I need to worry about how much protein, fat, and carbs I eat?
- Q: Do I need to track calories from drinks?
- Q: How do I track when I don't know the calories in something, like at a party or restaurant?
Free Weight Loss Calculator – Daily Food Calorie Intake
Use this free weight loss calculator/food calorie calculator to determine how many calories you need to eat each day in order to lose weight.
This calculator is a general guide and not intended to replace medical help. Consult your doctor or a medical professional to determine what is right for you.
Should You Count Calories to Lose Weight?
As someone who has been maintaining a 100 pound weight loss for the last decade, I know the importance of having a guide to help you with healthier eating.
While I think there is great benefit to eating intuitively (using your hunger to guide you), I know that for me I needed more structure and accountability in order to successfully lose weight and keep it off long term.
I lost the majority of my weight using the Weight Watchers (now called WW) program and I’m still a big fan of Weight Watchers. Click here to learn more about how I used WW and to see if the program is right for you.
WW uses their own method that counts points. The method is similar to calorie counting but it also gives more benefit (lower points) to foods that are higher in protein, low in fat, and have fiber and additional nutrition. Foods that are highly processed and high in sugar and fat are higher in points.
WW also allows members zero point foods that can be eaten freely.
Still, the WW method isn’t for everyone and if it’s not for you, consider counting calories instead.
Benefits of Calorie Counting for Weight Loss
What are the benefits of counting calories to lose weight?
- Counting calories is simple. As complex as weight loss is from a mental and emotional standpoint, the science behind it is relatively simple. When you consume fewer calories than you eat, you lose body fat. Counting calories gives you a guideline for how much to eat in order to lose weight.
- Calorie information is available. There are many apps that guide you in counting calories (see below). If you prefer to write your food journal on paper, all information about calories is available online or in books for free.
- Counting calories works. Counting calories, if you do so consistently, does work. In fact, research shows us that keeping a food log is one of the best ways to lose weight.
Disadvantages of Calorie Counting for Weight Loss
While there are plenty of benefits to counting calories, there are distinct disadvantages, too.
- It’s impossible to be totally accurate when counting calories. Unless you are in a scientific food lab situation, it’s impossible to count calories with 100% accurately. Mismeasurements, the variation of food sources, or even the way your own body metabolizes foods are all factors that affect the accuracy of counting calories.
- Counting calories can be a hassle. While it’s fairly simple to count calories, it’s still something to be done each day and some people find this too much of a hassle. I personally have been keeping food logs for years so it’s not a big deal to me, but if it’s not something you’ve done regularly, you may find the method restricting.
- Counting calories can lead to obsession. Many people find that they become food and numbers obsessed when they count calories, which leads to even greater issues with food, diets, and weight. My own experience was that yes, for a season I was diet and numbers obsessed, but it was only for a season. Now that I’ve been maintaining my weight for a period of time, that obsession has diminished greatly.
Ultimately, the decision about whether counting calories is right for you, is up to you. You know yourself best and what methods will lead to your long-term success. Talk with your doctor about it, also.
SmartPhone Apps to Count Calories
Gone are the days where we had to manually count calories. These are some of my favorite apps for counting calories and they make the method a breeze.
All of these apps are either totally free or have a free version. I’ve never paid for the upgrades so you can use these without paying and get everything you need to count calories accurately to lose weight.
Top Calorie Counting Smart Phone Apps:
My Fitness Pal – This is the standard app most people use to track calories. The free version is fine. Use caution with their recommend daily calorie range, which I find to be too low for many women. I recommend setting your goal to lose .5 pound per week (don’t worry – you will lose more) so that your calorie range isn’t too low.
Lose It – Another great app for tracking calories eaten.
My Net Diary – This app is similar to My Fitness Pal.
Bite Snap – The way this app works is that you snap a photo of your plate and then it guides you into quickly tracking your calories. I am always a bit shocked at how accurately it knows what food is on my plate.
FAQ about Counting Calories
Q:Do I have to hit my calorie goal exactly?
A: No, that’s impossible. If you are within 100 calories +/-, you are doing fine.
Q: Should I use my exercise calories?
A: Perhaps, but not necessarily. If you are doing less than an hour of gentle activity, you might not need them. If you exercise or walk a lot and are hungry, trying “eating back” half the calories you earn and see how you feel.
Q: My Fitness Pal says I need 1,200 calories a day. Is that okay?
A: NO. That is too low. Most women in this group will need at least 1,500 calories a day and probably more. If you weigh over 200 pounds, you probably need over 2,000. A bedridden 130 pound woman needs 1300 calories a day to maintain her weight. If you got out of bed today, you need more calories. Adjust your weight loss target to be losing .5 pound per week. DO NOT UNDEREAT. You will just end up binging later. (Note: This is not medical advice.)
Q: If I eat too little, will my body go into starvation mode?
A: No, starvation mode is mostly a myth. If you under-eat for a long time (weeks and months) your body will slow down your metabolic rate a bit, but that’s not your biggest concern. What happens most often is that women under-eat in an effort to lose weight and then binge later, like at night, on the weekends, on vacations, and when they get to eat the junk foods they deprived themselves of earlier. DO NOT UNDEREAT.
Q: How much should I eat whole foods and how much can I eat treats?
A: Try eating 10-20 percent of your calories for treats and eat healthy foods for the rest, then see how you feel.
Q: I can’t eat that much food.
A: Really? Because you HAVE been eating that many calories. That’s how you are maintaining your current body weight.
Q: I get busy during the day and forget to eat. Then I binge when I get home.
A: That’s a problem. Divide your calories by 4. Eat 1/4 for breakfast, 1/4 for lunch, 1/4 for dinner and 1/4 for snacks. Set an alarm on your phone. Quit thinking you don’t have time to eat. Make the time to take care of yourself. Also, you are worthy of having an appetite and you are worthy of good food, even if you are overweight. You are allowed to eat in front of people.
Q: Tracking takes too long.
A: Then you are doing it wrong. I pre-track the night before and it takes me about 10-15 minutes. Consistency matters more than accuracy. Just estimate and keep going.
Q: Do I need to worry about how much protein, fat, and carbs I eat?
A: As far as losing body fat, focus on total calories. You can play around with macros (protein, fat, carbs are macros) to see how you feel with various amounts if you want to, but it shouldn’t be your main focus.
Q: Do I need to track calories from drinks?
A: YES, your body counts all calories. Calories from soda, sweet tea, and coffee creamer should be tracked.
Q: How do I track when I don’t know the calories in something, like at a party or restaurant?
A: Estimate, track and move on. Consistency matters more than accuracy with tracking.
More questions about counting calories? Leave it in the comments below or contact me and I’ll respond.
Now that you know how many calories you need to eat each day in order to lose weight, you are ready to move toward weight loss success.
More Weight Loss Posts for You
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Free Calorie Calculator – How Many Calories Am I Burning?
3 Day Diet Meal Plan – Free download, as seen in Woman’s World magazine
Weight Watchers for Dummies: Complete Getting Started Guide
When You Have a Lot of Weight to Lose
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1553 based on 2 years. Very generous. My doctor said I need to be at 1200-1300 per day, but if I do eat extra weekly points, this range would cover it.
It says I need to be at 1846 right now.
1,548 calories per day
I put down to lose 10% of my body weight in 6 months and it said 1644 calories a day. That seems doable!!
1724 for 12 pounds in 26 weeks
1539
I checked the goal weight first and looked up the healthy range and decided to go for the 165 lb goal would be 1522 calories per day. For that goal I can make a different choice if and when needed.
1,416 calories.
1664✅
1,449 calories day for 52 weeks to loose 50 pounds.
My daily caloric need is 1,862 to lose 50 lbs. in a year. This seems like a lot of calories to me.
Such great positive and helpful information always on your website. You are all incredibly talented in helping others. Now for this challenge, it says I need 1052 calories per day. Seems kinda low. But I’ll keep track. I currently track everyday on WW. But my membership ends at the end of this month. I do not plan on renewing.
Doing the scavenger hunt 🙂 i kept having to change how many weeks because it kept saying readjust your goals. I’m 317.2 and goal weight is 150 (maybe lower) and it says over 150 weeks at 2005 calories. That seems a lot. I’m on ww though so I don’t do calories typically.
Well, I was hoping to lose 18 pounds by the end of the year. That’s just 16 weeks and 1135 calories per day. I may have to adjust that some. But with some zero point days I think I can certainly get close.
1022 is not very many calories! Lose 4 lbs in 7 weeks-for grandson’s wedding.
I agree that 1022 is not very many calories and we would not recommend it. Harvard Health says that women should not consume fewer than 1,200 calories per day. Losing 4 pounds in 7 weeks is a doable goal. Have you tried The Holy Mess 3 Day Diet? It’s a great way to give your weight loss a boost.
My current goal is to lose 15 lbs. by end of December – 16 weeks. The calculator says I should eat 1519 calories a day to reach my goal. This seems doable. I usually just count points but recently downloaded My Net Diary to count calories as well. Their calculation for daily calories was less for the same goal. I will have to play with it for a bit and see how I do.
The calculator did not work for me. It said I had a calorie deficit and more info was needed.
I am sorry that you had that experience. It may be that your goal in weeks wasn’t long enough, so the recommended caloric intake would be too low.
The calculator said my calories should be 1443, very similar to what the Lose It! App says (1400).
That’s great feedback.
Mine came up with 1533 calories per day. It was sort of difficult to calculate for certain because 1) the goal weight in my head tends to fluctuate with the day, and 2) my current activity level is somewhere between “sedentary” and “light exercise.”
This is interesting, Sara. How does the calculator work? My result is 1561 calories. I do have a counter app (Chronometer) on my phone, but I am not entering daily. I will try to do so this week. Thank you!
Thanks, Sara. This is interesting. Do you know how the calculator works? I am at 138 pounds and want to lose 3 pounds in 3 weeks. The calculator said that I need 1561 calories per day.
My problem is that I sometimes binge out (like this afternoon), but I try to avoid flour and sugar in general. I know that it is stress related (Step 1 – recognition/acknowledgment), now I need to work on alternatives. I just read something today about “Exercise to Sweat”. I am going to focus on reducing stress in general and then ways to manage it without crunchy foods.
I had to play around with this a little bit because it wouldn’t give me any values if my calories were too low.. I decided to shoot for 170 pounds. (I am at 193 now).
I tried different scenarios, And the fastest one to get down to 170lbs: 21 weeks with 1343 calories/day.
I had to play around with this a little bit because it wouldn’t give me any values if my calories were too low.. I decided to shoot for 170 pounds. (I am at 193 now).
I tried different scenarios, And the fastest one to get down to 170lbs: 21 weeks with 1343 calories/day.
I tried other variations, namely increasing the number of weeks, and what amazed me…. The greater # of weeks required greater # of calories/ day.
I need 1017 calories per day to meet my goal by early December.
We do not recommend a daily calorie intake that low. You should consume a minimum of 1,200 calories and even that should not be maintained long term.
1138 calories aday
We do not recommend a caloric intake that low. You may have to adjust your # of weeks goal.
At first the calculator didn’t work, stating, “Need more information,” but then I realized I didn’t click the face icon. Once I did that, it worked fine.
Ditto. Calculator not working.
Calculator not working
Calculator not working. Says need more information.
Yes, I’m having the same problem.