A calorie deficit means eating fewer calories each day than your body burns to maintain its weight. For most adults, a moderate deficit of 500 kcal per day is a safe starting point — about 0.45 kg of weight loss per week. Enter your age, gender, weight, height and activity level below to get your BMR, your maintenance calories (TDEE) and your daily calorie target. You can also check your maintenance level with our TDEE Calculator, and plan meals with the main Subway Calorie Calculator.
Daily calorie deficit calculator
This tool uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Results are estimates only — not medical advice. Your actual needs vary with body composition, health and how active your days really are.
How to Use This Calculator
- Select your gender and enter your age, weight and height.
- Choose your activity level and your deficit level (mild, moderate or aggressive).
- Click Calculate My Deficit and read your BMR, maintenance calories, daily target and estimated weekly weight loss below the button.
Example: A 30-year-old man who weighs 80 kg, is 180 cm tall and is moderately active has a BMR of 1,780 kcal and a TDEE of 2,759 kcal. With a moderate deficit of 500 kcal per day, his daily target is 2,259 kcal and his estimated weight loss is about 0.45 kg per week.
If any field is left empty, the calculator will ask you to fill in all fields instead of showing a result — it will never show a blank, zero or NaN result.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big should my calorie deficit be?
A deficit of 500 kcal per day is the common safe starting point, about 0.5 kg of weight loss per week. A deficit of 250 kcal per day is mild, and 750 kcal per day is aggressive. Bigger is not better — a very large deficit is harder to sustain and can leave you tired, hungry and short of nutrients.
How fast will I lose weight?
About 7,700 kcal is roughly 1 kg of body fat, so a 500 kcal daily deficit is about 0.45 kg per week (500 x 7 / 7,700). Results vary from person to person, and weight loss is rarely perfectly steady from week to week.
Is this medical advice?
No, this is an estimate only, based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Talk to a doctor or dietitian before starting a diet, especially if you have a medical condition, take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a history of disordered eating.