There is no universal calorie number, but there is a personal one, and it comes from four inputs: your size, age, sex, and how much you move. Everything else is adjustment.
As rough anchors: most adult women maintain weight between 1,800 and 2,200 calories and most adult men between 2,200 and 2,800. Your real number can sit well outside those bands, which is why calculating beats guessing.
The two-step calculation
First estimate your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the energy your body burns at rest. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the standard. Then multiply by an activity factor to get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).
- Sedentary (desk job, little exercise): BMR x 1.2
- Lightly active (1 to 3 workouts/week): BMR x 1.375
- Moderately active (3 to 5 workouts/week): BMR x 1.55
- Very active (6 to 7 workouts/week): BMR x 1.725
Adjust for your goal
Eat at TDEE to maintain. Subtract 300 to 500 calories to lose about 0.25 to 0.5 kg per week. Add 200 to 300 to gain lean mass gradually. Then treat the number as a starting hypothesis: your logged intake and your scale trend over three weeks tell you whether it needs a nudge.
Get your number in ProNutriBase
- 1
Complete the onboarding questionnaire
Height, weight, age, activity, and goal produce your personalized daily calorie and macro targets automatically.
- 2
Track against the target
Every logged meal draws down your daily budget in real time on the Home tab.
- 3
Let the trend correct the math
Your weight log and intake average reveal whether the estimate matches your real metabolism; adjust the target or ask your nutritionist to.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1,200 calories a day enough?
For most adults, no. Very low targets are hard to sustain, risk nutrient shortfalls, and are usually unnecessary. A moderate deficit from your calculated TDEE achieves steady loss without those costs.
Do calorie needs change with age?
Yes, gradually: metabolism declines roughly 1 to 2 percent per decade in adulthood, mostly through muscle loss and reduced activity. Strength training and protein blunt much of it.
Should I eat back exercise calories?
Partially, if at all. Fitness trackers overestimate burn, so eating back everything usually erases the deficit. If you use an activity multiplier in your TDEE, your workouts are already accounted for.