How many calories should you eat?

If you’ve ever struggled to lose weight or build muscle despite eating healthy and exercising, it’s likely that you weren’t getting the right amount of calories in your diet.

Calories are the way we measure the energy that we get from our food. Almost everything you consume has calories. For example, an apple has about 52 calories, a glass of 2% milk has 137 calories, and the average slice of cheese pizza has about 277 calories.

Our bodies use the energy from food to power everyday activities and basic functions. Everything from walking and exercising to passive activities like breathing and thinking require energy that comes from our food. 

The total amount of calories that your body burns every day is called your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). 

In general, to maintain your body weight, you need to eat the same number of calories as your TDEE. This is called eating a maintenance level of calories.

So if your body weight has stayed at the same number for a while, it’s likely that you’re eating your maintenance level of calories. On average, you’re giving your body just enough energy to function without having to tap into its fat stores or add extra fat.

• To burn fat and lose weight, you need to eat below your TDEE, or a calorie deficit. Eating a calorie deficit encourages your body to burn its fat stores to make up for the energy you don’t get from your food.

• Eating more calories than your TDEE (a calorie surplus) can give your body extra energy to use towards muscle building or to store for future use as body fat.

The average woman needs to consume about 2000 calories per day, and the average man needs about 2500 calories per day.

The exact number of calories your unique body needs depends on your age, height, body weight, activity levels, and fitness goals. Get an idea of how many calories your body uses every day by calculating your TDEE:

Keep in mind that online calculators aren’t 100% accurate. You’ll need to test the number you calculated to make sure that it’s accurate. You can do this by eating the number of calories that you calculated and weighing yourself for a week or two. 

• If your weight stays the same, then the TDEE number your calculated is correct. Eating that number every day would help you to maintain your current body weight.

• If your weight goes up, then the TDEE number that you calculated is likely higher than your body’s actual maintenance level of calories. Reduce your daily calorie goal by subtracting between 50 and 250 calories and weigh yourself for another week or two. Continue to adjust your calories every week until your body weight stays the same. At that point, you’ll know your true TDEE/maintenance level of calories.

• If your weight goes down, then the number of calories you ate is likely lower than your body’s actual maintenance level of calories. Track what you eat for another week after adding between 50 and 250 calories to your daily calorie goal and weigh yourself again after one or two weeks. Continue adjusting until your weight stays the same.

Print out the Finding Maintenance Calories worksheet by clicking the button below to help you track your progress as you test your TDEE:

Watch the video below for guidance on finding your maintenance level of calories:

Once you know what your body’s TDEE/maintenance level of calories is, you can set a daily calorie goal according to your current fitness goal:

• If building muscle is your priority, experts recommend eating a calorie surplus of about 20% above your TDEE/maintenance level of calories. Most exercisers eat a calorie surplus for a few months at a time—a period called being in a “bulk.”

• If maintaining your body weight is your priority, then keep your TDEE/maintenance level of calories as your daily goal. This is called being “at maintenance.”

• If burning fat is your priority, then plan to eat between 100 and 1,000 calories below your TDEE/maintenance level. This should be a short-term period of a few weeks to a few months, depending on how low your calorie intake goal is (the lower your calorie intake, the shorter period of time you should plan to be eating that way). This type of eating plan is often called a “diet” or being “in a cut.”

By sticking to your daily calorie goal, you’ll be able to give your body the energy that it needs to make gains 💪  This will help you to make better decisions and plan your meals to support your fitness goals.