How Many Calories Should You Eat? A Practical Guide for GLP-1 Users

The number of calories your body expends in a day — sometimes called total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE — combines your resting metabolic rate (the energy needed just to keep your body running) with the calories burned through movement and daily activity. For most adults this sits somewhere between roughly 1,600 and 3,000 kcal, though the range is wide because weight, height, age, sex, and activity level all play a role.

Calories and weight change: the basics

A commonly referenced figure is that one pound (approximately 0.45 kg) of body fat corresponds to roughly 3,500 kcal. On that basis, a daily deficit of around 500 kcal is often cited as a path toward losing approximately 1 lb (0.45 kg) per week, and a deficit of around 1,000 kcal per day toward losing roughly 2 lbs per week. These are general educational estimates — individual results vary, and a sustainable deficit is always preferable to an aggressive one. For personalised targets, speak with your prescriber or a dietitian.

How GLP-1 medicines affect appetite and intake

Medicines like Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Wegovy (semaglutide) act on appetite-regulating pathways, and many people find they naturally eat less without consciously counting calories. This makes hitting a calorie target easier for some, but it also means protein and nutrient quality become especially important — eating too little can mean missing out on the protein needed to support muscle alongside fat loss.

Calories at each meal

If you prefer to think in meals rather than daily totals, a rough split many people find workable is a lighter breakfast (perhaps 300–400 kcal), a moderate lunch (400–500 kcal), and a dinner that accounts for the remainder of the day's target. These are not prescriptions — they are simply a way to distribute intake that some GLP-1 users find manageable given smaller appetites.

For a deeper look at daily intake figures, see our guide on how many calories to eat each day or explore how many calories you must eat a day for more on minimum safe intakes. You can also read about how many calories a person should consume in a day for broader context.

Counting calories manually is tedious at the best of times — on a GLP-1 journey, when appetite shifts and portion sizes shrink, it can feel even harder. GLP Trackr's AI food-scanning feature lets you point your phone camera at a meal and receive an instant breakdown of calories, protein, and macros without typing a thing. It also supports barcode scanning and a searchable food database for days when a photo is not practical.

Once your daily calorie and protein targets are set in the app, every meal you log counts toward them automatically, so you always have a live answer to "how many calories have I eaten today" — without mental arithmetic. The app's insights then surface patterns over time, such as how your calorie intake on different days relates to your weight trend, giving you useful context to bring to your next prescriber appointment.

For a fuller overview of calorie tools and guidance in one place, visit the calorie calculator hub. You can also explore how many calories you are supposed to eat for more on setting a realistic starting figure.

GLP Trackr is free to try for 7 days — available on the App Store and Google Play. Snap your first meal, set your targets, and let the app do the maths.

The calorie figures on this page are general educational estimates. For personalised guidance on your intake — especially if you are managing other health conditions — always follow the advice of your prescriber or a registered dietitian. GLP Trackr helps you record and visualise your intake; it is not a substitute for professional nutritional or medical advice.