How Many Calories Should a Woman Eat Per Day?

Calorie needs — sometimes written as kcal per day or kilocalories per day — are determined by two broad factors: your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the energy your body uses at rest, and your activity level, which multiplies that baseline upward.

General reference ranges for adult women

As a broad educational guide, health authorities generally suggest:

• Sedentary adult women (little or no structured exercise): approximately 1,600–1,800 kcal per day
• Moderately active adult women (light exercise or walking most days): approximately 1,800–2,200 kcal per day
• Active adult women (regular vigorous exercise): approximately 2,200–2,400 kcal per day

These are population-level estimates. Your own requirement depends on body composition, age (metabolic rate tends to decrease gradually with age), and health status. For a more personalised starting point, see our calorie calculator for GLP-1 users, which walks through the key variables.

How GLP-1 medicines affect calorie intake

People taking GLP-1 medicines commonly report reduced appetite and lower food noise — meaning many end up eating significantly fewer calories than they did before, sometimes without consciously trying. This can make it harder to hit protein and micronutrient targets even while staying within a calorie range. Tracking actual intake, rather than relying on estimates, becomes especially useful in this context.

For more on daily calorie guidance across different contexts, the page on how many calories per day covers the broader picture, and daily calorie needs for women explores additional factors in more depth.

What about calories for men or all adults?

Men's calorie needs are generally higher than women's at the same activity level — broad estimates for adult men range from roughly 2,000 to 3,000 kcal per day, again depending heavily on activity and body size. For a full look at calorie needs across adults, the daily kcal guidance page covers both sexes and different life stages.

Knowing a reference range is one thing; knowing what you actually ate today is another. GLP Trackr's AI food photo scan is the fastest way to close that gap — point your camera at a meal and get an instant breakdown of calories, protein, and macros, with no manual entry needed. On days when appetite is low and meals are small or irregular, this effortless logging makes it far more likely you'll spot whether you're hitting your targets or falling short.

Once you've set a daily calorie target in the app, your food log and daily check-in feed into a running total so you can see at a glance where you stand — useful both for your own awareness and as something concrete to discuss with your prescriber or dietitian if they ask about your intake patterns.

GLP Trackr also lets you set a protein target alongside calories, which matters because adequate protein becomes harder — and more important — when overall food volume drops on a GLP-1 medicine.

General calorie figures are a helpful starting point, but your individual target is best decided with your prescriber or a registered dietitian who knows your full health picture. GLP Trackr helps you track and understand your intake; it does not replace that professional guidance.

Ready to move from estimates to actual data? Download GLP Trackr on the App Store or Google Play — your first 7 days are completely free.