Your Apple Watch Move goal should be personal, slightly challenging, and realistically achievable most days.

Quick answer

A simple way to set it:

  1. Check your current average active calories per day over the last week or two.
  1. Set your Move goal to around that average, or about 10% higher so it’s a stretch but not overwhelming.
  1. Aim for a level that usually takes 15–30 minutes of intentional exercise plus normal daily movement to hit.

Typical ranges many people use, depending on lifestyle:

  • Sedentary / desk job: 300–400 active calories
  • Lightly active: 400–600 active calories
  • Moderately active / regular workouts: 600–800 active calories
  • Very active / athletes: 800–1,000+ active calories

If you’re constantly missing your goal, lower it toward your real average and then increase slowly (30–50 calories every week or two) as you get fitter. If you’re crushing it every day without effort, bump it up a bit.

How to adjust your Move goal

On Apple Watch you can change it in a few taps:

  • Open the Activity app (three-ring icon).
  • Scroll down and tap Change Goals (or firmly press and choose Change Move Goal on some models).
  • Use + / − to adjust your Move calories, then tap Set/Next/OK to confirm.

You can also adjust from the Fitness app on iPhone under your account → Change Goals.

Example: picking a number

Imagine your last week averages about 420 active calories per day. Using the “slight stretch” idea, you might:

  • Set Move goal to 450 calories.
  • See if you can hit that with one brisk 20–30 minute walk plus your normal day.
  • After a couple of solid weeks, increase to 480–500 if it feels comfortable.

If your main goal is weight loss

For weight loss, you still want your Move goal to be sustainable, then slowly push it higher:

  • Start with a realistic target you can hit at least 5 days per week.
  • Gradually increase the goal to raise daily calorie burn and support a calorie deficit (paired with nutrition changes).
  • Avoid jumping straight to huge numbers (like 1,000+ calories) if you’re new; this often leads to burnout rather than progress.

Tiny 3-step checklist

Ask yourself:

  1. Can I hit this goal on a normal day, not just a perfect one?
  2. Does it require at least a bit of planned movement (not just existing habits)?
  1. Can I imagine doing this most days for the next month?

If yes to all three, you’ve probably found a solid Move goal.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.