Maintenance Calorie Calculator
How many calories you need to maintain your weight — the anchor point for every diet — with macros and an honest activity method.
About you
Add it to switch to the lean-mass Katch-McArdle formula.
Activity
Goal & nutrition
Maintenance calories
Calories to maintain your weight
BMR (at rest)
Mifflin-St Jeor
TDEE (maintenance)
Burned per day
Adjustment
vs maintenance
Weekly change
stable
Maintenance at each activity level
Most people sit between two of these. If the scale isn't moving, you're likely closer to the lower number.
How it works
Your maintenance level is your TDEE: the calories your body burns at rest (BMR) scaled up by your activity. Eat that amount and energy in matches energy out, so your weight holds. The Detailed activity mode separates your daily lifestyle from your workouts, which lands closer to your real maintenance than a single multiplier.
Maintenance calories
maintenance = BMR × activity factor
- BMR
- resting calories (Mifflin-St Jeor)
- activity factor
- 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (very active)
Worked example
- Woman, 30, 5’5", 145 lb, lightly active
- BMR ≈ 1,400 cal → factor 1.375
- Maintenance = 1,400 × 1.375
≈ 1,925 calories/day to maintain her weight.
Good to know
- The most accurate maintenance number comes from your own data: track intake for 2–3 weeks of stable weight and average it.
- Maintenance is not fixed — it drifts down as you lose weight and up as you build muscle, so revisit it periodically.
- Eating at maintenance with high protein and lifting is the recipe for body recomposition (lose fat, gain muscle) without a deficit.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are maintenance calories?
Maintenance calories are the number of calories you burn in a day — your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Eat that amount and your weight stays stable; eat consistently more or less and it moves. It is the anchor point for any diet.
How do I find my maintenance calories?
The calculator estimates your resting burn (BMR) from your sex, age, height, and weight, then scales it by your activity. You can also confirm it from real life: if your weight has been steady for a few weeks, your average daily intake over that period is your true maintenance.
Why do I need to know my maintenance level?
Because every goal is defined relative to it: eat below maintenance to lose fat, above it to gain muscle. Without it you are guessing. It is also the number to eat at during a “diet break” or while doing a body recomposition.
Do maintenance calories change over time?
Yes. They fall as you lose weight or age, and rise as you add muscle or activity. Recheck every 10 lb of change or every few months.
Can I lose weight at maintenance calories?
Not in fat — by definition maintenance holds your weight. However, beginners and people returning to training can recomposition (lose fat and gain muscle at the same time) by eating at maintenance with high protein and resistance training.