Maintenance Calorie Calculator

Maintenance calories refer to the total number of calories you need to consume each day to keep your current body weight stable — not gaining, not losing. This is also called your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). Eating at this level means your energy intake matches your energy output.

This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is widely considered the most accurate formula for estimating Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) in most adults. Your BMR is then multiplied by an activity factor to give your TDEE — the actual calories you burn each day accounting for exercise and movement.

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest just to sustain basic functions like breathing, circulation, and cell production. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) builds on BMR by factoring in how active you are throughout the day. Your maintenance calories equal your TDEE.

A common approach is to eat 500 calories below your maintenance level, which creates a weekly deficit of roughly 3,500 calories — equivalent to about 1 pound of fat loss per week. For sustainable results, most guidelines recommend staying within 500–1,000 calories below maintenance, and never eating below 1,200 kcal/day for women or 1,500 kcal/day for men.

The Mifflin-St Jeor equation provides a reliable estimate for most healthy adults, but no formula can perfectly account for individual differences like muscle mass, genetics, hormone levels, or medical conditions. Treat your result as a strong starting point, then adjust by 100–200 calories based on real-world weight changes over 2–3 weeks.

Your activity multiplier can raise your calorie needs by 20% to 90% above your BMR. A sedentary person uses a multiplier of 1.2, while someone training twice a day uses 1.9. Choosing the wrong activity level is one of the most common errors, so be honest — most people overestimate how active they are.

Yes. As you age, lose muscle, gain weight, or change your activity habits, your TDEE shifts. It's a good idea to recalculate every few months or whenever your weight, lifestyle, or training volume changes significantly. Weight loss itself often lowers your TDEE because a lighter body requires fewer calories at rest.

Macros (macronutrients) are protein, carbohydrates, and fat — the three sources of dietary calories. Protein and carbohydrates each provide 4 calories per gram, while fat provides 9 calories per gram. Once you know your maintenance calories, you can split them into macro targets to optimize body composition, energy, and performance.