Your maintenance calories are the number of calories your body needs each day to stay at exactly the same weight — no gain, no loss. Use the free maintenance calories calculator below to find your number in seconds, based on your age, weight, height, and activity level.
How This Maintenance Calories Calculator Works
This calculator starts with your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the number of calories your body burns at complete rest just to keep you alive, powering your brain, heart, lungs, and other vital functions. It uses the widely trusted Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which estimates BMR from your age, sex, weight, and height. Because you do more than lie still all day, the calculator then multiplies your BMR by an activity factor based on how active you are. That final number is your maintenance calories, also known as your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE): the calories you need each day to stay at the same weight.
Activity Levels Explained
| Activity Level | Examples | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | Desk job, little exercise | 1.2 |
| Lightly active | Light exercise 1–3 days a week | 1.375 |
| Moderately active | Exercise 3–5 days a week | 1.55 |
| Very active | Hard exercise 6–7 days a week | 1.725 |
| Extra active | Physical job or training twice a day | 1.9 |
Maintenance Calories: Worked Examples
Numbers make more sense with real people. Here are four examples calculated with exactly the same formula as the calculator above:
| Person | BMR | Activity | Maintenance calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Man, 30 years, 80 kg, 180 cm | 1,780 | Moderately active | 2,759 kcal/day |
| Woman, 35 years, 65 kg, 165 cm | 1,345 | Lightly active | 1,850 kcal/day |
| Man, 45 years, 90 kg, 175 cm | 1,774 | Sedentary | 2,128 kcal/day |
| Woman, 25 years, 55 kg, 160 cm | 1,264 | Very active | 2,180 kcal/day |
Notice how activity changes everything: the very active woman needs more daily calories than the sedentary man, even though she weighs 35 kg less.
How to Use Your Maintenance Calories
To LOSE weight, eat about 300–500 calories per day below your maintenance number. This creates a steady, sustainable deficit that melts fat without tanking your energy. To GAIN muscle, eat about 250–500 calories per day above maintenance, giving your body the fuel it needs to build new tissue.
Track your weight for 2–3 weeks and see what happens. If your weight is not moving in the direction you want, adjust your intake by 100–200 calories and keep going. Your body is unique, so small tweaks beat big guesses.
Common Mistakes When Using Your Maintenance Calories
- Choosing an activity level that is too high. Be honest — most people with desk jobs are sedentary or lightly active, even with gym sessions.
- Never recalculating. Your maintenance calories fall as you lose weight, so recalculate after every 5 kg change.
- Counting exercise twice. Your activity multiplier already includes your workouts, so do not add exercise calories on top.
- Treating the number as exact. It is a strong estimate — follow your weight trend for 2–3 weeks and adjust by 100–200 kcal if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are maintenance calories?
Maintenance calories are the number of calories you need each day to keep your current weight stable — not gaining, not losing. Eat this amount and your energy intake matches your energy expenditure.
How accurate is this calculator?
It is a good estimate based on the proven Mifflin-St Jeor equation, but real needs vary from person to person. Use the result as a starting point and fine-tune it using your own weight trend over a few weeks.
Do maintenance calories change as I lose weight?
Yes. A lighter body burns fewer calories, so your maintenance number slowly drops as you lose weight. Recalculate your maintenance calories every 5 kg lost to keep your plan on track.
Is maintenance the same as TDEE?
Yes — maintenance calories and TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) mean the same daily total: all the calories your body uses in a day, including basic body functions and activity.
Explore more tools and guides on CalcMyCalories to plan your meals and reach your goals with confidence. You can also check how many calories your daily walks burn with our walking calorie calculator.