Maintenance Calorie Calculator
Estimate how many calories you need each day to sustain your current body weight based on age, size, sex, and activity level.
This is an estimate using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Real-world needs can vary.
What is a calories sustain weight calculator?
A calories sustain weight calculator estimates how many calories you should eat each day to maintain your current body weight. You may also hear this called your maintenance calories, total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), or calorie balance target.
If your goal is to stay at roughly the same weight, this number is your baseline. If your goal is fat loss or muscle gain, you usually start from this baseline and adjust calories up or down.
How this calculator works
This tool uses a common two-step method:
- Step 1: Estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the energy your body needs at rest.
- Step 2: Multiply BMR by an activity factor to estimate your full-day calorie needs (TDEE).
1) BMR estimate (Mifflin-St Jeor)
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is one of the most widely used formulas in sports nutrition and general coaching because it is practical and reasonably accurate for many adults.
- Male: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5
- Female: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age − 161
2) Activity multiplier
Your body burns more calories than resting metabolism alone. Walking, lifting, cardio, chores, work, and even fidgeting all add up. The activity multiplier approximates these costs.
- Sedentary: 1.2
- Lightly active: 1.375
- Moderately active: 1.55
- Very active: 1.725
- Extra active: 1.9
3) Why your result is a range, not a perfect number
Even with a strong formula, daily energy expenditure changes. Sleep quality, stress, food composition, hydration, menstrual cycle phase, step count, and training intensity all move the needle. That is why this page provides a practical range around your estimated maintenance target.
How to use your maintenance calorie number
Use your result as a starting point, then validate it with real data for 2–4 weeks.
- Track your average daily calories.
- Track body weight under similar conditions (for example, morning weigh-ins).
- Compare weekly weight trends, not single-day spikes.
- If weight is stable, your intake is close to true maintenance.
- If weight drifts up or down, adjust by about 100–200 calories/day and reassess.
Common mistakes when estimating calories to sustain weight
- Overestimating activity: Many people choose a higher activity level than reality.
- Ignoring weekends: “Normal weekdays” plus untracked weekends can erase consistency.
- Relying on app exercise calories: Wearables and cardio machines often overestimate burn.
- Watching only scale weight: Sodium, carbs, hydration, and hormones can hide true trends.
Quick example
Suppose someone is 35 years old, 175 cm, 78 kg, and moderately active.
- BMR estimate: roughly 1,700 kcal/day (sex-specific formula applies)
- TDEE estimate: around 2,600 kcal/day with a 1.55 multiplier
In practice, this person might maintain around 2,450–2,700 calories depending on movement, food choices, and routine consistency.
Frequently asked questions
Should I eat exactly the same calories every day?
No. Day-to-day variation is normal. Weekly calorie consistency matters more than perfect daily precision.
Can I trust one calculator result forever?
No. Maintenance calories change with body weight, activity, age, training volume, and lifestyle. Recalculate when your routine changes significantly.
Do macros matter for maintaining weight?
Total calories are the main driver of weight stability, but macros still matter for performance, satiety, and body composition. A balanced approach with adequate protein is usually easiest to sustain.
Bottom line
A calories sustain weight calculator gives you a smart starting estimate, not a final verdict. Use the number, monitor trends, and adjust with patience. Small changes applied consistently beat perfect calculations that never make it into your daily routine.