calories to maintain weight calculator

What are maintenance calories?

Maintenance calories are the number of calories you need each day to keep your body weight stable. If you eat around this amount consistently, your weight should stay roughly the same over time (allowing for normal day-to-day water fluctuations).

This number is often called your TDEE, short for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It includes:

• Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): calories your body uses at rest for breathing, circulation, and basic function.
• Activity calories: movement from exercise and everyday life.
• Thermic effect of food: calories burned digesting and processing food.

How this calculator estimates your calorie needs

This tool uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to estimate BMR, then multiplies that by an activity factor to estimate maintenance calories.

Mifflin-St Jeor formula

• Men: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5
• Women: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age − 161

Then:

• TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier

Choosing the right activity level

Activity level is the most common place people under- or overestimate. If you're unsure, choose the lower option first and adjust based on real-world results.

• Sedentary: desk job, minimal exercise.
• Lightly active: some steps and light workouts.
• Moderately active: regular workouts most weeks.
• Very active: hard training nearly daily.
• Extra active: demanding job and/or frequent intense training.

How to use your result in real life

1) Start with the estimate

Use the calculator result as your starting daily calorie target for 10–14 days.

2) Weigh yourself consistently

Track your morning body weight under similar conditions. Focus on the weekly average, not single-day fluctuations.

3) Adjust slowly

• If your average weight trends up, reduce calories by 100–200/day.
• If your average weight trends down, increase calories by 100–200/day.
• If weight is stable, your maintenance estimate is likely close.

Common mistakes when calculating maintenance calories

• Overestimating activity level.
• Not tracking weekends and snacks.
• Changing calories too often before enough data is collected.
• Ignoring changes in sleep, stress, and daily steps.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a BMR calculator or a TDEE calculator?

Both, effectively. It calculates your BMR first, then estimates TDEE (maintenance calories) using your activity multiplier.

Can maintenance calories change over time?

Yes. As your weight, muscle mass, age, activity, and routine change, your maintenance calories can go up or down.

Should I eat exactly this number every day?

Not required. Daily intake can vary. What matters most is your average calorie intake across the week.

Does this work for weight loss or weight gain?

Yes, maintenance is your baseline. For fat loss, eat below maintenance. For muscle gain, eat above maintenance in a controlled way.

Bottom line

A calories-to-maintain-weight calculator gives you a smart starting point, not a perfect final answer. Use the estimate, track trends, then make small data-driven adjustments. That approach is simple, sustainable, and usually far more accurate than guessing.