Maintenance Calorie Calculator – Find Your Daily Calorie Maintenance Level
Maintenance calories are the amount you can eat each day while your weight stays roughly still. It is the anchor every other target hangs from: deficits are measured down from it, surpluses are built up from it, and without it any "eat more" or "eat less" advice is guesswork.
The tool below estimates your resting metabolic rate as well, which is handy when you want to see how much of your daily burn is simply being alive.
How It Works
We start with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for resting burn, then multiply by your weekly activity level. The calculator also reports your maintenance figure expressed per kilogram and per pound of body weight — a format coaches often prefer, since it scales as body weight changes.
Because activity drives much of the result, use the table in the output to see what happens if your routine changes. Adding a daily 8,000-step walk is enough to move maintenance meaningfully for most people.
How To Use Your Result
- Weight loss: eat 300–500 calories below maintenance for steady, sustainable fat loss.
- Weight gain: eat 250–400 calories above it if you want the gain to stay mostly lean.
- Holding steady: eat at maintenance, keep protein up, and let body composition shift slowly through training.
Rerun the calculation whenever your weight changes by more than a few pounds, because a smaller body simply burns fewer calories. If you want those calories translated into gram targets, continue with our macronutrient calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my maintenance drop as I lose weight?
Less tissue needs less upkeep. A body that is 10 lb lighter also spends slightly less energy moving around, which is why diets tend to slow down unless calories are adjusted downwards.
Can sleep and stress change maintenance calories?
Yes. Short sleep and chronic stress alter hunger hormones, spontaneous movement and how much energy you burn without noticing. Two identical weeks on paper can produce different results depending on recovery.
How long should I stay at maintenance?
A diet break of one to two weeks every couple of months helps restore training performance and adherence. It also resets the habit of eating normally, which matters after a long deficit.
Is resting metabolic rate the same as maintenance?
No. Resting burn is what you would use lying still; maintenance includes digestion, daily movement and training. The gap between the two is often 30–60% of total intake.
Results come from published population equations and are estimates only — they are not medical advice. See our disclaimer.
Related Calculators
TDEE Calculator – Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure
Total daily burn, plus ready-made cut and bulk targets.
Macronutrient Calculator – Calculate Your Macros for Fitness Goals
Daily protein, carbs and fat grams for your goal.
BMI Calculator – Free Body Mass Index Calculator
Instant WHO category plus your healthy weight range.
Body Fat Percentage Calculator – Estimate Your Body Fat
Navy tape method or BMI-based estimate.