What are maintenance calories?
Maintenance calories (TDEE) is the daily intake that keeps body weight stable. This calculator starts with BMR from Mifflin-St Jeor, then multiplies by activity level.
Free nutrition tool
Maintenance Calories Calculator
Estimate your daily maintenance calories from sex, age, weight, height, and activity level. The calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, supports kg/cm and lb/ft/in, and does not store your inputs.
Guidance & reference
What maintenance calories mean for your goals
Maintenance is your baseline. Small adjustments above or below it drive fat loss or muscle gain without guessing.
Maintenance calories for fat loss
Eat 10-20% below maintenance for sustainable fat loss. A 15% deficit on 2,700 kcal maintenance equals about 2,295 kcal per day.
Maintenance calories for muscle gain
A 5-10% surplus supports lean gains with less fat. Larger surpluses add scale weight faster but increase fat gain over time.
Calorie targets by goal
Use your calculated maintenance as the starting point, then pick the adjustment that matches your current phase.
| Goal | Adjustment | Typical rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain | 100% of TDEE | Stable weight | Baseline from calculator |
| Fat loss | 10-20% deficit | 0.25-0.5 kg/week | Sustainable for most lifters |
| Aggressive fat loss | 20-25% deficit | Faster loss | Harder to sustain long term |
| Lean gain | 5-10% surplus | Slow muscle gain | Minimal fat gain |
| Faster bulk | 10-20% surplus | Faster scale gain | More fat risk over time |
Example calculations
How BMR becomes maintenance, and how a moderate deficit looks in practice.
BMR to maintenance
A moderately active lifter with 1,750 kcal BMR and a 1.55 activity multiplier:
1,750 × 1.55 = 2,713 kcal/day15% fat loss deficit
Starting from 2,700 kcal maintenance, a 15% deficit removes 405 kcal:
2,700 − 15% = 2,295 kcal/dayRelated calculators
Pair nutrition targets with strength benchmarks and max estimates.
Maintenance calories FAQ
Common questions about TDEE, deficits, and adjusting for training.
What are maintenance calories?
Maintenance calories, or TDEE, is the daily energy intake that keeps body weight roughly stable. It equals your basal metabolic rate multiplied by an activity factor.
How do I know if my maintenance estimate is correct?
Track body weight for 2-3 weeks at the calculated intake. If weight is stable within normal daily fluctuation, the estimate fits. Adjust by 100-200 kcal if the trend drifts up or down.
How big should a fat loss deficit be?
A 10-20% deficit below maintenance is sustainable for most lifters. Larger deficits can work short term but may hurt training performance and recovery if kept too long.
How many calories for lean muscle gain?
A 5-10% surplus above maintenance supports slow muscle gain with minimal fat gain. Faster bulks use larger surpluses but add more body fat over time.
Does lifting change maintenance calories?
Yes. Regular resistance training raises total daily expenditure through the workout itself and higher activity multipliers. Pick the activity level that matches your weekly training and daily movement.
Formula source
The resting calorie estimate is based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation described in A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals and summarized by NCBI Endotext. This calculator is for general fitness planning, not medical nutrition care.