Maintenance Calorie Calculator

Maintenance is TDEE with a purpose attached

There's no separate formula for "maintenance calories" — it's the same total daily energy expenditure number used everywhere on this site, just applied to a specific goal: staying at your current weight rather than changing it. Eating consistently at this level, over time, should keep the scale roughly flat.

When people look for this number specifically

Most often, after finishing a deficit or a surplus and wanting to settle at the new weight rather than keep losing or gaining. It's also the number used during a planned diet break — a period at maintenance in the middle of a longer weight-loss phase, generally used to ease diet fatigue and give a downregulated metabolism some room before resuming a deficit. And for plenty of people it's simply the goal on its own: not everyone using a calorie calculator wants to change their weight.

Why the number doesn't stay fixed

Maintenance calories move with the same three things TDEE always moves with: bodyweight, activity level, and age. Someone who's lost 10kg since they last calculated their maintenance number will find it's dropped along with the weight, since a lighter body burns somewhat less both at rest and in motion. Someone who's started or stopped regular training will see a similar shift from the activity side. Left unchecked, an old maintenance number gradually becomes a small, unplanned surplus or deficit rather than the flat line it's meant to represent.

Recalibrating in practice

A simple routine works well: weigh yourself under similar conditions most days, average the week, and compare it to the week before. A flat trend means the current number is a good estimate. A trend moving consistently in one direction, even slowly, means the actual number has drifted from the calculated one — adjust the target up or down by roughly the size of the weekly change in calorie terms (using the same 7,700 kcal-per-kilogram conversion used throughout this site) and continue. Repeating this every few weeks, rather than trusting one calculation indefinitely, is what actually keeps a "maintenance" number accurate to a body that keeps changing.

Who this suits

Anyone whose current goal is stability rather than change: post-diet, mid diet-break, or simply someone who wants to eat consistently without drifting. If your goal is actually to lose or gain, the deficit and gain-weight calculators on this site apply the same underlying number toward that instead.

Limitations

Like every number on this site, this carries roughly ±10–15% individual variance — it's a well-reasoned estimate, not a measurement of your actual metabolism. The only way to find your true maintenance level is to eat at the suggested target for two to three weeks and watch what your weight actually does, then adjust from there. No formula can substitute for that real-world feedback loop — it's the closest thing to an actual measurement available without lab equipment, and it's worth repeating any time your weight, activity, or age has shifted meaningfully since the last check.

How to Actually Plan for Weight Maintenance — what changes once the goal shifts from losing or gaining to holding steady.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly does "maintenance calories" mean?

The amount of energy that keeps your weight roughly stable over time — mathematically, the same thing as your TDEE. 'Maintenance' is simply the everyday name for that number when the goal is to hold weight steady rather than change it.

Isn't this just the TDEE calculator with a different name?

The underlying number is identical — TDEE and maintenance calories are the same figure viewed through a different goal. This page defaults to the maintain goal and frames the result around staying at your current weight, which is useful after a diet, during a planned diet break, or if holding steady is simply the goal.

Why does my maintenance level change over time?

Because it's built from your current weight, age, and activity — all of which shift. Lose or gain weight and your BMR moves with it. Get more or less active and your TDEE moves too. A maintenance number calculated a year ago, or even a few months ago after a meaningful weight change, is worth recalculating rather than assuming it still holds.

How will I know if the number is actually right for me?

Eat at the suggested target and track your weight for two to three weeks. If it stays roughly flat, the estimate is working. If it drifts up or down consistently, adjust the number by roughly the size of the drift and continue — the calculator gets you close, and the tracking period finds the exact figure.

Does building muscle change my maintenance calories?

Yes, gradually. Muscle tissue burns more energy at rest than fat tissue, so meaningful increases in lean mass over time tend to raise BMR, and with it, maintenance calories. The effect is generally modest and slow compared to changes in bodyweight or activity level.