Maintenance Calorie Calculator
Find the daily calories that keep your weight steady. Uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and your activity level to estimate maintenance calories (TDEE).
Calculator by Toolsloft ↗- Maintenance calories
- 2759 kcal/day
- BMR
- 1780 kcal/day
Your maintenance calories are the amount you can eat in a day without gaining or losing weight. This tool estimates that number from your sex, weight, height, age, and how active you are, so you have a starting point before setting a cut or a bulk.
How this is calculated
Basal metabolic rate is calculated with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: 10 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height(cm) - 5 x age, then +5 for men or -161 for women. Maintenance calories are BMR multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (very active). This is an estimate; actual needs vary with body composition and daily movement.
How to use
- Choose your sex and enter your weight in kilograms, height in centimeters, and age.
- Pick the activity level that best matches your typical week.
- Read your BMR and your maintenance calories per day.
Examples
- Male, 80 kg, 180 cm, 30, moderately active:
BMR 1,780, maintenance 2,759 kcal/day - Female, 65 kg, 165 cm, 35, lightly active:
BMR 1,345, maintenance 1,850 kcal/day
FAQ
- What are maintenance calories?
- They are the number of calories that match what your body burns in a day, so eating that amount keeps your weight the same. Eat below it to lose weight and above it to gain.
- How is the number calculated?
- We use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for basal metabolic rate, then multiply by an activity factor for your lifestyle to reach your total daily energy expenditure.
- Is this exact?
- It is a well-validated estimate. Real energy needs depend on muscle mass, genetics, and non-exercise activity, so use the result as a baseline and adjust based on how your weight actually responds over a few weeks.