Easily determine your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) using the industry-standard Mifflin-St Jeor Equation. Knowing your maintenance calories is the first step toward achieving any weight goal, whether it’s weight loss, maintenance, or gain.
Calorie Maintenance Calculator
Your Estimated Maintenance Calories (TDEE)
— kcalThis is the number of calories required to maintain your current weight.
Calorie Maintenance Calculator Formula: The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
For Men: $$ \text{BMR} = (10 \times W) + (6.25 \times H) – (5 \times A) + 5 $$
For Women: $$ \text{BMR} = (10 \times W) + (6.25 \times H) – (5 \times A) – 161 $$
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
$$ \text{TDEE (Maintenance Calories)} = \text{BMR} \times \text{Activity Multiplier} $$
Formula Sources: NCBI (Mifflin-St Jeor), PubMed (TDEE Review)
Variables Explained:
- W (Weight): Your body weight in kilograms (kg).
- H (Height): Your height in centimeters (cm).
- A (Age): Your age in years.
- BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): The minimum number of calories required to keep your body functioning at rest.
- Activity Multiplier: A factor ranging from 1.2 (Sedentary) to 1.9 (Extremely Active) used to adjust BMR based on your exercise habits.
What is Calorie Maintenance?
Your maintenance calories, also known as Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), represent the precise number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period to maintain your current weight. This total includes the calories burned for basic survival (Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR), the energy needed to process food (Thermic Effect of Food or TEF), and the calories expended during all physical activity (including exercise and non-exercise movement).
Understanding your maintenance level is foundational to any nutrition strategy. To lose weight, you must consistently consume fewer calories than your TDEE (creating a caloric deficit). Conversely, to gain weight (muscle or fat), you must consistently consume more calories than your TDEE (creating a caloric surplus). This calculator provides a scientifically derived estimate to help you set your caloric goals accurately.
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- Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator
- Macronutrient Split Calculator
- Target Heart Rate Calculator
- Ideal Body Weight Calculator
How to Calculate Maintenance Calories (Example)
Let’s calculate the maintenance calories for a 30-year-old female who weighs 70 kg, is 165 cm tall, and is Moderately Active (Multiplier = 1.55).
- Calculate BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor for Women): $$\text{BMR} = (10 \times 70) + (6.25 \times 165) – (5 \times 30) – 161$$ $$\text{BMR} = 700 + 1031.25 – 150 – 161$$ $$\text{BMR} = 1420.25 \text{ kcal}$$
- Apply Activity Multiplier to find TDEE: $$\text{TDEE} = \text{BMR} \times 1.55$$ $$\text{TDEE} = 1420.25 \times 1.55$$ $$\text{TDEE} = 2201.39 \text{ kcal}$$
- Conclusion: The estimated daily maintenance calorie intake is 2,201 calories.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is considered more accurate for estimating BMR in modern populations than the older Harris-Benedict formula, though both are just estimates. Studies suggest Mifflin-St Jeor is marginally closer to measured BMRs.
A moderate deficit of 500 calories per day below your TDEE is commonly recommended to achieve a weight loss of about 1 pound (0.45 kg) per week. Larger deficits can be unsustainable and may lead to muscle loss.
No. All calculators provide an estimate. Your actual TDEE is influenced by genetics, body fat percentage, hormone levels, and daily movement (NEAT). Use the calculator result as a starting point, monitor your weight, and adjust your intake every 2-4 weeks.
If you are accurately measuring your food and your weight still increases, it means your true TDEE is slightly lower than the calculator’s estimate. You will need to slightly reduce your food intake (e.g., by 100-200 calories) until your weight stabilizes.