How to use it
- Under Units, pick Metric or US, then choose Sex.
- Enter Age, Height and Weight, and choose an Activity level. Results update as you type.
- Read the maintenance estimate, then the table. The Change from maintenance column runs from −20% to +15%.
- Rows below your estimated resting energy use are marked below your estimated BMR.
- Open How this was calculated for the full sum, or keep the table with Copy link, Save image or Share.
What maintenance calories means
Maintenance is the estimated intake that equals your estimated daily energy use. Here it is the same number the TDEE calculator gives: Mifflin-St Jeor BMR multiplied by an activity factor.
The table then applies fixed percentages to that number. It shows what each percentage works out to. It does not say which row anyone should pick.
How the calculation works
Step 1, BMR (kg, cm, years): men 10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age + 5; women the same with − 161 instead of + 5.
Step 2, maintenance: BMR × activity factor (1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725 or 1.9).
Step 3, each row: maintenance × (1 + change ÷ 100), rounded to whole kcal.
Example: a man aged 30, 80 kg (about 176 lb), 180 cm (about 5 ft 11 in), Moderate exercise 3–5 days a week. BMR is 1,780 kcal/day, and maintenance is 1,780 × 1.55 = 2,759 kcal/day.
| Change from maintenance | Calculation | kcal/day |
|---|---|---|
| −20% | 2,759 × 0.80 | 2,207 |
| −15% | 2,759 × 0.85 | 2,345 |
| −10% | 2,759 × 0.90 | 2,483 |
| Maintenance | 2,759 × 1.00 | 2,759 |
| +10% | 2,759 × 1.10 | 3,035 |
| +15% | 2,759 × 1.15 | 3,173 |
How accurate is this?
Each row is exact arithmetic on your TDEE, so it carries the same uncertainty: the BMR equation can miss by 10% or more for some people, and the activity multiplier is a broad convention. The percentages themselves add no extra error.
Weight change also depends on more than calories in this table, so watching the actual trend over several weeks is a better check than the number alone.
When a row is marked below your estimated BMR
BMR is the estimated energy for rest alone. The mark appears when a row's number is lower than that estimate. It is a comparison of two calculated numbers, nothing more.
In the example above, every row stays above the BMR of 1,780. Switch the same man to Little or no exercise and maintenance becomes 1,780 × 1.2 = 2,136. The −20% row is then 1,709 kcal/day, so it gets the mark. The −15% row, 1,816, does not.
Why percentages instead of fixed amounts
A fixed amount, such as 500 kcal, is a much larger share of a small maintenance number than a large one. A percentage scales with the person. On 2,759 kcal/day, −15% is 414 kcal; on 2,136 kcal/day it is 320 kcal.
The older rule of thumb links 3,500 kcal to one pound of body weight. A National Institutes of Health page on a body weight model developed by Kevin Hall at NIDDK notes a known limit of that rule. Predictions based on it ignore how metabolism slows as weight changes, so they overestimate weight loss over time. The calculator therefore doesn't convert any row into pounds or kilograms per week.
The same percentages for a different person
Percentages keep the table comparable between people with very different maintenance numbers. Here is a woman aged 30, 60 kg (about 132 lb) and 165 cm (about 5 ft 5 in), also at Moderate exercise 3–5 days a week.
Her BMR is 600 + 1,031.25 − 150 − 161 = 1,320.25 kcal/day. Maintenance is 1,320.25 × 1.55 = 2,046 kcal/day, rounded.
| Change from maintenance | kcal/day | Compared with BMR (1,320) |
|---|---|---|
| −20% | 1,637 | Above |
| −15% | 1,739 | Above |
| Maintenance | 2,046 | Above |
What the number does and doesn't tell you
Maintenance here is an estimate built from two averages: the BMR equation and a rounded activity factor. Real energy use can sit above or below it, and the table rows carry the same uncertainty.
The numbers don't account for body composition, health conditions or medication. The equations were made for healthy adults and are not made for pregnancy, breastfeeding, illness or people under 18.
Questions
- What does “under 1,200 kcal a day” mean?
- Harvard Health Publishing says daily intake should not fall below 1,200 calories for women or 1,500 for men, except under the supervision of a health professional. Rows under that line are marked (1,500 for men). The table still only shows arithmetic; it is not a plan, and if thinking about food or calorie numbers feels stressful, the result panel links to support.
- Why does my maintenance number differ from another calculator?
- Other tools may use Harris-Benedict or another BMR equation, or different activity factors. The BMR calculator shows Mifflin-St Jeor and revised Harris-Benedict side by side.
- Is maintenance the same as TDEE?
- On this site, yes. Both are BMR × activity factor with the same inputs, so the two pages show the same number.
- Why is there no −25% or −30% row?
- The table covers a fixed set from −20% to +15%. Any other percentage is one multiplication: maintenance × (1 − percent ÷ 100).
- Does the table change if I pick a different activity level?
- Every row moves with it, because each one is a percentage of maintenance. The below your estimated BMR mark can appear or disappear, since BMR itself doesn't change with activity.
- How do I turn a calorie number into protein, carbs and fat?
- Enter it in the macro calculator under Daily calories and set the percentages. It converts each share to grams.