Maintenance Calorie Calculator

The Science of Equilibrium

Weight management is essentially a math problem of Thermodynamics. Your body is an engine that requires fuel (Calories) to run.

• Calorie Deficit: Eat less than you burn = Weight Loss.
• Calorie Surplus: Eat more than you burn = Weight Gain.
• Maintenance: Eat exactly what you burn = Stable Weight.

Finding your Maintenance Calories is arguably the most important number in fitness. It is your baseline. Without knowing this number, you cannot accurately plan a diet or a bulk.

Why "2,000 Calories" is a Lie

Nutrition labels are all based on a "2,000 calorie a day diet." But is that right for you?

Probably not. A 6'2" construction worker might need 3,200 calories just to survive, while a 5'1" office worker might gain weight eating 1,600 calories. Using a personalized calculator based on the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation (the gold standard in medical studies) is the only way to get close to your true number.

The "Weekend Buffer" Strategy

One of the hardest parts of maintaining weight is social life. You want to go out for pizza or drinks on Saturday without ruining your progress.

You can use math to solve this. Instead of eating your exact maintenance number every day (e.g., 2,200), you can slightly under-eat during the week to "bank" calories for the weekend.

How to "Reverse Diet" (Post-Dieting)

If you have just finished a strict diet, you shouldn't jump straight back to your maintenance calories overnight. Your metabolism has likely slowed down (Adaptive Thermogenesis).

The Fix: Slowly add 50-100 calories back into your diet every week until you hit your calculated Maintenance number. This allows your metabolism to speed back up without adding sudden body fat.

Activity Level Guide