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Estimate the daily calorie intake that keeps your weight roughly stable, based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.

✅ Mifflin-St Jeor Equation⚔ Weight-Stable Intake Estimate📈 Activity-Adjusted

Your Details

Age

Gender

Height (cm)

Weight (kg)

Activity Level

Your Maintenance Intake

Maintenance Calories / Day

Per Week--

Per Month--

⬇ 10% Deficit (slow cut)--

⬇ 20% Deficit (standard cut)--

⬆ 10% Surplus (lean bulk)--

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Calorie Needs Reference

Profile	Daily Calories	Description
Sedentary woman	1,600–2,000 kcal	Desk job, minimal movement
Sedentary man	2,000–2,500 kcal	Desk job, minimal movement
Active woman	2,000–2,500 kcal	3–5 workouts/week
Active man	2,500–3,200 kcal	3–5 workouts/week
Athlete woman	2,500–3,500 kcal	Daily intense training
Athlete man	3,000–5,000 kcal	Daily intense training

How Many Calories Should I Eat?

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What Are Maintenance Calories?

Maintenance calories are the approximate daily calorie intake at which your body weight stays roughly stable over time. This is the same concept as your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) — the total energy your body uses in a day for basic function, digestion, and physical activity. Knowing your estimated maintenance intake is a useful starting point for any body composition goal, since it gives you a baseline number to adjust up or down when planning a cut or a bulk.

How This Calculator Works

The calculator first estimates your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the energy your body burns at rest — using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, one of the most widely validated BMR formulas in nutrition research. It then multiplies that number by an activity factor you select, which accounts for how much additional energy you burn through daily movement and exercise. The result is an estimate of your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which this tool presents as your maintenance calories.

Why Your Real Number May Differ

No formula can measure your metabolism with perfect accuracy. Individual factors such as muscle mass, genetics, hormone levels, sleep quality, and non-exercise activity (like fidgeting or walking) can shift true energy needs by a meaningful margin in either direction. Treat the result as a starting estimate, then adjust it based on how your actual weight trends over two to three weeks of consistent eating and tracking.

Medically Reviewed by Dr. Sarah Mitchell, M.D.

Board-Certified Internal Medicine · 12 Years Clinical Experience

Dr. Mitchell reviews all IndexBody health content for clinical accuracy and alignment with WHO, CDC, and NIH guidelines.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I'm eating at maintenance?

If your weight is stable (within 1kg variation) over 2–3 weeks while eating consistently, you are close to maintenance. Track your food intake for 2 weeks without changing anything, then average your daily intake — this gives a reliable empirical maintenance estimate that accounts for your real-world NEAT and metabolic rate.

Should I eat at maintenance or cut right away?

If you have been in a prolonged caloric deficit, a period at maintenance calories (often called a 'diet break' or 'reverse diet') can help restore metabolic rate, hormone levels, and glycogen stores before another cut. Research supports diet breaks of 2–4 weeks for improving long-term fat loss outcomes.

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