Maintenance Calorie Calculator
The daily calories that hold your weight steady — the anchor number every plan starts from.
Formula: Mifflin-St Jeor (Katch-McArdle when body fat % is given) × activity factor. Every constant is documented on the methodology page. Educational estimate — not medical advice.
Maintenance calorie reference table
Mifflin-St Jeor, age 35; male at 5′10″, female at 5′5″. Your own inputs above will be more accurate.
| Weight | BMR | Sedentary ×1.2 | Moderate ×1.55 | Very active ×1.725 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (5′10″, 35 y) | ||||
| 130 lb | 1,531 | 1,837 | 2,373 | 2,641 |
| 150 lb | 1,622 | 1,946 | 2,514 | 2,797 |
| 170 lb | 1,712 | 2,055 | 2,654 | 2,954 |
| 190 lb | 1,803 | 2,164 | 2,795 | 3,110 |
| 210 lb | 1,894 | 2,273 | 2,935 | 3,267 |
| 230 lb | 1,985 | 2,381 | 3,076 | 3,423 |
| 250 lb | 2,075 | 2,490 | 3,217 | 3,580 |
| Women (5′5″, 35 y) | ||||
| 130 lb | 1,286 | 1,543 | 1,993 | 2,218 |
| 150 lb | 1,376 | 1,652 | 2,133 | 2,374 |
| 170 lb | 1,467 | 1,760 | 2,274 | 2,531 |
| 190 lb | 1,558 | 1,869 | 2,414 | 2,687 |
| 210 lb | 1,648 | 1,978 | 2,555 | 2,844 |
| 230 lb | 1,739 | 2,087 | 2,696 | 3,000 |
| 250 lb | 1,830 | 2,196 | 2,836 | 3,157 |
How maintenance calories are calculated
Resting metabolism (BMR) comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation — 10×weight(kg) + 6.25×height(cm) − 5×age + 5 for men, −161 for women — which validation studies have found the most reliable of the common predictive equations for healthy adults. That number is then multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 (desk life) to 1.9 (physical job plus daily training). If you know your body fat percentage, the calculator switches to Katch-McArdle, which estimates from lean mass instead and is more accurate for very lean or very muscular people.
Maintenance calories are simply your TDEE viewed as a target: the intake at which your weight holds steady. It is the correct starting point before adding a surplus or a deficit — and worth re-checking after every 5 kg / 10 lb of change, since maintenance moves with your body weight.