Step 0: What “Maintenance Calories” Actually Means
Before you plug numbers into anything, lock in definitions. If you don’t, you’ll end up chasing the wrong target.
- BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): Calories your body burns at rest to keep you alive.
- TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure): BMR plus everything you do in a day — walking, training, digestion, fidgeting, work, chores.
- Maintenance calories: The intake level where your bodyweight trend stays stable over time (not where the scale hits the exact same number every morning).
In this article, “maintenance” and “TDEE” mean the same thing: your real-world maintenance level confirmed by trends. If you want a deeper explanation of what drives TDEE (and why it shifts), read The Ultimate TDEE Guide (2025–2026 Edition).
Step 1: Get a Smart Starting Estimate (Then Treat It Like a Hypothesis)
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel for your first estimate. Use a modern calculator, then let your body tell you how accurate it is.
Start with the PhysiqueFormulas TDEE & Calorie Calculator and take the output as your starting maintenance estimate.
Think of this number as a hypothesis you’re about to test — not a promise you’re supposed to “follow harder.”
If you want a quick sanity-check without another calculator, a rough ballpark range some people use is:
- Lightly active: 13–14 × bodyweight in pounds
- Moderately active: 14–16 × bodyweight in pounds
- Very active: 16–18+ × bodyweight in pounds
If the ballpark and the calculator are far apart, a practical move is to start somewhere in between and let the 14-day test (below) resolve the uncertainty.
Step 2: Accept Why Calculators Disagree
Even good equations can be off by a meaningful margin because humans aren’t standardized machines. Two people with the same height and weight can burn very different totals depending on daily movement, job demands, training style, and appetite-driven activity changes.
- Some people naturally pace, fidget, and move more (higher NEAT).
- Some people have demanding jobs; others sit most of the day.
- Training volume and recovery demands vary dramatically.
The solution isn’t hunting for the “perfect” calculator. It’s using a decent estimate, then running a short, controlled experiment that produces a personal answer.
If you want the most common reasons estimates drift in real life, read 14 Reasons Your TDEE Estimate Is Wrong after this.
Step 3: Run a 14-Day Maintenance Test
This is where accuracy comes from. For 14 days, you’re not trying to diet or bulk. You’re trying to collect clean data.
1) Set a Target Range
Use your maintenance estimate from the TDEE & Calorie Calculator. Instead of one fragile number, use a small range: ±100–150 calories is fine for most people.
2) Standardize Weigh-Ins
- Weigh in every morning after the bathroom, before food or drink.
- Same scale, same spot, minimal clothing.
- Log it. Treat it as data, not a verdict.
You’ll use weekly averages (7-day averages), not single days. That’s the only way to see the signal through water noise.
3) Track Intake Honestly (for Two Weeks)
Log everything with calories. The goal is not “perfect forever.” The goal is “accurate enough for 14 days to be useful.”
- Weigh calorie-dense items (oils, nut butters, dressings, cheese).
- Log liquid calories and “small bites.”
- For restaurant meals, do your best and don’t assume the lowest number.
If you’ve ever felt like “I track, but the math never works,” this is usually the missing piece — and it’s exactly what later causes “mysterious stalls” covered in Why Your Calorie Deficit Is Stalled.
4) Keep Steps in a Stable Range
Movement changes can swing maintenance more than most people realize. For the test, pick a step floor and hit it daily. Many people find 7,000–10,000 steps/day works well as a stable baseline.
If steps fluctuate wildly, your TDEE fluctuates too — and your “maintenance” becomes harder to measure. For the deep dive, see How NEAT Controls 40–60% of Your Fat Loss.
5) Train the Way You Actually Live
Don’t turn the test into a two-week fitness challenge. Keep training consistent with your normal routine. You’re trying to measure maintenance for your real life, not a temporary grind you can’t sustain.
Step 4: Interpret the Results Like a Coach
At the end of 14 days, calculate:
- Week 1 average weight (days 1–7)
- Week 2 average weight (days 8–14)
- Average daily calories across the full 14 days
- Average steps/day across the full 14 days (so you remember the context)
Scenario A: Weight Trend is Flat
If Week 1 and Week 2 averages are essentially the same (roughly within ±0.1–0.2% per week), your average logged calories during the test are a strong estimate of your current maintenance.
Scenario B: You Lost Weight
If your weekly average dropped meaningfully, your test intake was a deficit (even if you intended “maintenance”). A practical adjustment is to increase from your test intake by a small amount and retest if you want tighter precision:
- Small weekly loss: add ~150–250 kcal/day
- Moderate weekly loss: add ~250–400 kcal/day
Scenario C: You Gained Weight
If your weekly average increased meaningfully, your test intake was likely a surplus (assuming steps and logging were consistent). A practical adjustment is to reduce from your test intake:
- Small weekly gain: subtract ~150–250 kcal/day
- Larger weekly gain: subtract ~250–400+ kcal/day
If the result feels “impossible,” the most common causes are (1) intake under-logging, (2) weekend drift, or (3) step changes. Use Why Weekend Overeating Destroys Your Deficit as the reality-check article when the weekday/weekend pattern is the hidden issue.
Step 5: Turn Maintenance Into a Deficit (or a Surplus)
Once you have a maintenance range you trust, you can build phases that make sense:
- Fat loss: many people use roughly a 15–25% deficit from true maintenance.
- Muscle gain: many people use roughly a 5–15% surplus, depending on context.
You can map targets and timelines with the Calorie Deficit & Weight Loss Timeline Calculator, then translate calories into structure using the Macro Calculator.
Next step if you’re cutting: How Big Should Your Calorie Deficit Actually Be?.
Step 6: Training Days vs. Rest Days (Optional)
Once maintenance is known, you can keep intake the same daily or bias more calories toward training days. Both can work. The main rule is that the weekly average matches your target (maintenance, deficit, or surplus).
Example with a 2,400-calorie maintenance:
- Training days: 2,550 kcal
- Rest days: 2,250 kcal
- Weekly average: ~2,400 kcal
If you choose this approach, the Macro Calculator can help you structure both day types.
Step 7: Protect NEAT So Maintenance Stays True
Maintenance isn’t fixed — it changes when your lifestyle changes. One of the biggest drivers is NEAT: all movement outside formal exercise. If you set maintenance during a 10,000-step routine and later drift down to 4,000–5,000 steps, your old “maintenance” can become a surplus.
- Keep a step floor you can realistically hit most days.
- Use short walks to stabilize movement (especially after meals).
- Watch for subtle “sitting creep” during stressful weeks.
Common Mistakes That Make Maintenance Look “Wrong”
- Using single weigh-ins: judging your maintenance off one high/low day instead of weekly averages.
- Changing everything at once: new program, new schedule, new diet, new sleep all in the same week.
- Weekend drift: the untracked “extra” that wipes out the plan without you noticing.
- Selective logging: accurate on “good days,” vague on “messy days.”
If any of these are present, rerun the test after tightening the inputs. The answer usually gets clear fast.
Special Cases: When You Need More Than 14 Days
Some situations make short tests harder to interpret (water retention, routine changes, or larger weight swings). Examples include: high stress and poor sleep, menstrual-cycle-related water shifts, very high bodyfat with big early water changes, or very lean/highly trained lifters.
In those cases, running the same protocol for 3–4 weeks and adding waist measurements/photos often produces a clearer result. If weight loss later slows during a deficit, see How to Fix a Fat-Loss Plateau and Hidden Metabolic Adaptation Explained.
A Realistic Example (Putting It All Together)
Suppose the TDEE Calculator estimates 2,450 kcal/day for you. Over 14 days you average 2,430 kcal/day, 8,500 steps/day, and your weekly weight averages are 80.2 kg (week 1) and 80.1 kg (week 2).
That’s essentially stable. A practical maintenance range is ~2,400–2,500 kcal/day at that movement and training level. From there, a moderate fat-loss phase might start ~15–20% lower, then be adjusted based on trends.
Your Maintenance Calories Checklist
- Started with a smart estimate (e.g., the TDEE Calculator)
- Tracked all calories for 14+ days
- Measured/weighed calorie-dense foods
- Used daily weigh-ins and weekly averages
- Kept steps relatively stable
- Kept training consistent
- Adjusted logically based on trend direction
The Bottom Line: Maintenance Is a Measurable Range
Maintenance calories aren’t a hidden “perfect” number. They’re a range your body reveals when intake and activity are consistent enough to read the trend. Once you have that range, everything else becomes easier: deficits are sized correctly, timelines become realistic, and progress stops feeling random.
Reviewed & Updated
Calculator logic and on-page content reviewed for clarity and educational accuracy. Last review: December 2025.
What to Read Next
This article is part of the PhysiqueFormulas 2025–2026 Calorie Deficit Mastery Cluster. To turn maintenance into a complete fat-loss roadmap, continue here: