How Do I Figure Out My Maintenance Calories?

If you’re trying to gain muscle, lose fat, or even just maintain your weight, knowing your maintenance calories is essential. Maintenance calories are the number of calories you need to consume each day to stay at your current weight. Once you have a good estimate of your maintenance calories, you can make informed decisions about adjusting your intake to meet your goals, whether it’s bulking, cutting, or maintaining.

In this article, we’ll explain what maintenance calories are, how to find them using a simple trial-and-error approach, and why your calorie needs may fluctuate based on various factors.

1. CICO Works: A Quick Refresher

First things first: CICO (Calories In, Calories Out) is a proven concept that explains how weight loss or weight gain occurs. If you consume more calories than your body uses (calories out), you’ll gain weight. If you consume fewer, you’ll lose weight. We cover the mechanics of CICO in more depth in another article, Is CICO Fake?, but in short, it works because it’s based on the fundamental principles of energy balance.

Now that we’ve clarified that, let’s talk about maintenance calories and how to find them.

2. What Are Maintenance Calories?

Maintenance calories refer to the number of calories you need to consume daily to maintain your current weight. When your calorie intake matches your calorie expenditure, your weight remains stable.

Your body burns calories in a variety of ways:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): The calories your body burns at rest to maintain basic bodily functions like breathing, circulation, and cell production.
Physical Activity: The calories you burn through exercise and daily movements.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): The calories burned during digestion and processing of the food you eat.

Your maintenance calories are the sum of all these components. It’s different for everyone because factors like body weight, muscle mass, activity level, and even diet influence how many calories you burn each day.

3. How to Find Your Maintenance Calories: A Simple Tracking Method

Finding your maintenance calories doesn’t require a complicated formula or guesswork—you can figure it out through tracking your weight and calorie intake.

Step 1: Start with a Guess

The first step is to take an educated guess at your maintenance calories. You can use online calorie calculators that consider factors like your weight, height, age, and activity level. These calculators are a helpful starting point, but they are just that—a starting point. The real magic happens when you track your actual intake and weight.

Step 2: Track Your Calories and Weight

Once you have a starting point, track both your daily calorie intake and your weight for at least two to four weeks. Make sure you’re consistent with your food tracking, aiming for accuracy by weighing your food and using an app to track calories (more on that later).

Step 3: Analyze the Data

After a few weeks, look at the data:

If your weight has stayed the same, congratulations—you’ve found your maintenance calories!
If you’ve gained weight, you’re eating more than your maintenance, and you’ll need to lower your calorie intake slightly.
If you’ve lost weight, you’re in a calorie deficit, and you’ll need to increase your intake.

By using this method, you’ll not only discover your maintenance calories but also gain a better understanding of how your body responds to changes in diet. Keep in mind that consistency is key—small fluctuations in weight are normal, but the overall trend will tell you if you’re hitting your maintenance.

4. Factors That Affect Your Maintenance Calories

It’s important to understand that maintenance calories aren’t static. They can fluctuate based on several factors:

Activity Level: If you’re more active one week—say, you do more cardio or walk a lot more than usual—you’ll burn more calories, and your maintenance might temporarily increase.
Muscle Mass: Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does. If you build more muscle, your maintenance calories will go up.
Body Weight: As you lose or gain weight, your maintenance calories will change. A heavier person typically burns more calories than a lighter person, even at rest.
Diet Composition: The types of foods you eat can influence how many calories you burn during digestion (TEF). Protein, for example, has a higher thermic effect than fat or carbs, meaning your body uses more energy to digest it.

Because of these factors, it’s a good idea to recalculate or reassess your maintenance calories regularly, especially if you notice significant changes in your activity level or body composition.

5. Make Tracking Easier with an App

To make tracking your calories and weight easier, consider using a calorie tracking app. There are several options available, including:

MyFitnessPal: One of the most popular apps, with an extensive food database and the ability to log meals and exercise.
Cronometer: Known for its detailed nutrient tracking, Cronometer helps you not only track calories but also vitamins and minerals.
Lose It!: A simple, user-friendly app that helps you set goals and track your daily intake.

These apps allow you to log your meals, track your progress, and get a clearer picture of your maintenance calories over time.

6. Adjusting Calories for Bulking or Cutting

Once you’ve identified your maintenance calories, you can use that information to adjust your intake depending on your goals. Here’s a simple guideline:

To Bulk (gain muscle): Aim for a 250-750 calorie surplus. This means eating 250 to 750 calories more than your maintenance calories. The size of the surplus depends on how aggressively you want to gain weight. Keep in mind that larger surpluses may lead to more fat gain, whereas smaller surpluses lead to slower but leaner muscle gains.
To Cut (lose fat): Aim for a 500-1000 calorie deficit. A calorie deficit means eating fewer calories than your maintenance, which forces your body to use stored fat for energy. A larger deficit leads to faster weight loss but may also lead to muscle loss if you aren’t careful, while a smaller deficit helps preserve muscle mass.

It’s important to note that how much you should bulk or cut is highly individual. Your starting body composition, metabolism, training intensity, and even lifestyle factors play a role. This article provides general guidelines, but you should adjust based on how your body responds.

7. What Are the Maintenance Calories for an Average Male Who Lifts?

If you’re a fairly average-height, average-weight male who lifts regularly, your maintenance calories could range between 2,400 and 3,200 calories per day. This estimate covers the range for moderately active individuals who engage in strength training and other physical activities.

For example:

A 170-pound man who trains 4-5 times a week might find his maintenance closer to 2,500-2,700 calories.
A 200-pound man who trains intensely may need upwards of 3,000-3,200 calories to maintain his weight.

Keep in mind that these numbers are rough estimates. The only way to know for sure is by tracking your intake and weight over time.

8. Conclusion

Finding your maintenance calories is an essential step toward reaching your fitness goals, whether you’re looking to gain muscle, lose fat, or simply maintain your weight. The most reliable method to figure out your maintenance is to take an educated guess, track your calorie intake and weight consistently, and adjust based on the data.

Remember, your maintenance calories can fluctuate based on factors like activity level, muscle mass, and even diet composition, so it’s important to reassess your needs regularly. Using a calorie tracking app can simplify the process, and once you know your maintenance, you can adjust your calories to suit your goals—whether bulking, cutting, or staying exactly where you are.