The term "maintenance calories" refers to the calories your body needs daily to maintain weight. Consuming less than this amount will cause weight loss; consuming more will cause weight gain.
There are variables that affect this value, making it different for everyone.
Your maintenance calories are determined by two factors
Basal metabolic rate ( BMR ): This is the amount of calories you need for your body to function properly. Energy for organ function, breathing, digesting food, hormones, cell repair, etc.
Physical activity level ( PAL ): This is the amount of calories you lose during physical movement. This level depends on factors like your job, exercise, and any movement throughout the day.
How do you determine your BMR?
It's commonly accepted to use the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation to calculate your BMR.
But who wants to do the math, so here's a calculator.
What about my PAL?
Physical activity level is represented as an exponent value that estimates the additional calories you would need based on how much you are burning daily.
How do I calculate my maintenance calories?
In simple terms, your maintenance calories can be represented as:
BMR x PAL = Daily Maintenance Calories
For example: After calculating your BMR you determine it is 1,918 calories/day, and your PAL is 1.4:
After multiplying the BMR by the PAL, you would need an estimated 2,685 calories per day to maintain your weight.
But again, who wants to do math, so here is another calculator that does it all for you.
How does this relate to weight loss or gain?
Simply put: If you want to lose weight, lose calories; If you want to add weight, add calories.
Eating too little will have dangerous effects on your overall health, organs, and energy. Without proper energy, you won't be training optimally either. Keep your health as a main priority and cut calories in a safe reasonable manner.
Conclusion
Let's say you are trying to lose weight: After you calculate your maintenance, try eating 90% of that amount. If you find you have great energy and you're losing weight, keep going! Maybe for one week try only eating 85% of that amount, see how you feel.
Or if you want to gain weight: Calculate your maintenance and try eating 115% of that amount. Monitor your weight gain until it slows down, then recalculate and repeat.
Find out what works best for you and your body, but keep health as your main priority.
