UK weight-loss calculator
Maintenance calorie calculator
Holding a lower weight costs less than holding your old one did. That difference is the single most common reason weight returns.
Updated
I weigh st lb, I’m cm tall, I’m and . Most weeks I’m .
3blanks still to fill
Enter your details to see what it now takes to hold your weight steady.
The number people are rarely given
Almost every weight-loss tool stops at the goal. But the day after you reach it, you need a number to eat to. It is not the number that maintained your old weight.
A lighter body uses less energy. Going back to what you ate before you started will, fairly reliably, take you back to where you started. Not through any failure of willpower. The arithmetic simply changed underneath you.
This is as true after a period on medication as after dieting: whatever brought the weight down, the figure that holds it is the one for the body you have now, not the one you started with.
How this is calculated
maintenance = BMR × activity multiplierResting energy comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then a multiplier is applied for how active you are: 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for light, 1.55 for moderate, 1.725 for active and 1.9 for very active.
It is the same calculation as the TDEE tool on this site. The difference is framing: this page is about what happens after the losing stops.
Important limitations
Activity multipliers are broad categories doing a lot of work. Two people who both describe themselves as lightly active can differ by several hundred calories a day, and this is the largest source of error in the figure.
Treat it as a starting point, not a prescription
The honest way to use a maintenance estimate is to eat to it for two or three weeks, track weight as a weekly average rather than daily, and adjust from what actually happens. Your own data beats any equation.
There is some evidence that energy needs after weight loss run slightly below what the equations predict. The direction of any adjustment is therefore downwards rather than upwards.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
Why is my maintenance lower than it used to be?
Because there is less of you to run. Body weight is the largest single input to the equation, so losing weight lowers both your resting need and the energy cost of moving around. It is expected, not a malfunction.
Will I put it back on if I stop treatment?
Follow-up of the trials has reported substantial regain after treatment is withdrawn, and that is a well-recognised issue rather than a hidden one. What happens for any individual depends on a great deal this page knows nothing about, and it is exactly the sort of thing to plan for with your prescriber before stopping rather than after.
Is maintenance the same as TDEE?
Yes. Total daily energy expenditure is the technical name for the same figure. This page exists because "what do I eat to stay here" is the question people actually ask, and it deserves its own answer rather than being a footnote on a page about deficits.
Sources
- A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Calories and weight loss, NHS Better Health
Important information
The calculators on this site provide general information and estimates. They are not medical advice and they do not diagnose any condition.
Everyone is different, and individual energy needs vary for reasons these equations cannot capture. If you have a health condition, take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have any concerns about your weight, speak to your GP, pharmacist or a registered dietitian.