Scope: Food literacy · hub calories & macros · companions what calories are · Yeh Bro System · food.
Maintenance is the intake where your weekly weight trend is basically flat. Apps spit a number from BMR/RMR (basal/resting metabolic rate) × activity. Treat that as a guess, then verify with the scale. You’re not marrying MyFitnessPal.
TL;DR
- TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) ≈ what you burn in a day on average. Maintenance ≈ TDEE.
- Start with a rough formula or a two-week eating audit. Confirm with weight trend.
- Cut: ~10–20% below. Bulk: ~5–15% above. Recheck after weight changes — recalculating.
- Fix reporting lies before you blame “metabolism” — tracking mistakes.
Glossary (once)
| Acronym | Meaning |
|---|---|
| BMR / RMR | Energy at rest (estimates from age/sex/weight/height) |
| TDEE | Whole-day burn: rest + food processing (TEF, thermic effect of food) + NEAT (non-exercise activity) + exercise |
| NEAT | Steps, fidgeting, standing — often the silent variable — step targets |
Method A — quick multiplier (good enough)
- Estimate BMR with any reputable calculator (Harris–Benedict / Mifflin — pick one and stop shopping formulas).
- Multiply by activity:
| Lifestyle | Rough multiplier |
|---|---|
| Desk + lifts 3×/week | ~1.4–1.55 |
| On feet a lot + lifts | ~1.55–1.7 |
| Very active job / high NEAT | ~1.7–1.9 |
That’s your starting TDEE guess. Not gospel.
Method B — two-week audit (better)
- Eat how you normally eat. Track roughly (app, notes, or weighed staples).
- Weigh daily, average the week.
- If weight is flat → your average intake ≈ maintenance.
- Rising ~0.25–0.5%/week → you’re in a surplus; falling → deficit. Back-calculate.
Hand portions instead of an app? Fine for the audit if portions are consistent — tracking vs hand portions · meal structure.
From maintenance to a phase
| Phase | Starting nudge | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Cut | −10–20% | Cutting · hunger |
| Hold / recomp | ±0 | Protein + progressive overload |
| Lean bulk | +5–15% | Lean bulk basics |
Aggressive crash diets inflate hunger and trash NEAT — then “why am I not losing?” becomes a reporting + movement problem — why am I not losing fat?.
Soft product note
No supplement sets maintenance. Creatine may bump scale water — still take it if you want the training benefit — creatine myths · Muscle Nation creatine monohydrate. Protein powder only for convenience — Muscle Nation whey isolate.
Soft close
Guess → verify with weeks of data → nudge. That’s the whole game — calories & macros hub · Yeh Bro System.