Learn how to calculate your maintenance calories using accurate DEXA Scan data. Stop guessing and find your true calorie needs for fat loss or muscle gain.
Most people try to estimate their maintenance calories using generic formulas, online calculators, or guesswork. But these methods are often inaccurate because they do not account for your actual muscle mass, fat mass, activity levels, or metabolic health.
At Kalos, we help clients calculate their true maintenance calories using precise body composition data from a DEXA Scan. This gives a far more accurate picture than height and weight alone.
If you want a calculation that actually matches the real energy demands of your body, this guide will walk you through it.
Maintenance calories are the number of calories your body needs each day to maintain your current weight.
These calories support:
If you eat more than maintenance, you gain weight.
If you eat below maintenance, you lose weight.
But to change your body composition effectively, you need to know this number with accuracy.
Most online calculators use simple inputs like:
They completely ignore:
Your muscle mass plays a major role in metabolism.
More muscle means higher energy needs.
Less muscle means lower energy needs.
This is why two people at the same weight can have wildly different calorie requirements.
A DEXA Scan provides the missing data needed for accurate maintenance calculation, including:
Since lean mass is the biggest driver of metabolic rate, using DEXA data makes your maintenance estimation far more precise than any online calculator.
Here is the most accurate method to calculate maintenance:
This is the key number most calculators miss.
Use the Katch McArdle formula, which is based on lean mass:
BMR = 370 + (21.6 × lean body mass in kg)
This is the number of calories your body burns at rest.
Use:
This gives you TDEE, your true maintenance calories.
Maintenance is not static. It changes with:
Repeat DEXA scans every 4 to 8 weeks to see how your needs evolve.
A Kalos client has the following DEXA results:
Step 1: BMR
370 + (21.6 × 60) = 1,666 calories
Step 2: TDEE
1,666 × 1.55 = 2,582 calories
Their maintenance is around 2,580 calories per day.
With online calculators, they were given numbers between 1,900 and 2,200, which caused unnecessary dieting and stalled muscle growth.
DEXA revealed the truth.
When you know your real maintenance calories, you can set precise goals:
Eat 10 to 20 percent below maintenance.
Eat 5 to 10 percent above maintenance.
Eat close to maintenance with high protein and strength training.
Without an accurate baseline, these goals are just guesses.
A Kalos client struggled with fat loss for months. They thought their maintenance was 1,800 calories. After a DEXA scan, we calculated their real maintenance to be 2,400 calories based on high lean mass.
By eating 2,000 to 2,100 calories, they created a perfect deficit and lost:
The right number changed everything.
If you want to calculate your maintenance calories correctly, you need more than height and weight.
You need your lean mass, and the most accurate way to measure that is with a DEXA Scan.
This data driven approach eliminates guesswork, reduces frustration, and helps you make the right decisions for fat loss, muscle gain, and metabolic health.
If you are ready to take control of your health with the most accurate body composition analysis available, it is time to book your DEXA scan at Kalos. Whether you are looking to get lean, build muscle, improve performance, or optimize longevity, our advanced technology and expert guidance will help you get there.
Schedule your scan today at Kalos, your journey to data-driven fitness starts now.
Bay Area residents trust KALKalosOS to deliver results. We proudly serve the entire Bay Area including the following locations:
