Maintenance: how do I stabilise after a diet or a bulk?
The Maintenance Planner helps you stabilise your weight and your routines after a diet or a bulk — with a realistic maintenance range and a simple weekly routine.
Your plan
Suggested maintenance range
2,600–2,880 kcal
Estimated maintenance: 2,740 kcal
Daily macronutrients
Protein
128–176 g
1.6–2.2 g per kg — protects muscle and keeps you full.
Fat
64–88 g
0.8–1.1 g per kg — for hormones and enjoyment.
Carbohydrates
322–402 g
Remaining energy from carbohydrates.
Normal weekly swing
-0.40–0.40 kg/week
(-0.50–0.50 %)
Weekly routine & checkpoints
Daily — Morning fasted weight
Log it, but never react to a single day.
Weekly — 7-day weight average
As long as it stays between 78.4–81.6 kg, you are holding your weight. That is the goal.
Weekly — Strength, energy, hunger, sleep
Note them briefly — these four say more than the scale ever will.
After 3–4 weeks — Trend of your weekly average
If it consistently drifts out of the tolerance range, adjust in small ±100 kcal steps.
Every 6–8 weeks — The big picture
Honestly check whether maintaining still fits your life — or whether a new phase is a better fit.
When to adjust
- Maintenance is a goal of its own, not a pause. It stabilises body, mind and routine — the next step needs exactly that.
- If the weekly average sits above the tolerance range for a while, drop calories by 100 kcal and watch for another 2 weeks.
- If it sits below, add 100 kcal — maintaining is not losing.
- Swings of 1–2 kg from water, salt, carbs, digestion or the menstrual cycle are normal and not a setback.
- After a diet a small climb (water, glycogen, more food in the gut) is expected and not fat gain.
Example trajectory (illustrative)
Example (illustrative): 80 kg, moderately active. Maintenance range ~2600–2880 kcal/day.
Weekly-average tolerance range: 78.4–81.6 kg.
Week 1: +0.6 kg (water/glycogen). Week 2: back to start. Week 3: −0.3 kg — all inside tolerance, nothing to change.
This result is a sensible starting point, not a fixed target. Watch your real progress and adjust step by step if needed.
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Model note
Planning model, not medical clearance
Calorie ranges, target pace and time windows are modelled starting values based on estimated maintenance and internal planning rules. Product guardrails stop the tool from automatically generating progressively lower targets, but they are not universal medical safety thresholds. Your real multi-week trend remains the deciding reference.
Method
How the calculation works
The planner first estimates maintenance with Mifflin-St Jeor plus an activity factor. It then places an internal ±5 % band around that single value; this is a practical planning heuristic, not a physiologically defined maintenance corridor.
Macronutrient ranges are planning anchors. Carbohydrates fill the energy left after the protein and fat assumptions.
The displayed ±2 % bodyweight band is a deliberately broad monitoring corridor so short-term fluctuations are not over-interpreted. It is not a claim that every person normally fluctuates by that amount each week.
Estimate confidence
How reliable is this estimate?
Medium
The maintenance range is an estimate based on average values. Your actual need only becomes visible over the course of several weeks.
Context
When this planner makes sense
After a diet or bulking phase, when you want to stabilise your weight and your routines.
It also fits when you deliberately want a phase without a weight goal – for example to focus on training, sleep and daily life.
Context
Who this planner is not for
If you follow medical dietary instructions, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are being treated for a health condition, please discuss adjustments with a doctor first.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes when running the plan
- 01Seeing the maintenance phase as a pause between “real” phases rather than a goal in its own right.
- 02Letting the weekly check-in routine fade out after a short time.
- 03Immediately counter-steering on a normal fluctuation of one or two kilos.
- 04Stopping the phase after two weeks even though stabilising takes longer.
- 05Cutting back on training because there is “no goal” right now.
Interpretation
How to read your plan
Holding weight means: the 7-day average sits inside the tolerance range. Single days say almost nothing — water, salt, carbs, digestion and the menstrual cycle can shift weight by 1–2 kg quickly.
Strength, energy, hunger and sleep matter at least as much as the scale. If they are stable or better, the maintenance phase is working — even if weight wiggles.
Limits
Where this planner ends
Maintenance calories are not a fixed biological point. Daily movement, training, bodyweight and tracking error continuously shift real energy needs.
The ±5 % calorie range and ±2 % bodyweight corridor are internal monitoring heuristics, not scientifically validated individual thresholds.
The planner is intended as a general tool for adults. Prescribed nutrition and special health circumstances belong in professional care.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my maintenance calories?
Estimate them (the planner does this) and eat consistently in that range for 2–3 weeks. If the 7-day average stays flat, that is your maintenance. Otherwise adjust in 100 kcal steps.
How much can my weight fluctuate?
A 1–2 kg swing within a week is completely normal — water, salt, carbs, digestion and the cycle all move the scale. The 7-day average matters, not the daily number.
How long should a maintenance phase last?
As long as it fits your life. After a diet, several months of maintenance help stabilise body, hunger and routines. Maintenance is a goal of its own, not a waiting room.
Why does my weight climb slightly after a diet?
Part of it is water and glycogen (every gram of carbs binds water), part is more food in the gut. That is not fat gain — it is expected.
When should I adjust calories?
Only when the 7-day average sits outside the tolerance range for 2–3 weeks. Then adjust in 100 kcal steps — up or down — and keep watching.
How long should a maintenance phase last?
Often four to twelve weeks, and longer after extended diets. It ends when weight, energy and routines are genuinely stable – not after a fixed number of weeks.
How much can my weight normally fluctuate?
One to two kilos across the week is entirely normal and mostly comes from water, salt, fibre and digestion. The weekly average is what matters.
Why does my weight rise slightly right after a diet?
With more energy and more carbohydrates, glycogen stores refill and bind water. That rise happens within days and is not fat gain.
How do I know I have found my maintenance needs?
When your weekly average stays largely flat over three to four weeks at a consistent intake.
When is the right time for the next phase?
When weight and daily life are stable, sleep and energy are good and you are genuinely looking forward to the next goal – not out of impatience.
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Related glossary terms
If food, weight or body image weigh on you, please talk to a doctor or qualified professional.
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