This Maintenance Myth is Killing Your Gains!

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This Maintenance Myth is Killing Your Gains!

In today’s video, I’m breaking down a common misconception (or an attempted redefinition) of maintenance calories and TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). Some claim that “all you need to build as much muscle as possible is to eat at maintenance.” But that’s not how it works.

🔥 What is Maintenance & TDEE?
Maintenance calories = Energy in equals energy out, meaning your body weight stays the same (outside of normal fluctuations). You’re neither gaining nor losing tissue.
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) = The total calories your body burns in a day, made up of:
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): Calories burned at rest
TEF (Thermic Effect of Food): Calories burned digesting food
EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): Calories burned through intentional exercise
NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): Calories burned from daily movements (walking, fidgeting, working, etc.)
🚨 Notice something? None of these include extra calories for gaining metabolically active tissue like muscle!

💡 Why Maintenance ≠ Maximum Muscle Growth
The idea that you can build as much muscle as possible without eating above maintenance is flawed. The body can use stored fat for energy in some cases (except when too lean), but if you’re maintaining body fat while building muscle, you’re still in a surplus—just not from food intake alone.

Think of it like a cup of water with a hole in it. If you keep pouring in just enough water to maintain the same level, you’re still adding water! Similarly, if your body is using stored fat for muscle growth and you’re replacing it, there’s still an energy surplus happening. Without an energy surplus—whether from food or stored fat—muscle gain wouldn’t happen, and maintaining the same percentage of fat requires a surplus, otherwise you'd get to lean.

📢 What Do You Think?
Have you heard this argument before? Drop a comment below and let’s discuss!

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