How to calculate your calories and macros
How to calculate your calories and macros for fat loss, muscle building and maintaining.
No amount of data and equations can tell you what your actual numbers for calorie deficit are, for building muscle or for maintenance. What these numbers do is give you an estimate based on variables like height, weight, sedentary, active etc, and when you get these numbers you then have to road test for a couple weeks to a month, staying consistent and monitoring the changes in your body using a variety of methods such as tape measurements, photographs, scale weight, clothes fit and then respond to these changes by making adjustments based on that feedback.
You have to be committed to the process to get accurate results and that’s why people hire coaches, to help them meet their commitments and to manage what is ultimately a scientific process. There are easy mistakes you can make. such as changing things too quickly and too often, having calories way too low to start with resulting in non-compliance, or not going low enough based on your activity levels.
Getting this right does require focus so once you get some numbers back stay keyed in for the first month and maintain accountability with the process, once you know you are in a deficit (and you only are if you’re losing weight), or maintaining or building, then it gets easier to make adjustments from that point onward.
Calculating for a calorie deficit
Step 1: Determine BMR
Determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR) by using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation:
Men: (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) + 5
Women: (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) - 161
Step 2: Measure Total Daily Energy Expenditure
Measure Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) with this equation:
Sedentary (little to no exercise + work a desk job) = 1.2
Lightly Active (light exercise 1-3 days / week) = 1.375
Moderately Active (moderate exercise 3-5 days / week) = 1.55
Very Active (heavy exercise 6-7 days / week) = 1.725
Extremely Active (strenuous training 2x / day) = 1.9
Step 3: Determine Goal Weight and Desired Weight Loss Date
Subtract goal weight from current weight
For example: 150lbs -20lbs = 130lbs
Take lbs of weight loss needed and divide by 2, 1.5, 1. This will give you an idea of how many weeks it would take to reach your goal weight if you lost 2lbs/week, 1.5lbs/week, or 1lb/week .
For example: 20/2 = 10 weeks to reach goal weight, 20/1.5 = 13 weeks to reach goal weight, or 20/1 = 20 weeks to reach goal weight.
Step 4: Calculate Macronutrient Ratios
This is the last step of calculating calories, and it's one that's absolutely essential for getting accurate weight loss results.
First: Calculate Daily Protein Needs
Did you know that protein is a huge catalyst for weight loss and hunger satiation? Let's calculate sedentary versus moderately active individuals and their protein requirements.
For sedentary calorie deficit 1g per pound of body weight is a good start point.
For moderately active - extremely active: 1.2 /1.5 per pound is a good estimate.
150lbs / 1g per pound = 150g
Second: Calculate Daily Fat Needs
To prevent any fatty acid deficiencies it is recommended to consume at minimum 1g/kg of fat per day. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans also recommends fat should make up 20-35% of one’s total daily calories. Using both of these references you can calculate your daily fat needs:
To calculate fat:
150lbs / 0.4 per lb of body weight
60g of fat needed per day
The lowest you should go with fats is 0.3 per lb and you can go higher, 0.6 for instance = 90g, If you prefer fats over carbs then go for higher fats or vice versa.
Third: Calculate Daily Carbohydrate needs
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that carbohydrates should make up 45-65% of one’s daily calories.
Step 1: Calculating grams of carbohydrates.
Multiply daily calorie requirements by 0.45 & 0.65 to obtain calories from carbohydrates.
0.45(2000) = 900 calories
0.65(2000) = 1300 calories
Step 2: Divide answers in step 1 by 4 since there are 4 calories per 1 gram of carbohydrate
900/4 = 225g
1300/4 = 325g
For healthy, sustainable weight loss, it is generally not advisable to lose more than 2 pounds of fat per week. That would equate to a calorie deficit of 1,000 calories per day. More often than not, when weight loss exceeds 2lbs in a week, the majority of that is water loss. So keeping that in mind, the goal is to lose 1-2lbs per week.
For sedentary individuals, it would be recommended to set a goal of losing 1lb per week, which would equate to a calorie deficit of 500 calories/day.
For more active individuals, daily calorie requirements are higher in order to account for exercise and active lifestyles. Taking this into consideration, it is more feasible to cut back on food since daily caloric requirements for maintaining weight are much higher. Therefore, creating a calorie deficit of 500-1,000 calories per day can lead to a max weight loss rate of 2lbs/week.
Remember, combining exercise with a small calorie deficit is the best intervention to maximize weight loss! Additionally, consuming a high protein diet (or sticking to the higher ranges based on your activity level) will help maintain and preserve muscle mass while losing fat.
Building muscle:
A common rule is to eat 100 to 200 calories over your TDEE each day to produce about half a pound of muscle gain per week.
Maintaining:
Your BMR multiplied by your TDEE as in the first two equations.
Once you have your goal and your numbers test drive and make adjustments in response, and if all of this just seems to many equations and has your head spinning you can hire me to calculate your macros for you.
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