How to calculate how many calories you need depending on your goals

Hey guys and dolls

As promised here is a written advice on how to figure out how many calories you need to reach your desired goals as well as figuring out your required macronutrients. You could easily type your stats and goals in myfitnesspal however I think it's important you understand how this is reached.

I will start with steps to figure out your daily caloric intake (I know some people don't believe in counting calories, and to be honest I sort of eyeball it now, however it's important so you don't over/under eat and you wonder why your not reaching your goals)

Step 1: Know your goal- do you want to lose weight, maintain current weight, or gain weight?

- to lose weight you need to eat at a caloric deficit (eat less calories in a day than you burn)

- to maintain your weight you need to eat equal amount of calories that you burn in a day.

- to gain weight you need to eat at a caloric surplus (eat more calories in a day than you burn)

Step 2: Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): energy is expanded even when you're not doing anything, this is the number of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day.

To calculate this go to www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ 

You will need your height, weight, age and sex to calculate this.

Step 3: Activity Factor you need to be able to determine your activity level

- sedentary (no activity): BMR x 1.2

- lightly activity (workout 1-3 times a week): BMR x 1.375

- moderate (workout every other day 3-5 times a week) BMR x 1.55

- active (workout 6-7 times a week) BMR x 1.725

- vey active (heavy workout 7 times a week and a physically demanding job) BMR x 1.9

Example: a female who is 123llbs and 5 foot 4 age 29 has a BMR of 1354.55 (with no activity she will burn 1355.55 calories)

If her activity factor is 'active': 1354.55 x 1.725= 2336.59 calories just to survive/maintain current weight.

Step 4: Add/Subtract: If she wants to lose weight then she would have to have roughly a 500 calorie deficit to lose abut 1llb a week so she would have to eat 2336.59 - 500= 1836 calories a day

To gain weight add about 300 calories so: 2336.59 + 300= 2636 calories a day.

So there is your calculations, but you need to determine how much calories from macronutrients you need to eat. So here goes!

What are Macronutrients (macros)?

The main macros are of which eat have a number of calories per gram:

1, carbohydrates - 4 calories per gram

2, protein - 4 calories per gram

3, fat - 9 calories per gram

So if a food item has the following macros:

3g fat (3 x 9= 27 calories)

15g protein (15 x 4= 60 calories)

30g carbs (30 x 4= 120 calories)

So this food in total has 120+ 60+ 27=207 calories 

So what should your macros look like?

Protein - ideally you should have 1g per pound of body weight

Fat - ideally 0.4g per pound of body weight

Carbohydrates- there is no set number for this as its not an essential macro however you need it to fuel your workout so don't cut it out of your diet! Once you know how many calories you want to have a day based on your goal you will be able to calculate this.

So our above female example who weighs 123llbs and based on her goal to lose weight she needs to eat a total of 1836 calories a day: here is how to calculate number of calories per macro:

Protein: 123 x 1 (1g per pound of body weight) = 123g x 4= 492 (calories from protein)

Fat: 123 x 0.4 (0.4 per pound of body weight) = 49.2g x 9 = 442.8 (calories from fat)

You then add the above together and subtract from daily caloric needs to get the amount of calories needed from carbs so: 

492+442.8=934.8

1836-934.8 = 901.2 calories from carbohydrates 

To determine grams of carbohydrates you simple do this: 901.2 /4= 225.3 g from carbohydrates 

The reason why I feel it is important to be aware of the above calculations is because it is all well and good to know you need to eat 'x' amount of calories however if your eating way too much calories from either category of macros you will sabotage your goals. I know it is a pain to count calories and all these calculations seem tedious but this is probably where you may be making mistakes. And to be fair once you are aware and your used to it you should be able to eyeball it instead of having to weigh everything. Also sometimes people tend to underestimate the amount of calories they are eating which is why it is important to track your calories and macros to achieve the goals you desire.

I'm not a nutritionist I'm just sharing with you what I have learnt over the past year! If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask! 

Later!