Macronutrients V.S. Calories - Computing for your needs and goals

In my previous post on calories, I introduced the importance of macronutrients when building a sound nutritional plan.  I also promised that I would create a general guide for calculating macronutrient and calorie needs - Anybody can say they'll eat 1500kcal a day.  It's where they're going to get those 1500kcal from that's the issue.

So here's a quick EXTREMELY GENERAL guide to assist you when figuring out your macros and calories, depending on your goals.  I'm assuming you have goals, or you wouldn't even be reading this.

Step 1: Figure out your BMR (basal metabolic rate)


The easiest way to explain BMR is this - These are the calories Sleeping Beauty needs.  She doesn't eat, she doesn't move, she doesn't think, watch TV, work a desk job, exercise, whatever.  She's just in bed, sleeping.  These are the calories her body needs to keep her alive.

To compute for BMR, let's just use the standard formula:

For men:

BMR = 66.5 + ( 13.75 x weight in kg ) + ( 5.003 x height in cm ) – ( 6.775 x age in years )

For women:

BMR = 655.1 + ( 9.563 x weight in kg ) + ( 1.850 x height in cm ) – ( 4.676 x age in years )

It is important to note that at best, this can only give you a guess-timate of your BMR.  If you are obese or extremely muscular, this thing will not work at all for you.  Email me for a free consultation and we'll see what we can do.

Step 2: Activity multipliers

Most websites usually ask you to multiply your BMR with an "activity multiplier," depending on your lifestyle to come up with a figure for your daily maintenance calorie requirements.  Forget about that.  The BMR we have is a simple estimate, so unless you're trying to put on some significant muscle, using an activity multiplier will do you more harm than good (translated: activity multipliers make you fat).

Step 3: Identify your goal

Goal 1 - Fat Loss

If you have a double chin and don't see your abs, this should probably be your goal.  Simple as that.

Goal 2 - Muscle Gain

If you have at least four-pack abs, and you want to gain more muscle, this is the one for you.

Goal 3 - Maintain

Just do what you've always done.  Seems to be working for you. :)

Step 4: Set calories according to goal

If your goal is fat loss, then decrease the amount of calories you take by 20%, or

BMR x .8 = Calories for fat loss

If your goal is muscle gain, then INCREASE the amount of calories you take in by 20%, or

BMR x 1.2 = Calories for muscle gain

Pretty simple, right?  Now let's get down to macronutrients!

Step 5: Calculate macronutrient needs

A quick Science lesson, with a little creative license to fit our needs:

1g protein = 4kcal

1g carbohydrates = 4kcal

1g fat = 9kcal

Protein repairs and builds muscles.

Carbohydrates fuel the body.

Fat is essential for healthy cellular and brain function.

Basically, our bodies NEED all three macronutrients, but they each come with what I like to call "calorie costs."

A man who is on a diet that dictates he only has an intake of 2000kcal daily means he has only 2000kcal to "spend" on these macronutrients.  How does he choose how much of each macronutrient to get?

Let me be clear and say that there is NO ONE OPTIMAL RATIO for macronutrient intake.  Everybody is different, and so are their macro needs.  Again, this is an EXTREMELY general guide.  

Protein - The most common figure for protein needs is usually 2g/kg of lean body mass (LBM).  If you don't know what your LBM is, relax.  Here's a handy image guide for BF% I picked up off Google:

Men first:

For the ladies:

So if you look like you're at 20% BF, then your LBM is at 80%, and so on and so on.  Time for some Math!  Take your weight in kg, then multiply it by your LBM% to get your LBM in kg.  Multiply that figure by 2, and that's how many grams of protein you should be taking in.  Sample:

If you weigh 80kg with 20% BF, then your daily protein intake will look a little like this:

Protein in grams = (80kg x .8) x 2 = 128g of protein  

Carbohydrates and Fat - This is where it gets tricky.  There are many diets out there that advocate low-carb practices, and believe it or not, they actually work.  However, I am going to assume that you enjoy pizza, and pasta, and fries, and bread, and rice.  I know I do.

Fat has also been unfairly vilified by the health industry, mainly because it's an easy scapegoat.  Dietary fat in moderation is actually a good thing; in fact, Inuit who live mainly off dietary fat have the lowest incidence of heart disease in the world (most likely a ketogenic side-effect, but let's keep thing simple for now.)   Besides, our bodies NEED fat to function properly. 

For our purposes though, let us keep fat relatively low.  Around 40-80 grams of fat daily should be enough to keep your body happy and your cravings at bay, no matter your weight.

As for carbohydrates, all you've got to do is balance the equation!  Let's bring it all together with a sample subject:

EXAMPLE

Suppose you are 26 years old, male, 173cm, and 80kg with 20% BF.  Your BMR would be:

BMR = 66.5 + ( 13.75 x 80 ) + ( 5.003 x 173 ) – ( 6.775 x 26 ) = 1,854kcal

And because you won't see your abs at 20% BF, you will subtract 20% off your BMR:

1,854 x .8 = 1,483kcal

We already know that your protein intake should be at around 128g, and that your fat intake should be at around 40-80g (let's just say 60g), so:

1,483kcal = 128g (4kcal) + 60g (9kcal) + Xg (4kcal), where X is the amount of carbohydrates you should be consuming. 

After some basic algebra, the answer is clear!  X = 100, or 100g of carbohydrates!

1483kcal = 128g protein (4kcal) + 60g fat (9kcal) + 100g carbs (4kcal)

Again, I cannot stress enough how this is only a GENERAL guide.  There are many other factors to consider when building a more accurate macronutrient profile plan, and I can't discuss every single possibility here.  Just email me to ask, and I'll try to get back to you ASAP.

If you do plan on following this guide, I have a few pieces of advice for you:

• Don't stress over it.  You don't need to follow your macros and calories EXACTLY.  Just be in the general ballpark (100-150kcal over or under is no big deal, and don't sweat a few extra grams of fat or carbs.)
• Use the scale, mirror, and weighing scale regularly, but not often.  By regularly, I mean you should check your progress at the same time, on the same day, every week.  This way, you can see if you need to adjust your calories + macros.  
• Check the nutrition information for the foods you eat online - Fitday and MyFitnessPal are awesome FREE services.  

Oh, did a little more researching, so image credits go to:

• vibrantsexystrong.com
• leighpeele.com