How To Calculate Your Calories and Adjust Your Macronutrients

I have simplified the information as best as I can, but don’t be surprised if you have a lot more questions. 12 Week Plans are available here if you’d prefer my help with calculating yours.

Quick Notes:

• Weight loss is not determined by the amount of meals you have, but by the amount of calories you consume. Eat too much calories, and you’ll gain weight. Eat fewer calories, and you’ll lose weight.
• Everybody has different calorie levels, determined by age, gender, height, weight, and more.
• The diet runs in union with your Training. You will have 2 different amounts of calories for the 2 different days – 1 for Training days. 1 for Rest days.
• Higher calories on Training Days. Lower calories on Rest Days.
• Calories aren’t the only factor, but also Macronutrients – Proteins, Carbohydrates and fats.
  These define the type of calories you eat, and in turn, define what body shape you have.
• Proteins stay the same everyday.
• Carbohydrates and Fats are cycled with Training Day and Rest day.
  Training Day: High Carbohydrates, Low Fat.
  Rest Day: Low Carbohydrates, Medium Fats.

Calculate Your Personal Daily Calorie Limit

To achieve your physique, you must first know your Daily Calorie Limit.

Here is a formula for working it out. (Note: BMR means basal metabolic rate)

Men	BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in years)
Women	BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in years)

Once you have your BMR total, eg 2000 calories, you will multiply it by the amount of activity you do:

*Caution: Easy to over estimate activity level. Better to start with a lower one and add later, if needed.

Little to no exercise	Daily Calorie Limit = BMR x 1.2
Light exercise (1–3 days per week)	Daily Calorie Limit = BMR x 1.375
Moderate exercise (3–5 days per week)	Daily Calorie Limit = BMR x 1.55
Heavy exercise (6–7 days per week)	Daily Calorie Limit = BMR x 1.725
Very heavy exercise (twice per day, extra heavy workouts)	Daily Calorie Limit = BMR x 1.9

Example: Lets say your BMR is 2000, and you do Little to no exercise.

= 2000 (BMR) x 1.2 (Little to no exercise)

=2400 calories –> This is now your Daily Calorie Limit.

• Eat 2400 calories everyday, you will maintain your weight.
• Eat under your daily calorie limit, you will lose weight.
• Eat over it, you’ll gain weight.

Simple?

Once you have your calories sorted, you will need to adjust them to work in unison with your Training days and Rest days. You’ll consume higher calories on Training Days, and lower calories on Rest Days.

Adjust Your Calories Toward Your Goal

You’ll have 2 different meal plans. You will have a certain (higher) amount of calories for Training Day, and a certain (lower) amount of calories for Rest day.

The amount of calories will be determined by your goal.

Below are the general rules for adjusting your calories towards your desired goal.

Weight Loss and Fat loss:
Training Day Calories = Daily Calorie Limit
Rest Day Calories = Daily Calorie Limit -20%

Lean Muscle Gain:
Training Day Calories = Daily Calorie Limit +20%
Rest Day Calories = Daily Calorie Limit

Re-composition/Maintenance: (lose fat and gain muscle while remaining the same weight)
Training Day Calories = Daily Calorie Limit +20%
Rest Day Calories = Daily Calorie Limit -20%

For example: Using the Daily Calorie Limit example of 2400, let’s say your goal is Fat loss.

You will adjust your calories as such:

Training Day Calories = 2400 (no change)

Rest Day Calories = 2400 – 20%

= 2400 x 0.2

= 480 – now subtract this amount from your Daily Calorie Limit.

= 2400 – 480

= 1920 calories – This is the amount of calories you will eat for Rest days.

Basically: You will eat 2400 calories on Training days, and 1920 on Rest days.

Another example: Using 2400, again; say your goal is Muscle gain. You will adjust it as such:

Training Day Calories = 2400 + 20%

= 2400 x 1.2

= 2880 calories – This is the adjusted amount of calories you will eat for Training days.

Rest Day Calories = 2400 (no change)

Basically: You will eat 2880 calories on Training days, and 2400 calories on Rest days.

Again, calories are what determines your weight, so it’s very important to know your Daily Calorie Limit. However, to determine what type of weight you carry, you will need to adjust your macronutrients which are: Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats.

Adjust Your Macronutrients

You will eat:

• High Protein everyday.
• High Carbohydrates on Training Day; low on Rest day.
• Low Fats on Training Day; medium on Rest day.

This is my personal rule of thumb to go by when eating:

Training Days:

Protein = eat anywhere from 80g upwards.
Carbohydrates = eat however much to make up the rest of your calories for that day.
Fats = 50g max, but I usually avoid them altogether on Training Day and don’t bother counting.

Rest Days:

Protein = same as Training Day
Fats = eat a max of 80g
Carbohydrates = eat however much to make up the rest of your calories for that day. Try to eat non-starchy carbs though eg, fruit, veggies, etc, as opposed to rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.

The way I do it, is I prioritize Protein first; letting them fill the first part of my calories. Second is Fats. And finally, Carbohydrates. These will make up the remaining amount of calories I have for the day.

For example: Lets say its Training Day, and the calorie limit is 2400 calories.

A 250g Chicken breast is approx. 80g Protein and 400 Calories.

If I eat 2 x chicken breasts, then I have eaten a total of 160g Protein, and 800 Calories. This means that I have basically used up my given Protein amount for the day (80g+) and that I have 1600 calories left to eat. The remaining 1600 calories would be made up of carbohydrates.

Another Example: Lets say its Rest Day, and the calorie limit is 1500 calories.

If I eat 250g of mince, then I have eaten 60g Protein, 40g Fat, and 600 calories. Then lets say I decided to eat 4 x eggs on top of that. I have added 30g Protein, 20g Fat, and 320 calories.

In total, I would have consumed 90g Protein, 60g Fat, and 920 calories. This means that I have basically used up both my Protein and Fats, and that I only have 580 calories left to eat. The remaining calories can be used up by more Protein, or by non-starchy carbohydrates like veggies and fruit. Protein will help keep you fuller though, so you may want that option.

Fill your calories with Protein first, Fats second, then use the Carbohydrates to fill in the remaining calories.

[Note: Junk food is higher in calories than whole foods. It would be better to eat whole foods, as you can eat a decent amount of them and still keep calories low. But if you want to eat junk food, then keep in mind that calories are higher, meaning you’ll have to eat less, meaning you could be hungry often]

Summary:

• Calories determine your weight.
• Macronutrients define the type of weight you carry.
• Fill your calories with Protein first, Fats second, then Carbohydrates to fill in the rest.

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