Calculating Calories and Macros - How To

[Pregily]

Well done, thanks for info
but when you try to count and eat with that rules it's hard. Still

[TheMasheen]

I'm trying to get my diet figured out and in order and I've been reading through this helpful thread but I have one question that I am somewhat confused about and maybe I'm misunderstanding

My goal is to lower my bf% and I see that I should find my TDEE and then subtract 500 calories or so for weight loss. Don't mind the numbers, im just loosely speaking for sake of an example. So let's say TDEE is 2200. I take off 500 cals and get 1700. What I am confused on is if I eat 1700 cals and I exercise hard, wouldn't the cals i lose during exercising put me at 1300 cals? At that point I'm 900 cals under my TDEE. . Wouldn't I want to eat 2200 calories and my exercising would decrease the cals to 1700? What am I missing? Or is that 500 calories that the OP mentioned on the first page for someone who isn't exercising? Thank you

[Heisman2]

I'm trying to get my diet figured out and in order and I've been reading through this helpful thread but I have one question that I am somewhat confused about and maybe I'm misunderstanding

My goal is to lower my bf% and I see that I should find my TDEE and then subtract 500 calories or so for weight loss. Don't mind the numbers, im just loosely speaking for sake of an example. So let's say TDEE is 2200. I take off 500 cals and get 1700. What I am confused on is if I eat 1700 cals and I exercise hard, wouldn't the cals i lose during exercising put me at 1300 cals? At that point I'm 900 cals under my TDEE. . Wouldn't I want to eat 2200 calories and my exercising would decrease the cals to 1700? What am I missing? Or is that 500 calories that the OP mentioned on the first page for someone who isn't exercising? Thank you

Your TDEE should include the exercise.

Regardless, subtracting 500 is an estimate. The real key is to stick with some strategy for a couple of weeks, track your rate of weight gain or loss and then adjust accordingly.

[TheMasheen]

Your TDEE should include the exercise.

Regardless, subtracting 500 is an estimate. The real key is to stick with some strategy for a couple of weeks, track your rate of weight gain or loss and then adjust accordingly.

ahh, thats where I had it wrong. I will re-calculate the TDEE to include my exercise. That makes more sense now. Thank you!

[JonneVK]

Hi! I've been doing more or less gym exercises for quite some time already but now it's gotten more "serious" and I try to gain some muscle instead of just sweat and smile. I'm a bit confused with the amount of daily fat.

I just checked my regular meals and found out that by adding a tin of tuna (on top of two to four slices of bread and then cheese on top of the tuna, warmed in the owen) to each day I'll be meeting my minimum protein for my ideal weight which is at the moment 80kg. My current weight is less than 75kg. I'll see about getting heavier after reaching 80kg. Most likely I'll just maintain that as well as I can if I ever get there.

But the fat. Ideal fat is 70g per day. My current intake is about 30g daily. How on earth am I supposed to increase that to 70g? Do you guys drink oil or what? Do you have any advice where to find the missing fat? I eat breakfast plus three meals (plus the extra tuna starting from this evening) plus one small dessert plus a fruit or two. I also drink one protein shake (whey & milk or the water from boiling my meals) daily. So I can't really include any more meals daily, this is as stuffed as I can go in that area.

Should I simply add a lot of coconut oil, butter & olive oil to my meals? How would you increase the fat itake by about 40g?

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!

EDIT: My age is calculated incorrectly. I'm 36 years old. And yes, I marked the correct date to my profile but I see here next to my post "Age:49."

[Mrpb]

Should I simply add a lot of coconut oil, butter & olive oil to my meals? How would you increase the fat itake by about 40g?

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!

Olive oil is fine. Butter is not.

Fatty fish, nuts, nut butters, seeds, avocadoes are great sources of fat.

[JonneVK]

Olive oil is fine. Butter is not.

Fatty fish, nuts, nut butters, seeds, avocadoes are great sources of fat.

Butter is not ok because of what? Do you have opinions on coconut oil, too?

[Mrpb]

Butter is not ok because of what?

The effect on CVD risk.

Do you have opinions on coconut oil, too?

Better than butter. But I would opt for extra virgin olive oil, fatty fish, nuts, nut butters, seeds, avocados first.

[JonneVK]

Thanks, I'll see into that. I think I have to start pouring olive oli dramatically on top of my meals to meet the goal of 70g oil / day.

[Mrpb]

Thanks, I'll see into that. I think I have to start pouring olive oli dramatically on top of my meals to meet the goal of 70g oil / day.

No, that's not the case at all. For example: 40 gram of nuts, a salad with olive oil and some seeds, some dairy and a piece of salmon can easily total over 70 gram of fat.

[JonneVK]

No, that's not the case at all. For example: 40 gram of nuts, a salad with olive oil and some seeds, some dairy and a piece of salmon can easily total over 70 gram of fat.

Oops, a typo there. I ment 70g of fat, not 70g of oil. I eat a daily salad with olive oil, walnuts and sunflower seeds. I think that the amount of nuts is around 20 grams; I don't eat much of them. Less than 20g of cheese gives around 6g of fat. About 10g from fish. I'd guess that's a total of about 25g of fat. Chicken has practically none. I add some coconut oil to my meals, probably maximum of about 15g daily. Morning egg is a bit more than 10g. I'm thinking to double the egg in the morning to two so that'd be less than 25g. I also have a good spoon of almond butter daily as a part of my dessert. That's maximum of 5g of fat.

Thanks a lot for exchanging thoughts! Now I realize that actually I am consuming about the ideal amount of fat and protein per day (if the 0.7 and 0.4 per pound ratios are ideal). I don't count calories, maybe I should. Basically I feel no need for carbs; breakfast and three meals include veggies and oil so I'm satisfied. The only part of my menu that's considered carbs is two slices of full grain bread and occasional small amount of rice.

EDIT: I could change the coconut-olive ratio more to olive side and keep the amount of added oil similar to what it is now if I find it to be healthier.

[FritoFace]

Do you have to adjust nutrients based on calories?

For example USDA is based on 2000 cal per day, so hypothetically the USDA might say eat 1 cup of spinach to get recommended amount of potassium, but that's based on 2000 calories, so how do you adjust based on calories for a lesser amount?

I'm eating 1200 to lose weight but want to eat enough calcium, ect for health.

[FritoFace]

Skinnydream1991,

You might find info on obesetobeast or every damn day fitness? I'm 190 female and losing weight and wanted info on nutrient needs like calcium among others.

[Mrpb]

Do you have to adjust nutrients based on calories?

For example USDA is based on 2000 cal per day, so hypothetically the USDA might say eat 1 cup of spinach to get recommended amount of potassium, but that's based on 2000 calories, so how do you adjust based on calories for a lesser amount?

I'm eating 1200 to lose weight but want to eat enough calcium, ect for health.

You can check the micronutrient content of your diet on www.cronometer.com

[khazzaka]

Butter is not ok because of what? Do you have opinions on coconut oil, too?

ci=coconut oil seems to be fairly overhyped and expensive! You can even add fatty fish like salmon its loaded with fat. fatty cuts of steak have a lot of fat also, but fish gives you those omega 3s. Aim for wild atlantic salmon! nuts & seeds peanuts are super cheap sources of fat! sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (high omega 3)

[khazzaka]

Hi! I've been doing more or less gym exercises for quite some time already but now it's gotten more "serious" and I try to gain some muscle instead of just sweat and smile. I'm a bit confused with the amount of daily fat.

I just checked my regular meals and found out that by adding a tin of tuna (on top of two to four slices of bread and then cheese on top of the tuna, warmed in the owen) to each day I'll be meeting my minimum protein for my ideal weight which is at the moment 80kg. My current weight is less than 75kg. I'll see about getting heavier after reaching 80kg. Most likely I'll just maintain that as well as I can if I ever get there.

But the fat. Ideal fat is 70g per day. My current intake is about 30g daily. How on earth am I supposed to increase that to 70g? Do you guys drink oil or what? Do you have any advice where to find the missing fat? I eat breakfast plus three meals (plus the extra tuna starting from this evening) plus one small dessert plus a fruit or two. I also drink one protein shake (whey & milk or the water from boiling my meals) daily. So I can't really include any more meals daily, this is as stuffed as I can go in that area.

Should I simply add a lot of coconut oil, butter & olive oil to my meals? How would you increase the fat itake by about 40g?

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!

EDIT: My age is calculated incorrectly. I'm 36 years old. And yes, I marked the correct date to my profile but I see here next to my post "Age:49."

I find fats pretty easy to hit! high fat cheeses like cheddar, high fat yogurt, nuts seeds (as i mentioned earlier), peanut butter, whole eggs, fatty meats like steak/salmon, avocados in smoothie is you drink them, salad dressing (olive oil based recommended)

[khazzaka]

Fat loss is the result of a consistent calorie deficit over time. Intermittent fasting does NOTHING for fat burning, its just a tool for reducing your caloric intake by limiting yourself to a smaller eating window and is done for personal preference or convenience only. If its more convenient for you to have a larger eating window then intermittent fasting is not for you.

That certainly sounds like it makes sense, I havn't checked to see if there are any studies that compare the same caloric intake in a fasting state vs traditional eating patterns

[Paulie1986]

ahh, thats where I had it wrong. I will re-calculate the TDEE to include my exercise. That makes more sense now. Thank you!

I did exactly that haha. Maintenance was 2200 I was like 'So I'm gonna lift heavy ass weights and lots of cardio 5x a week, turning myself into friggin' Rambo and I can only eat about 1700 calories a day?'

If you just went to work and came home and watched movies and played games then it makes sense...but I still wouldn't start at 1700 anyways. Maybe at 2100 and see.

[Paulie1986]

I'm just confuzzled slightly by the whole macros thingy.

I'm planning to cut on 2400 calories. 181g of protein and 94g of fat. I've worked it out to be 1570 for those.

I'm left with 870...but whatever I eat with that amount there's going to be either/or fat and protein in it so I may be going over those macros.

Within a caloric deficit, how much can you go over on macros?

[Mrpb]

I'm just confuzzled slightly by the whole macros thingy.

I'm planning to cut on 2400 calories. 181g of protein and 94g of fat. I've worked it out to be 1570 for those.

I'm left with 870...but whatever I eat with that amount there's going to be either/or fat and protein in it so I may be going over those macros.

Within a caloric deficit, how much can you go over on macros?

Did you read the first post well? This is answered there.

Why 94 grams of fat?

[Ev0lutionn]

Hey guys, I was wondering how the protein minimum 0.7g / lb and fat minimum of 0.4g / lb has been derived... I'm having much less fat than the 0.4g / lb number, how would that affect me? And there's no carb minimum?

[LeoCardenas]

Hello. I was hoping that someone here could help me with the amount of calories i should be consuming daily, because i’ve hit a plateau. I am currently consuming 1500 cals a day (tracking with MyFitnessPal), and 10% carbs, 35% protein, and 55% fat. I started all of this when I was 13 and 170 lbs and realized i needed to change. So far I have lost 30 lbs (bringing me down to 140) but I am still severely obese and I have to change this but I really don’t know how many calories I should be consuming to meet my goal. I’d say i’m moderately active as well because i lift weights three times a week, cardio everyday (i work in corn detasseling right now so i log anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 steps a day), and I tend to go for short bike rides a lot too. I’ve tried asking my doctor but all he said was “eat healthy” which is pretty much what i’ve been doing since the start, and i’m scared of gaining weight back from eating more or less. I am currently 14 years old (male), 140lbs, and 5’3”. Please help me with this, as i am desperate at this point for a useful answer.

[StrongBigLean]

**I had trouble replying to this thread, I think bb.com thought I was a bot, so I had to split it up over 6 posts**

Hi,

I'm calculating my required grams of protein and grams of fat in order to gain muscle (and weight). I am 178cm, around 71kg, I'm a little bit skinny but also have a bit of puppy fat. I've got my own home gym and workout around 4 days a week in the morning.

The OP of this current thread recommends 0.7g of protein per pound of total bodyweight and 0.4g of fat per pound of total bodyweight.

My calculations using the recommendations in this current thread:

total bodyweight: 157 pounds
protein: 109.9g
fat: 62.8g

This seems a little low to me based on previous times (back in 2015) when I calculated my required calories, grams of protein and grams of fat.

[StrongBigLean]

I also looked at this post in this thread (https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...#post724068131) which mentioned eating 1-1.5g of protein per pound of Lean body mass and 0.45-1g of fat per pound of total bodyweight

My calculations using the recommendations in the post in this other thread:

Using 20% estimated bodyfat
total bodyweight: 157 pounds
Lean body mass: 125.6 pounds
protein: 125.6g - 188.4g
fat: 70.65g - 157g

Using 25% estimated bodyfat
total bodyweight: 157 pounds
Lean body mass: 117.75 pounds
protein: 117.75g - 176.625g
fat: 70.65g - 157g

Using 30% estimated bodyfat
total bodyweight: 157 pounds
Lean body mass: 109.9 pounds
protein: 109.9g - 164.85g
fat: 70.65g - 157g

As you can see, using the recommendations in the post in the other thread gives significantly higher amounts for protein and fat.

[StrongBigLean]

I also note that the OP says:

Protein minimum: 0.7 gram per pound of bodyweight (or target/ideal weight in the obese).
(for optimal body building purposes and during energy deficit higher intakes may provide additional benefits.)

[StrongBigLean]

I realise that the best way to know what is the best macros for me is to try it out, monitor my weight and strength, and alter my macros and calories accordingly, and I will do this over time, however, just to start on the best possible path, and potentially save time eating less protein and fat than required and making less progress during that time, I have a few questions:

1) protein: should I use 0.7g/pound of total bodyweight or 1-1.5g/pound of lean mass? And if using the latter should I use 1g or 1.25g or 1.5g???

[StrongBigLean]

2) fat: should I use 0.4g/pound of total bodyweight or 0.45-1g/pound of total bodyweight? And if using the latter should I use 0.45g or 0.725g or 1g???

[StrongBigLean]

3) When I calculated by macros back in 2015 there was a killer thread by a lady named Emma-Leigh (I think the post from the other thread I linked to was quoted from that thread by Emma-Leigh).
Where has this thread gone? Why was it taken down?

Thanks,

StrongBigLean

[Mrpb]

@ StrongBigLean, I suggest using all the information in the OP of this thread.

[StrongBigLean]

@ StrongBigLean, I suggest using all the information in the OP of this thread.

Thanks Mrpb

are the recommendations a bit lower because, after calculating required protein and fat, I'll then eat any food (which could contain additional protein and fat) to get the required calories?