Calculating Calories and Macros - How To

[westside233]

"Smaller people and people who have been lifting longer tend to do better with slower rates of weight gain, say 1 to 2 pounds per month."

Why is it that smaller people are better off gaining slower?

[BluePhoo]

Hi guys, want a little advice, hope you can point me in the right direction.
I have been to the doctors and have been told I have quite high blood pressure and cholesterol and was recommended to do exercise on a regular basis.

I want to go about this the right way, and this has given (hopefully)me the kick up the backside I've needed.
I don't want to bore with all the details, but I want to actually get into shape, and I'm quite skinny, with belly fat, so losing weight isn't really what I want. So I want to bulk up slightly but try and turn my fat into muscle.

Right now I am:
31
168lbs
5'8
I really don't know what my BF weight is to be honest.
While winter is upon us, I don't really care about putting on a bit of weight, but would aiming for 3,000 calories per day be way to much?
I'm going to do the fierce 5 routine and between off days, do some cycling for fitness / cardio
Thanks

[CommitmentRulz]

Hi guys, want a little advice, hope you can point me in the right direction.
I have been to the doctors and have been told I have quite high blood pressure and cholesterol and was recommended to do exercise on a regular basis.

If this is correct ^^^^^, I question whether eating in excess and adding weight is in your best interest right now.

[BluePhoo]

If this is correct ^^^^^, I question whether eating in excess and adding weight is in your best interest right now.

Maybe. She wasn't concerned with my weight and didn't mention losing weight.
She just wanted me to eat healthy and exercise more.

Maybe I should lose weight, but her advice made me think eating healthy, even if gaining weight, as long as it was good stuff, as well as getting fitter would be more than enough
I'll ask next time I see her

[Samword]

Great stuff

[Drewie79]

What can I say? Amazing information and tools. Thank you very much.

[deansy2016]

This may sounds really dumb, and I don't mean it to be, but how accurate is the TDEE calculator? Its saying I need to eat around 2900 calories but that seems quite a lot..

My worry is is that it doesn't factor in what exercises you are doing and the weight each person is lifting in the gym.. Does having more 5/6 exercises at higher weights in your routine, for say today, means you'll need more? Is this correct?

[Heisman2]

This may sounds really dumb, and I don't mean it to be, but how accurate is the TDEE calculator? Its saying I need to eat around 2900 calories but that seems quite a lot..

My worry is is that it doesn't factor in what exercises you are doing and the weight each person is lifting in the gym.. Does having more 5/6 exercises at higher weights in your routine, for say today, means you'll need more? Is this correct?

Any TDEE calculator provides an estimate that can be off by hundreds of calories. That's why you should pick a target, stick with it for a few weeks, and then adjust as necessary.

[Mrpb]

"Smaller people and people who have been lifting longer tend to do better with slower rates of weight gain, say 1 to 2 pounds per month."

Why is it that smaller people are better off gaining slower?

Because gaining a pound per week is doable for someone 6'5 new to lifting, but it would be way too much for someone 5'4.

[gr3gorio]

That's very helpful man! I really need this on my diet.

[Charlie Murphy]

"rest of calories as you wish after your fat and protein needs have been met"

This isn't entirely accurate though as it's also stated that men and women both need a certain level of fiber each day. Since fiber only comes from carbs, it's reasonable to assume that the rest of those calories should be taken up quite a bit with carb heavy foods, no?

[Heisman2]

"rest of calories as you wish after your fat and protein needs have been met"

This isn't entirely accurate though as it's also stated that men and women both need a certain level of fiber each day. Since fiber only comes from carbs, it's reasonable to assume that the rest of those calories should be taken up quite a bit with carb heavy foods, no?

Nope. Fiber only has 0-2 calories per gram. If you are aiming for 14 grams of fiber for every 1000 kcal intake (which is the general health recommendation), less the 3% of one's calories come from fiber. Vegetables can have a lot of fiber and few calories so you can still get enough fiber without many net carbs.

[Mrpb]

This isn't entirely accurate though as it's also stated that men and women both need a certain level of fiber each day.

Fiber and micronutrient targets should also be reached, as explained in the sticky.

Your diet should contain enough macronutrients, micronutrients and fiber.

[CosComWriters]

Can one manage absolute precision with TDEE routine?

[CosComWriters]

It is mechanical. You cannot trust it!

[Charlie Murphy]

Heisman,

True on the fiber content. BUT you would need to eat A LOT of veggies each day IF your trying to reach your fiber needs through veggies alone. Take Broc for instance. My package (no homo) says 2 grams of fiber per cup. Now if I'm trying to reach 38 grams of fiber a day as recommended on page one, I would need to eat 19 cups of broc a day (again if I was getting my fiber needs ONLY through veggies) With whole grains like oats, beans, fruit like berries and apples, flax, and sweet taters you can reach your numbers faster.

Mind you of course I'm not a fan of giving up any certain food. I struggled with a eating disorder for years and simply learned that in the long run you just can't forever say no to the foods you grew up on. It's all good, and everything has its place. Just as I couldn't give up steak, I also can't give up over fries, or ice cream at the end of the day. All about emphasizing the really good (foods packed with nutritional value) but not being so crazy as to be that guy that says "Um...no, sorry can't" when delicious freakin' birthday cake is offered.

[Heisman2]

Fair point on the vegetables. Also, FYI the 38 number comes from the 14g fiber/1000 kcal intake daily recommendation, which is extrapolated from dating suggesting cardiovascular benefits at that amount. There are no firm guidelines to suggest how much fiber is needed for the other various health benefits.

[Zay222]

Im confused how come sometimes i see people talking about gaining 1-2lbs a week and here its talking about 2-3 lbs in a month?

[aishafaze]

Thank you... trying to figure this all out has been so damn confusing. Every calculator I've used has given me different calorie intake results... I just want to make sure I'm getting what I need. I still havent figured out my intake for fat loss..and I'll be lifting weights..but this is a great start...any more advice you may have would be helpful thanks again.

[brettttt]

Great thread MrPb, making it so simple to break down whats required.

My stats are
6ft1 , 202lb , 42yrs ,
Excercise: Allpro Rountine 3x week

main 2500 cals
cut target 2100-2200

Protein 162g - 648cal
Fat 82g - 738cal
- 714cal left For *Carbs/Fat/Pro depending on how body performs.
*Reference just carbs 178g's

Fibre 38g

Adjust according to a 1-2lb -+ gain per week

So looks about right according to my maths and you're help.

the only issue I have is I'm carry weight around my belly,
so should I be cutting to help with this and reduce my overal weight.

thanks

[LordVader88]

protein is expensive, at least where I live

and in history lots of strong lean people rarely had meat, like in dark ages Europe. So how did they manage to be lumberjacks or stonemasons for example ??

[Deverne]

A very interesting article, thanks!

[nanawang2233]

Summary: The request failed due to a fatal device hardware error or not accessible fatal device hardware error is common seen error that causes data loss from Western Digital or Seagate hard drive, today in this article we will focus on how to fix this issue.



We had a customer yesterday sent us an email and asked why his computer was having the request failed due to a fatal device hardware error , he couldn't access the Seagate hard drive after received the error message. Then, he asked our help and finally he got back the data and fixed the issue.

That's why today we would like to tell about this issue and we are willing to show you in steps in order to make sure everyone who can perform do-it-yourself fix and recovery.
What is the Request Failed Due to A fatal Device Hardware Error?
To explain what is the request failed due to a fatal device hardware error happens on WD or Seagate hard drive to whom does not meet such issue before; we took a screenshot as below:

Generally, you'll got an error message showing that X: \path name is not accessible. The request failed due to fatal device hardware error. Yet, you may receive such location is not available error message no matter from the hard drive, SD card or on Disk management on Windows 7/8/10.
Summary: The request failed due to a fatal device hardware error or not accessible fatal device hardware error is common seen error that causes data loss from Western Digital or Seagate hard drive, today in this article we will focus on how to fix this issue.



We had a customer yesterday sent us an email and asked why his computer was having the request failed due to a fatal device hardware error , he couldn't access the Seagate hard drive after received the error message. Then, he asked our help and finally he got back the data and fixed the issue.

That's why today we would like to tell about this issue and we are willing to show you in steps in order to make sure everyone who can perform do-it-yourself fix and recovery.
What is the Request Failed Due to A fatal Device Hardware Error?
To explain what is the request failed due to a fatal device hardware error happens on WD or Seagate hard drive to whom does not meet such issue before; we took a screenshot as below:

Generally, you'll got an error message showing that X: \path name is not accessible. The request failed due to fatal device hardware error. Yet, you may receive such location is not available error message no matter from the hard drive, SD card or on Disk management on Windows 7/8/10.
read more? Please visit:3 Ways to Fix The Request Failed Due to A fatal Device Hardware Error

[KMShep]

Carbs are life!

[Loritah]

Can someone help here?

Macronutrient Intake

Make sure that your diet meets the minimum protein and fat intake.

Protein minimum: 0.7 gram per pound of bodyweight (or target/ideal weight in the obese).

I am 56 kilos, 126 pounds, how much protein should I have a day?
Thanks

[xsquid99]

Can someone help here?

Macronutrient Intake

Make sure that your diet meets the minimum protein and fat intake.

Protein minimum: 0.7 gram per pound of bodyweight (or target/ideal weight in the obese).

I am 56 kilos, 126 pounds, how much protein should I have a day?
Thanks

126 x 0.7g = at least 88g MINIMUM

[DavidGould]

Thank you very much! I'm following your guidelines. Makes a lot of sense. I was wondering why every calculator gives different numbers but like you said, it's ok as long as my macros minimums are meet. After that I can experiment with different propportions like higher carbs and lower fat. Thank you once again!

[Persian206]

General Info: 36yr old male, 6ft, 202lbs | Target weight 185lbs ~15% bodyfat

Summery: When I was in my early 20's I was fat ~230lbs, decided to get in shape. By 26 I was in the best shape of my life, 175lbs and had a good amount of muscle and a baby 6pack lol. Fast forward to 36yrs old and I was back to 235lbs and what felt like no muscle on my body. I've dropped 33lbs since July 4 2018 to get to my current weight of 202lbs. I've never kept track of Macros in my life.

Goal: I wan't to hit 185lbs as my next milestone. During my initial weight loss i've been eating 1200-1500 calories per day and if I had to guess on average I was eating about 80g protein, 150g carbs, 80g fat. I've definitely gained some muscle as well but I want to be as efficient as possible.

I put my Info into a TDEE calc and it's saying to eat 165g P, 73g F, 83g C on the cutting section under lower carb. I've been playing with my meals and can realistically get to 110-30g protein 60g fat 80g carbs. With that I'm still 35-50g's of Protein short..


Question: Do I really need to eat that much protein? how do my Macro's look? Also I've been thinking of trying intermediate fasting with a eating window from 12pm-8pm aka 16/8. I'm not trying to be a bodybuilder, but would like to have some toned muscles and a flat stomach. Any tips or help would be much appreciated.


Workout: For the last 3 months (minus 2 weeks where I wasn't able to go) I've been on a pretty strict schedule of 5days a week at the gym. 90% doing weights with a sprinkle of cardio. My splits are chest&Tris, Back&Bi's, Legs&abs(I do some shoulders too) with my 2 rest days on Wed or Thurs and Sunday.


Thanks again in advance.

[AThreeFitness]

Great write up OP. I need to get back into counting/ tracking my Macros. The only tracking I currently do is tracking them from my plate to my mouth! OOPS!

[jhyatt3315]

So just to make sure I am understanding correctly; if I am a male who weighs 450 pounds but I want to weigh 250 pounds I should base my protein, fat, and carb intake using the goal weight of 250?