Calculating Calories & Macros.
By now, we have got lots of basic things under control - drinking sufficient water every day, getting enough rest, eating consistent meals and getting a good amount of activity daily (steps and home workouts.)
No we can start to be more specific with the number of calories we need to consume to reach our specific goals.
Everybody's calorie and macro intake should be different and it depends on 5 factors:
Weight
Age
Height
Gender
Level of activity
Once you have these numbers you can use a number of different equations / online calculators to find out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Calories are units of energy spent, so If calories match your total daily energy expenditure you will maintain the same weight. If you eat less you will lose weight and eat more you will gain weight.
The BMR (base metabolic rate) ia another equation you can do, or you may have heard of. Your BMR is basically your TDEE without your activity level taken into account. So your BMR is how many calories your body uses doing basic functions, keeping the body alive, without moving at all.
A really good calorie calculator to start with can be found here:
I am not affiliated with this company in any way but I really appreciate the quality of their online tools!
Once you have your TDEE number, you can take off anywhere between 10-25% of those calories per day to lose weight, and add the same to gain weight.
This is where food tracking comes in. You can track manually as you go through your day, adding everything you eat or you can use an online database or an App. My fitness app has a large food database where my clients can add and track everything they want to eat. (Search Phoenix Fitness on the play / apple store or go to my website www.vanessaphoenixfitness for more information on membership.)
Once you have your calories figured out you can take it one step further by also controlling your macro nutrients - PROTEIN, FAT AND CARBS. I am sure you've heard of these but maybe you're not sure what they do and how much you should have.
This can be super complicated and complex depending on the individual but the main takeaways for now are:
Minimum 0.8g protein per pound of bodyweight per day (for example, I weight 65KG which is equivalent to 143 Lbs. 0.8 x 143 = 114 grams protein per day.
Carbs are energy - they are the equivalent to petrol in the car. You need carbs to fuel your activity. However if you have a sedentary lifestyle you don't need too much fuel. So start with 100g carbs a day and see how you feel and what your results are and adjust from there.
The remainder of your calorie allowance will go on fats (healthy fats) which are 9kcals per gram. So, if after you have calculated your protein and fat allowance you have 500 calories left, you would divide 500 by 9 and that would give you 55.5 grams of fat per day.
Of course, if you need help with all these numbers, visit my website www.vanessaphoenixfitness.com, choose the app based plan called 'Food Plan' and I will calculate it for you plus provide a full meal by meal food plan for you.
