Your Daily Calorie Intake

So you want to get in shape? Well whether you know it or not the food you consume is more important than how hard you workout (although obviously working out is a necessity). If you want to take your fitness routine to the next level I highly recommend getting your diet in check. This can easily be done by caclulating your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).Your BMR is the amount of calories you need to consume to maintain your body if you were completely inactive. This can be calculated with the following formulas:

1. Harris- Benedict formula
MEN: BMR = 66 + [13.7 x weight (kg)] + [5 x height (cm)] – [6.76 x age (years)]
WOMEN: BMR = 655 + [9.6 x weight (kg)] + [1.8 x height (cm)] – [4.7 x age (years)]
2. Mifflin-St Jeor
MEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] – [4.92 x age (years)] + 5
WOMEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] – [4.92 x age (years)] -161
3. Katch-McArdle
BMR = 370 + (21.6 x LBM)Where LBM = [total weight (kg) x (100 - bodyfat %)]/100

Once you have used one of these equations you can then calculate your TDEE. This will tell you the average number of calories you burn based on your BMR and your daily activity level.

Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise and a desk or still standing job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise or sports one to three times per week)
Moderately active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise or sports three to five times per week)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise or sports six to seven times per week)
Extremely active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise or sports and a physical job, or twice a day training for an athletic event such as for a marathon or intense competition)

The figure you come up with will be the average number of calories you burn daily. This number is important and from it you can adjust your calorie intake depending on if you are trying to add mass/muscle, reduce body fat, or maintain your goal.

If you want to decrease or lose mass then  you should subtract 10-20% from your TDEE

If you are looking to increase mass then you should add 10-20% to your TDEE

You can then monitor and adjust as needed.

If you want to go the next step beyond this you could then break it down into macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat). You can use a 40%,40%,20% ratio for this with the 40%’s being protein and carbs and the 20% being fat.

Example. If your TDEE is 2200 calories a day then you should be consuming:
40% protein =880 calories
40% carbohydrates = 880 calories
20% fat = 440 calories

To obtain how many grams these calorie counts would equal use the following adjustments:
1 gram of protein = 4 kcal
1 gram of carbs = 4kcal
1 gram fat = 9kcal

With this information we can figure out that we should be consuming the following daily amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fats:

protein =880 calories / 4 = 220 grams of protein
carbohydrates = 880 calories / 4 =  220 grams of carbohydrates
fat = 440 calories / 9 = 48.89 grams of fat

Okay so now that it is all broken down for you go ahead and give it a try! It makes a world of a difference!