# How to calculate your calorie & protein needs



## nkira (Jan 18, 2009)

For anyone who doesnt know this...

There are several ways to calculate your calorie needs as well as protein

*1.) Least accurate - by bodyweight*

For weight loss - multiply bodyweight by 12-13
Maintainence = 15-16
Weight Gain = 18-20, or more


*Formulas to find Basal Metabolic Rate*

*2.) Harris Benedict Formula - Good accuracy*

This equation is quite accurate for most, but is not a good choice for extremely fat or muscular people. It will overestimate calorie needs for fat people, and vice versa for muscular

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)
Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)

*3.) Katch McArdle formula - most accurate formula.You must know your bf%*

For men and women : 370+(21.6 * lean body mass in Kg) If you weigh 200, and have a bf of 20%, your lean mass is 160 lbs.


*Calculating maintainence calories*

Multiply your BMR by an appropriate activity factor

Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 

If you only exercise 3-4 days per week, but do weight training + full session of cardio, you would be in the 'very active' category.



*For weight gain or weight loss*

You can subtract/add 300-500 calories for a quick figure. For a more accurate figure, subtract/add 10-15%. Use 20% for short term, accelerated weight loss.


*Macronutrient Ratios*

Macronutrient Ratios are very important as well. No, you cannot simply eat whatever you want, as long as it is a caloric surplus. Well, you can, if you do not care how much fat/muscle you gain.


A 50:30:20 is a good baseline ratio for either buuilding muscle or losing fat. You can adjust it to meet your individual needs.

- You may want slightly more protein for muscle gain
- Slightly higher protein & slightly less carbs (~ 40%) for cutting
- Higher carbs for endurance training (if anyone on here even does that)


*Calculating protein *

Many people use the 1 gram/lb rule.


But lets see what we get when calculating it as a percentage of total calories.

Say we have a 165 lb man with 15% bf. We get 140 lbs of lean body mass.

370+(21.6 * 63.5 kg) = 1741 calories. With 4-5 trips to the gym each week, we'll multiply it by 1.55 to get 2699 calories.

2699 + 15% = 3104 calories for a bulking diet. 

30% of that from protein is 232 grams of protein, which is much more than the 1 gram/lb rule


So do you really need this much protein to gain muscle? No, most people do not need this much raw protein to bulk. However, there is a good reason for consuming this much protein.

If you want to bulk as cleanly as possible, then keeping the macro ratios balanced is important. Even though you may not need that much protein, it will help to minimize fat gain while bulking.

Excess carbs, beyond the needs of the body, is much more likely to be stored as fat than protein. About a third of proteins calorie value will be required to simply digest it. 

If you do not care about fat gain, and just want to bulk as much as possible before cutting, then you do not need to worry about this as much. 


Enough protein to build muscle = 1 gram/lb is sufficient for most
Bulking as cleanly as possible = Calculate protein as a percentage of calories.


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## the7zen (Jan 18, 2009)

NKIRA,
Which part of India are you from ?


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## nkira (Jan 18, 2009)

You mean city or state? & why you need to know that?


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