Need to Know Your Basal Metabolic Rate? See Here.

Hey guys and girls! I know you're all keen on getting into the best shape you possibly in the shortest amount of time, but it seems like many of you dont know how to take that first step, which is knowing exactly how much u need to eat each day. Nutrition is the most important part of mainting a healthy body, you cant out-train a lousy diet! That being said, heres how to get yourself a head start:

1. Go to: http://www.muscleandstrength.com/tools/bmr-an d-daily-calorie-calculator.html and enter in all the details about your weight height age gender and current level of exercise in EITHER: Cm and Kg OR Lbs and Ft.

2A. If your goal is to lose weight, subtract 100-500 calories from what you have been given (note if your original calorie figure is 1500 or less do not subtract more than 200 calories)

2B. If your goal is to gain weight add 100-500 calories from what you have been given (do NOT exceed 500 calories, unless you would rather look like Jack Black than Johnnie Jackson; anything past 500 will be stored as fat!)

3. Divide your calories up into carbohydrates fats and proteins with 30% being protein, 50% carbohydrates and 20% fats

4. Divide your allocated calories per nutrient source into grams, with calories allocated for protein and carbohydrates by 4 and fats by 9

5. Divide the result by 6 as this is how many meals you chould consume each day

Example:
1. Calories required by the body to maintain weight: 2500.
2A. Goal: lose weight.
2A. Calories now required to lose weight: 2000.
3A. Calories allocated to protein: 600 (30% of 2000)
3B. Calories allocated to carbohydrates: 1000 (50% of 2000)
3C. Calories allocated to fats: 400 (20% of 2000)
4A. Protein required: 150 grams each day (600/4)
4B. Carbohydrates required: 250 grams each day (1000/4)
4C. Fats required: 44.4 grams each day (400/9)
5. Nutrient Requirements each meal: 25g protein, 41.6g Carbs, and 7.4g Fat

Note:
1. Try to keep your carbs roughly 60-75% complex, ie pasta bread etc
2. With fats, try to keep the majority of your sources from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, rather than saturated and trans. the worst form of fats is trans fats, commonly found in biscuits, followed by saturated fats. Bear in mind however, that saturated fat should not be completely eliminated from your diet especially if you are male and looking to build muscle as saturated fat helps regulate testosterone, skin tone and healthy hair. That being said a recommended dosage is 80% unsaturated and 20% saturated and 0% Trans fats.

If you are having trouble getting yourself a meal plan, post up your daily requirements HERE and i will put up a meal plan for you asap.

Hope this helps!
Patrick

"Only When I Feel Like Dying, Do I Feel Alive"

I'm learning from this calculator-- gives same but more information...

http://www.phord.com/cc/

If you fill it out to get your info, then use the estimated bmi they give you to fill it out again, you'll get extra information...

I Love number crunching! Lol!

nm, figured it out.

It's nice that you're providing information for people. Question, though--what are the credentials for that website.

For that matter, what are the credentials for any website, even our own beloved CC?

There are a plethora of tools out there in internet land that one can use to calculate the number of calories one should be consuming. For me, they range from 1500 to 2500. Uhh, that's a big difference.

Which website to trust? That is the question.

I can vouch for Muscle and strength's reputation, they have a strong knowledge base, and their main forum mods are fitness experts and former competitive natural athletes and personal trainers. I have used the tools provided for my own personal benefit and for my clients and it has yielded results for both my clients and myself.

Admittedly the BMR omits bodyfat percentage, therefore a person who has a higher amount of lean muscle mass to bodyweight ratio would need more calories than what is perscribed and a person who has a very high bodyfat percentage would require less calories than what is perscribed, however this would only be a problem if you are either a bodybuilder or obese. All in all, if you just spend your time doubting everything you see when it comes to dieting and nutrition, you'll never reach your goals.

Its one thing knowing how much you need, but its putting those numbers into food on your plate thats the hard bit. What im mainly offering is meal plans to suit your requirements, therefore saving you HOURS of using cc to find out how much of what 2 eat each meal. What im offering for free, people pay money for....

Patrick "Inspiration Through Perspiration"

Okay so i have a quik ?. i can never decide my activity level. i do 65-95 minutes on an elliptical trainer usually at an 8 resistance 6X per week, plus an aerobic dance class one wednessdays, plus the normal up an down hill walking. what would i be? also i have about 12% body fat, does that change anything?

how intense are each cardio session from 1 - 10, with 1 being no sweat and 10 being absolutely stuffed afterwards?

Probably about a 9, i am even sweating now even though it is freezing cold and windy in there! :P

ok put in your exercise level to be heavy (second hardest one)

Ok, you've got me curious. It's clear you're passionate about this and I agree with your post so far. Here's a question for you from a post that I posted a month or so back. Can a goal weight be unobtainable or unsustainable.

The quick story is that I'm 5'3, 41 years old and highly active (train 6 days out of 7 at moderate to vigorous intensity across a variety of sports including running, strength (moderate to heavy weights) and most recently paddling. My workouts are usually around 90-120 minutes, and on some days I do a double workout (80-90 in the morning; 60+ at night). Plus I use my bike as my main source of transportation, although I live in the city which means quick 10-20 minute trips here and there.

I would love to weigh 115, which is the thinnest I think I can get myself and still be healthy and strong. I'm an althete, so I'm not willing to sacrifice strength to obtain a number -- but at the same time I like having a challenge and a goal. I currently maintain between 117 and 118 pounds. I'll get myself to 115 and then can't sustain it over the long term.  Keep in mind that I eat between 1500 and 2000 calories a day (with a daily deficit of between 200 and 900 calories according to CC) depending on the day and my activity level. I've been maintaining an average of 117 for close to 8 months. 

So, what's your take? Is my body trying to tell me that 115 is not where it wants to be? (BTW, I'm very satisfied with my body at 117; but having a goal helps keep me honest with my overall nutrition) Or do I need to work a bit harder to reset my set-point weight which is likely around 120.