A new member of the Online Fitness Coach Facebook Group stated that her goal was to lose 10 pounds. She runs 10 miles a day almost every day of the week, participates in veteran athletics, and still has been unable to lose a single pound in years.
My first question was: “Have you or do you count calories?”
Answer: “Never, but my diet is good.”
Maybe it is… but maybe not. How could you know if you’ve never counted your calories? What’s clear is that whatever she’s been doing isn’t working.
So for anyone who may be in a similar situation, frustrated and stuck at a certain weight who HASN’T counted their calories, this is where you need to start.
As my online
Think of it this way…
You’re having money troubles.
You go see a financial advisor.
Their first question is: “Have you or do you track your income and expenses?”
Your answer: “Never, but I’m sure they’re good.”
Are you sure you’re sure? Because something isn’t adding up.
My point is, whenever there is a problem that needs fixing, some digging is required in order to get to the root of it. When it comes to weight loss, one fact must be understood before anything else.
In order to lose weight, you MUST burn more calories than you consume. This is called a “calorie deficit”. No calorie deficit? No weight loss.
Period.
It’s physiologically impossible to lose weight in a caloric surplus, even if the foods you are eating are healthy.
This explains why some people describe their diet as “healthy”, yet they still can’t lose any weight. If you need 2000 daily calories to lose one pound per week, and you’re eating 2500 daily calories per week, it doesn’t matter if those calories are all “healthy” foods or not, you’re still in a caloric surplus.
I know what you’re thinking. If you can eat
You could. This guy did it: Man Loses Weight After Month-Long Diet Of McDonald’s
For a month at least. But you could also increase your risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease at the same time. As the dietitian in this study points out, while his exercise levels and bodybuilding career certainly contributed to his weight loss while he maintained a calorie deficit eating only McDonald’s, it would be more telling to look at his blood results and long-term health, when compared to someone who did the same amount of exercise along with a healthier diet during that same time period.
That’s why you have to not only pay attention to calories but the food quality and the macronutrients and micronutrients as well… assuming living a long healthy life is important to you.
There are healthy and unhealthy ways to lose weight. The American Heart Association advises that no more than 1 to 2 pounds of weight should be lost in a week. To lose 1 pound per week, you need to eat 500 calories less per day than what your body needs to maintain it’s current weight.
So the very first thing you need to do if you’re not losing weight is to figure out the total amount of calories your body needs to continue functioning at rest. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).
Before I go any further, if you don’t want to do the math below or you’re not interested in understanding how this works and you just want to know how many daily calories and macronutrients your body needs for your goals, skip the rest of this article and use the calculator below. It will do all of this for you.
Still reading? Alright get your pencil and paper out and let’s do some math!
STEP #1 – Calculate Your BMR
Below is the Harris-Benedict Equation, which is used to estimate an individual’s Basal Metabolic Rate. Again, this is the total number of calories your body needs to function at rest. This includes sleeping, breathing, blood circulation, etc.
Men: 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x age in years )
Women: 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )
Save this number once you are finished. This is your BMR.
STEP #2 – Determine Your Activity Level
Multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity level below.
Sedentary (BMR x 1.2) – No exercise. No strength training. No cardio. Just minimal everyday activity like walking from your car to your office building, eating, and sleeping.
Light Activity BMR x 1.375) – Some sort of light physical activity such as walking more than the average person daily, jogging occasionally, or yoga a few times a week, but still no hard training of any kind.
Moderately Active (BMR x 1.55) – Performing some sort of challenging exercise 2-3 times per week. For example, this could be a few group exercise classes, an intramural basketball league, or a few martial arts classes in addition to maybe one weekly strength training session.
Very Active (BMR x 1.725) – Strength training 3-5 times per week for at least 45 minutes. This may also be in addition to a physically demanding job or sometimes twice-a-day training sessions (Example: running in the morning, strength training in the evening).
The result is the total number of calories you need daily to maintain your current weight. At this caloric intake, you should not gain or lose any body weight.
We will denote this number as MTN for the purpose of the next step.
STEP #3 – Determine Your Goal
Now that we have our maintenance calories from Step #2, we need to factor in our goal below.
Lose (MTN x .8) – Puts you in a 20% calorie deficit. This is more challenging than “Lose 10%” but is still safe and sustainable. At this rate, you can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.
Lose 10% (MTN x .9) – Puts you in a 10% calorie deficit. This is best for those with less than 10 pounds to lose, who also wish to build muscle at the same time. Hunger is very manageable at this rate and there is minimal impact on energy level. However, the rate of fat loss is reduced from “Lose”. Requires patience and consistency.
Maintain (MTN) – Allows you to eat at calorie and macronutrient levels that will keep you at your current weight.
Gain (MTN x 1.2) – Puts you in a 20% calorie surplus. Best for people who want to build muscle and put on size in a short amount of time. Works well in conjunction with a comprehensive nutrition and strength training program. Can also be used by people who are underweight.
Now that we have our daily caloric intake (DCI), our last step is to determine the combination of protein, carbohydrate, and fats for our goals.
STEP #4 – Determine Your Macronutrient Ratios
The three macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
Your body needs a certain amount of all three. However, the combination of macronutrients that works for one individual may not be the right combination for another. Everyone responds a little differently and factors such as body type, height, weight, activity level, and goals will all play a role here.
I have outlined below what I believe to be a good starting point for those who wish to lose weight, and also for those who wish to put on muscle. However, I encourage you to start with these numbers and then play around with them yourself to find what works best for your body and your lifestyle.
Note: The most important macronutrient to focus on, whether your goal is to lose weight or to put on muscle is protein.
Simply put, protein is the building block for muscle. If you’re not eating enough protein, you will struggle to put on any muscle.
A good rule of thumb is to aim to eat as many grams of protein per day as your body weight. So if you are 175 pounds, aim to eat 175 grams of protein daily.
As for weight loss, a high protein diet helps to suppress appetite. Not only that, but your body burns twice as many calories digesting protein than any other macronutrient.
Needless to say, eating protein with just about every meal or snack is a good habit to get into.
Below are my recommendations for the amount of protein, carbohydrates
To get your number, multiply your daily caloric intake (DCI) from the last step by the percentages of each macronutrient below:
Weight Loss
Fats 35%
Carbs 25%
Protein 40%
Muscle Gain
Fats 25%
Carbs 40%
Protein 35%
RECOMMENDATIONS
If you are feeling stuck, I recommend that you count calories and macronutrients for at least two weeks and be diligent about recording everything. Doing this will make you much more aware of what is actually going into your body, it will allow you to create the right habits, and identify what changes need to be made.
The easiest way to count calories is to download an app such as MyFitnessPal to your smartphone. MyFitnessPal is free and has the largest food database of all of the calorie counting apps.
Yes, it can be tedious, but you do not and should not have to count calories forever. It’s not practical and it’s not necessary. You just have to do it long enough to the point where you have a good understanding of basic nutrition and how much of the right types of foods you should be eating daily. Then you can transition to other quick and easy methods such as using your hand for portion control.
Just like you don’t have to be an expert with Excel spreadsheets in order to do a great job at the office, you don’t have to be an expert in nutrition to get great fitness results. You just have to be proficient.
For those who want to take the next step and upgrade their nutrition in order to get results like this:
Committed To Your Health
P.S. Have you joined our FREE Facebook Group yet? Connect with others on the same journey as you. Inside of our community, we run weekly challenges, live Q&A’s, post free workouts, healthy recipes, and other useful tips for losing weight and increasing lean muscle without spending countless hours in the gym.
Committed To Your Health,
Brian Donovan is a certified fitness and nutrition coach, and the founder of Online Fitness Coach – an online fitness program where clients get direct coaching and personalized training and nutrition plans. Coach Brian was voted Chicago’s “Best Personal Trainer” by Chicago Reader magazine, Best Of Chicago 2014 edition. He has been featured in publications and websites such as Muscle & Fitness, Chicago Reader, Voyage Chicago, Bach Performance, and The Personal Trainer Development Center (PTDC).
P.S. Have you joined our FREE Facebook Group yet? Connect with others on the same journey as you. Inside of our community, we run weekly challenges, live Q&A’s, post free workouts, healthy recipes, and other useful tips for losing weight and increasing lean muscle without spending countless hours in the gym.
