Nutrition 101 – Part 1: Total Calories

Part of what we try do here in Dre’s Fitness Group is try to help you by answering your questions... we won’t always have the answers, but we will do our best to assist when possible. A common area of questioning is nutrition... So I decided to put a 5 piece article together to help overcome some of the confusion!

The cornerstones that guide my personal philosophy on daily nutrition are:

• Total calories (Part 1)
• Macro-nutrient breakdown (Part 2)
• Meal timing (Part 3)
• Current training goal - ‘Refeeding, Calorie & Carb Cycling’ (Part 4)
• Prep – ‘Contest prep or Photo shoot’ (Part 5)

Total Calories

When it comes to nutrition the most important aspect to me (should be for anybody) is total calories. Total calories is going to determine whether you lose body fat (or muscle for that matter when cutting is done incorrectly) or whether you gain muscle mass.

To elaborate further... if you want to gain muscle mass, first ensure the total calories consumed exceeds calories spent. If you want to lose weight (body fat) make sure the calories burned exceed the calories being consumed.

Determining Maintenance Calories:

To find out how many calories you need to gain muscle mass or lose fat, you must first calculate your maintenance calories. Your maintenance calorie level is how many calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight/lean msucle.

There are a multitude of things that impact a person’s MAINTENANCE calorie requirements;

• Age and sex (males generally need more than females for any given age)

• Total weight and lean mass (more lean mass = higher requirement.

• Physiological status (eg: sick or injured, pregnant etc)

• Hormones (eg: thyroid hormone levels, growth hormone levels)

• Exercise level (higher activity = higher requirement)

• Daily activity level (more activity = higher requirement)

• Diet (that is - macronutrient intake.

In order to calculate your requirements the most accurate measure would be via Calorimetry [the measure of 'chemical reactions' in your body and the heat produced by these reactions], either directly (via placing a calorimeter where the heat you produce is measured) or indirectly... where they monitor how much oxygen you use/carbon dioxide and nitrogen you excrete over a given time). Although accurate - this is completely impractical for most people.

So I recommend using a pre-set formula to try to calculate your needs.

There are a number of complex formulas which calculate a baseline BMR, which you multiply by an 'activity variable' to give TEE (Total Energy Expenditure). They include;

1          Harris-Benedict equation
2          Mifflin-St Jeor equation
3          Katch-McArdle formula

How accurate are they?

Although these (sometimes) give rough ball-park figures, they are still 'guess-timations'. Most people still OVERESTIMATE activity, and UNDERESTIMATE body fat & end up eating TOO MUCH. 

That being the case I recommend the below multipliers as a starting point regardless of activity level - monitor your weight/measurements for 2-4 weeks. If your weight is stable/measurements are stable, then you have likely found maintenance!

Everyone is different, but I find the following multipliers are a good general rule of thumb:

Maintain Bodyweight - This is calculated by taking your current weight (in lbs) and multiplying it by 15(M) & 14(F). 

1kg = 2.2lb

NOTE:

For those with a fast metabolism +1

For those with a slow metabolism -1

For those who do not have the patience to predetermine maintenance calories and want to start moving towards their goals immediately you can use the following formula as your starting points

Lose Body Fat - This is calculated by taking your current weight (in lbs) and multiplying it by 12(M) & 11(F).

Increase Lean Muscle - This is calculated by taking your current weight (in lbs) and multiplying it by 18(M) & 17(F).

Once you have monitored your initial results you will need to DECREASE or INCREASE intake based on your goals. Instead of using a 'generic calorie amounts' (eg: 500 cals/day), I recommend that this is calculated as a % of your calories currently being consumed. 

• to GAIN Muscle: ADD 10% calories to your total from above

• to LOSE Fat: SUBTRACT 10% calories from your total from above

Then repeat the process of monitoring your results and adjust as required again.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE LESS THAN 18 YRS OF AGE - THESE FORMULAS WILL NOT BE AS ACCURATE!

Other things to NOTE:

Fat Loss - As a general rule of thumb, losing 1lb (.5kg) of bodyweight per week will allow one to retain most of their muscle mass. One can probably lose up to 1.5-2.2 lbs (.7-1kg) per week and retain most, if not all of their muscle mass (provided their training and nutrition are optimized).

If you are losing weight faster than this I would adjust the intake upwards by the minimum 10% adjustment and continue to monitor!

Muscle Gain - In regards to gaining muscle – part of my monitoring process includes weight, waist measurement and visual... you may also want to include body fat %.

Predetermine what parameters you are prepared to allow, for example;

• You may set a predetermined waist measurement you are not prepared to go above (1.5” increase)

• You may decide on a set body fat % as your upper limit

• You may go on the visual of always maintaining visible abdominals.

Whatever you predetermine make sure you stick with this and adjust your calories down by the minimum 10% when you hit any of these markers. The aim should always be to increase lean muscle with minimal body fat.

In conclusion

This process is not 100% accurate and individuals will vary due to a number of factors as outlined earlier, that being said it is a good starting point and with effective monitoring and through making the necessary adjustments you will very quickly be able to work out exactly your requirements. With some time and patience you will see results!

Stay tuned for Nutrition 101 – Part 2 ‘Macro-nutrient breakdown’