Not a new topic, but #IIFYM and #flexibledieting have been floating around on the socials for ages now. I often get asked how to work out how much one should eat, so here is a simple and hopefully clear explanation of how to work it out. This is based on my experience working in the industry for 3 years, with six bikini shows under my belt in the span of just over a year and many PT and online clients. I’m not saying this is the correct way of calculating your macros, nor should you assume this method would definitely work for you.
Working out your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
1) Get the app MyFitnessPal if you don’t already have it.
2) Weigh and take some progress pictures of yourself, and write down how you’re feeling (bloated, hungry, full, flat, etc.)
3) Start logging, as accurately as possible, everything you eat and drink, every day, for a week or two. Be honest.
4) Repeat step 2 at the end of the two weeks.
5) Add up your total calories for week 1 then divide that by 7.
6) Do the same for week 2.
7) Find the average for the two weeks.
Assuming your bodyweight has remained the same over the two weeks, the calories you’ve worked out is the amount you would need to eat to maintain your current weight, given your activity levels are consistent and similar over the two weeks, and will remain to be so going forward.
Now that you’ve worked out your approximate TDEE, you can then work on splitting them up between carbohydrates, fats and protein.
SETTING PROTEIN INTAKE
For someone aiming to maintain lean mass like myself, you’ll need to be eating at least 2.2g protein/kgBW depending on how much and how hard you train. You would need more if your goal is to put on muscle.
1g of protein = 4kcals.
So for example, if my TDEE was 2500kcals, and I weighed 60kg, I need to be consuming 132g of protein, which is equivalent to 528kcals.
This leaves me with 1972kcals to distribute between my fats and carbs.
SETTING FAT AND CARB INTAKE
Setting a sufficient amount of fat and carbohydrate intake is important because aside from needing it for energy, when neither is adequate, protein would be broken down into glucose to maintain a constant blood sugar level instead of carbs or fats. When this happens, protein’s primary role as building blocks for muscles would be loss, hence affecting your speed of muscle growth, recovery and repair.
You need enough fats to ensure sufficient testosterone production, build new cells, brain and nerve function, as well as having the role of carrying and helping to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
Carbohydrates are important for replenishing our glycogen stores after exercise. However, our bodies have a limited storage capacity of glycogen at approximately 2000 calories (an equivalent of 500g carbs).
Going back to my example, if I set myself an intake of 1g fat/kgBW, I would need 60g fat a day.
1g of fat = 9kcals.
So 60g fat would cost me another 540kcals.
Now the remaining calories go straight to your carbohydrate allowance.
Using my example:
528 (protein kcals) + 540 (fat kcals) = 1068kcals.
2500 (TDEE) – 1068 = 1432kcals (carb kcals)
1g of carbs = 4kcals
So 1432/4 = 358g.
So the outcome of my daily macronutrient intake to maintain my current weight is:
Carbs: 358g
Fat: 60g
Protein: 132g
Calories: 2500kcal
CATERING TO YOUR GOAL
From here on, what you need to do is play with your fat to carb ratio, or increasing/decreasing calories if you want to put on lean mass or drop body fat. If your bodyweight increases steadily (1lbs over one to two weeks), you can then slowly increase your calories by 100 to 300kcal, adjusting to your body’s response. You can track how your body is responding to the changes through progress photos and your energy levels.
If you want to drop body fat, drop 50-100kcals from your TDEE. Stick to this for about 1-2 weeks and track how your body is responding to it. Keep dropping slowly and a little at a time until you get to your desired body composition.
If your weight isn’t shifting and you’re already on relatively low calories, increase your daily energy expenditure by introducing a little bit of cardio into your routine.
The most important thing to realise is that there is no magic number that fits all individuals with the same goal, because as you can see, there are so many factors that affect how much you should eat. For any beginners wanting to make a change in your diet, you need to understand the importance of all three macronutrient and that changing one will affect how much of the others you can have.
