Science of Calories and Macros
It’s Saturday night and I just finished my work out (Of course it was leg day, never miss a leg day). While working out I was drenched in sweat and in middle of my walking lunges set 4, a guy comes up to me and asks me how much protein should I take to build muscle. I saw a spark in his eyes and knew that question was coming directly from his heart. It was like he would eat all the protein in the world to get those lean gains. I asked him to continue his workout and check Pariksh blog on Sunday to get the answer to his question. I hope he is sitting on a comfortable couch on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, wearing a beautiful smile on his face and reading this.
So here it goes. HOW MUCH PROTEIN SHALL WE TAKE? Honestly speaking, it not all about protein. Of course, protein plays a vital role in building muscles when they break after the workout. It is called hypertrophy and in case you don’t know about this, almost every one of us grows muscle using hypertrophy. But, it all depends on a balanced diet which includes your fats, carbohydrates and protein. The other two constituents are equally necessary to protein if you are looking for those muscles to tear apart your shirt 😊. If you keep things simple, stick to the basics, eat home-made food, Cheat less and work more, you will start seeing the results in less than a fortnight! I’m providing you a blueprint to calculate your calories and macros intake which will help you in whatever transformation you are undertaking. So let’s start and answer the science behind the calories!
STEP A: Working out the calorie recommendation Check how much calories you need to get through the day. There are plenty of tables out on internet which provides the information, you can check anyone. One of them is healthline calculator wherein you put your age, height, weight and it will calculate your recommended value. The link is https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-many-calories-per-day#calculator
STEP B: Working out the BMR Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy in calories your body burns if you do nothing but rest for 24 hours. I know you want this to be as high as possible, but it again works as per science and is different for men and women. You calculate it as follows:
· For Women: (10*Weight in KG) + (6.25*Height in CM) – (5*Age in years) - 161 · For Men: (10*Weight in KG) + (6.25*Height in CM) – (5*Age in years) + 5
STEP C: Working out your TDEE Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the amount of calories your body needs daily including physical activity. To calculate this, multiply the BMR with your PAL. PAL is your physical activity level and can be calculated as follows: · If your lifestyle is sedentary (none to 1 workout day in a week) then your PAL is 1.4 · If your lifestyle is moderately active (2-3 workout days in a week) then your PAL is 1.6 · If your lifestyle is highly active (more than 3 workout days in a week) then your PAL is 1.8
STEP D: Working out your GOAL TDEE as per your requirement Here people fall into 2 categories: Build muscle and Lose fat · In order to lose fat (and build muscle at the same time, remember lean gains?) your Goal TDEE = TDEE – 500 KCAL · In order to build muscle your Goal TDEE = TDEE + 500 KCAL
STEP E: Working out the MACROS The answer to my gym mate’s question lies in this part. Here we will calculate how much protein fat and carbohydrate we need daily. Let’s get onto this. (I hope that guy is still smiling)
PROTEIN: · WEIGHT IN KG X 1.6 = DAILY GRAMS PROTEIN · DAILY GRAMS PROTEIN X 4 = CALORIES
FAT: · YOUR GOAL TDEE ÷ 100 THEN X 35 THEN ÷ 9 = FAT IN GRAMS
CARBOHYDRATE: · YOUR GOAL TDEE - YOUR PROTEIN AND FAT CALORIES THEN/4 = CARBOHYDRATES IN GRAMS
That is it, I swear! Nothing more. Keep these things in mind and you will be sweet. Is it hard to follow regime? No it is not. If your why is more important than your how! And remember fitness is a journey, you will learn new things everyday and will be startled to see the effects it has on your body - not only physically but mentally as well. With this, I wish you good luck in whatever journey you are undertaking. Remember – enjoy the process, it’s a marathon and not a sprint! I will leave you guys with some handy tips which might help you in your journey! And to my gym mate – Bro I hope it answers your query and see you on Monday! KEEP HUSTLING!
TIPS: · If you are unable to train any day, get up and try to complete 10000 steps · Include vegetables at every meal. · Include a protein source in every meal. · Ensure you have a daily mix of fats, with an emphasis on monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. · Add herbs and spices to your meals to keep it interesting – don’t just eat plain food all the time. You deserve better than that! · If weight loss is your goal, read about intermittent fasting and try it if you like. Another blog coming up on that soon!
· Laugh a lot. It burns a lot of calories!