Most of us know that achieving our weight goal is mostly an issue of calories in vs. calories out. This is true whether you want to lose, maintain, or gain. But how do you know how many calories to take in, how many you’re “putting out”, or if you’re even eating the right foods? In this blog, I’ll give you some basic principles for how to calculate calories for weight loss, weight maintenance, and muscle building, as well as how to factor in macronutrients.
Keep in mind that diet and nutrition is a very personal thing. Everybody’s body works differently and various factors come into play, so I can’t give one simple answer that will work for everyone. That’s where nutrition coaching comes in – a place to talk one-on-one, get an assessment, and walk through each unique challenge together!
Knowing the general factors, however, will help you to begin to navigate your weight loss or muscle gain journey and uncover some of the mystery so you can take steps toward achieving your goal.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this blog:
- What to know about counting calories
- How to calculate calorie intake
- How to safely lose/gain weight
- What about macros?
What to Know About Counting Calories for Weight Loss
Have you heard the phrase “calories in vs. calories out” during your weight loss efforts? I’d be surprised if you haven’t. So simple, right? Well, yes…and no.
The Simple Part of Calculating Calories for Weight Loss
The easy part is that all you need to do is basic math. For instance, if you burn 1,800 calories per day, then to lose weight, you need to eat less than 1,800 calories per day. One pound of fat equals about 3,500 calories, so in theory, if you were to eat 1,500 calories per day, then you’d lose one pound in about 1.5 weeks. The same would be true of weight or muscle gain – to gain you need to eat more than you’re burning off.
The Not-So-Simple Part of Calorie Calculations
In order to do the simple math part, you need to actually know how many calories you burn per day. You also need to know how many calories are in your food and what is actually being digested and used. Plus, the right types of food can play a big role, because while a calorie is a calorie, not all calories are created equal.
There are also other factors to consider that can play a major role such as hormones, sleep, stress, genetics, and lifestyle factors. Some people may have their calorie counting on point yet have hormonal imbalances that are preventing efficient weight loss. Alternatively, lack of sleep or stress may hinder your body’s ability to let go of fat easily and build muscle.
That being said, for ease of explanation in this article, we are going to assume that you are a fairly healthy individual with no other major factors going on in your body that are drastically preventing weight loss. We’ll assume your hormones are pretty balanced, sleep and stress are at healthy levels, and there are no major genetic or lifestyle factors hinderances.
How to Calculate Calories for Weight Loss (or Muscle Gain, or Maintenance)
The ideal way for me to help you determine this is through my Nutrition Coaching program with a personal discussion and fairly lengthy calculation process to get as accurate numbers as possible. But here’s a starting point for you to work with:
Step 1: Estimate Your Basal Metabolic Rate – Google “basal metabolic rate calculator” and a few options should come up right away (they’re mostly similar), such as Calculator.net. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of calories you need per day even if all you do is just sit – basically your survival calories. Generally you provide info like age, weight, and general activity level to get a rough estimate of the amount of calories you burn per day without activity.
Step 2: Estimate Activity Calories – on top of BMR, you need to factor in how many calories you burn per day between walking around the house, cleaning, working out, etc. Most of the online sites you Google will help you factor in a generic amount of activity like “sedentary, light, very active”, etc. Keep in mind that these numbers will not be perfect because they often don’t take into account your body fat percentage, muscle mass, and other factors. They’re also subjective to what YOU may think is highly active compared to what is truly considered active or sedentary. You can also use an Apple or Garmin watch to help with this. Because they’re on your body all day there’s a chance of getting a more accurate number at the end of the day. However, I have two Garmin watches and one usually gives me about 300 extra calories burned per day compared to the other. Again, none of these will be perfect but will help give you a starting point.
Step 3: Estimate Food Intake – Once you have your base calories plus activity level, then you just need to factor in your goal. Going back to our earlier example, if you burn about 1,800 calories per day and your goal is to gain muscle or weight, then you’ll need to eat at least 1,900 calories per day or more. If you want to lose, you’ll need to eat 1,700 calories or below. If you lost weight or gained muscle and you like the size you’re at now, then you’ll want to continue eating about the same amount of calories.
However, this last part can be a very complicated issue which usually affects women more than men. If you lost weight by eating 1,100 calories per day, you can’t maintain that long term and stay healthy. This is the problem with extreme diets – you lose weight quickly (often to the detriment of muscle which ultimately helps you lose weight with greater ease), and then don’t know where to go from there when you no longer want to live on shakes for breakfast and spinach for dinner. This will most likely require a reverse diet and possibly some carb cycling to get you back to healthy calorie amounts without gaining too much weight….which is a whole other issue for one-on-one nutrition coaching. If you haven’t gone down this route yet, please don’t! Instead read the next section to lose weight safely and in a way you can maintain long term.
How to Safely Lose or Gain Weight
Sure, you can gain or lose weight quickly if you so choose. Just add or subtract 500 or more calories per day and exercise a lot! That’s why so many weight loss programs and challenges exist – to get you to change your weight quickly and feel great about it. Nevermind that many of them are unhealthy and most won’t set you up for enduring success. There are safe ways to lose or gain weight, and usually slow and steady wins the long-term race.
Calorie reduction and maintenance will all depend on the timeframe of your goal and your health. As I stated before, don’t drop your calories so low that you can’t maintain it once you’ve lost weight. Or at least know that, if you do drop weight quickly, say for a special event or a competition, that you will probably gain a few pounds back afterward when you start eating more calories. Mentally preparing for that can save you a lot of discouragement!
Rather than drop 500 calories right away, as many recommend, I suggest starting with about a 200 calorie reduction/addition at a time, add more movement and then progress from there. This way your body isn’t in shock and your stomach won’t be grumbling all day, or if you’re trying to gain weight, you won’t gain it all in fat. When you cut so drastically, you’ll feel the difference and it will be hard to hang in there during the weight loss process. Slow changes help your body AND mind to adjust over time. Plus, the ultimate goal is to be able to eat as much as possible while still maintaining your weight. If you can lose weight with a 200-300 calorie deficit, then why cut 500? Your brain, muscles, and body functions need all the energy they can get! Don’t deprive them unnecessarily.
Additionally, muscles need those calories, and if you deprive them too much, you may end up hindering muscle growth or even losing some. Muscle is what helps you to burn more calories on a daily basis and look strong and healthy and toned, as well as feel more functional, so you want to keep and build as much as you can! The same applies for gaining weight. Start slow to reduce the amount of fat gain, and add more calories as you go.
Timing of food is key as well – make sure to eat about 20-30 grams of protein and 30-40 grams of clean carbs within 30 minutes of a muscle-building workout to aid in rebuilding of muscle and glycogen replenishment in muscles (aka energy & fuel).
Just keep in mind that these numbers will change over time. If you build muscle, you’ll need to increase calories accordingly. Once you lose the weight you want to lose, you may need to add some calories back or make other adjustments to types of food in order to achieve a certain aesthetic.
What About Macros?
Speaking of adjustments for aesthetics….we’ve talked calorie counting, but is it really that simple? Not exactly. At a foundational level, yes, calorie counting will help in the beginning, and I generally advise starting there and simply focusing on eating clean, whole, organic foods that are found in nature. You should see change from that alone, but macronutrients also play a big role in not only weight loss or gain, but body composition and muscle building.
Macronutrients (aka “Macros”) are protein, fat and carbohydrates. They all serve critical roles in the health of our physiques and are all unique. Low-carb diets have become popular largely because carbohydrates store more water and often make the body look “softer” or “fluffier”. They also have the potential to affect insulin levels and lead to stored fat when they’re overconsumed or “dirty carbs”. Cutting carbs and increasing protein and/or fat often gives a more “shredded” look, which is why body builders cut carbs – and water – drastically before a show. However, different body types and genetics respond to macronutrients differently. Your best friend may thrive on high fat and low carbs, while you need lots of carbs and less fat. This is something you’ll need to experiment to see what works best for you.
Macros also play a large role in the goals you’re trying to achieve. For instance, a marathon runner will likely feel crummy eating a low carb diet since carbs are the quickest and most efficient energy source. Achieving a very muscular appearance will not happen without adequate protein. Yet someone who mostly walks and does yoga and prefers a very slim look may do well with high fat and moderate protein and low carbs
My personal opinion based on research, science and personal experience is that drastically cutting out any one macronutrient group for any long duration of time is a bad idea because your body needs all of these fuel sources for critical body functions and health. It’s not all about appearance!
I often suggest starting with a balanced breakdown of 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat and seeing how you feel and look. After a solid 6-8 weeks, you should have some idea if you need to make any changes. I’d also suggest keeping a food journal to track everything you eat and both your calories and macronutrients for anywhere from 1-6 months. This will give you a solid idea of what this balance of macros looks like for you and provides a baseline to make adjustments from. You should also journal how you feel – strength, energy, workout performance, sleep, libido, stress, appearance, etc. This will all help you to understand what works best for YOU. After that, you can make changes and see how it affects you, and should be able to start eating more intuitively without having to weigh, measure, and track everything.
What Works Best
I don’t personally believe in calorie counting for the rest of your life). I tracked everything I ate for around two years from strength training to weight loss to muscle gain to a fitness competition. I became SO familiar with my food amounts and types that I haven’t touched a journal since and rely much more on intuition and body awareness.
Sometimes changing your diet, calories, and macronutrients – and tracking them all – can be overwhelming. And typically when we feel overwhelmed, we stop. So, if you are good with making massive changes at once, then go ahead and do all of this at once. Otherwise, I’d suggest that once you feel comfortable with your calorie cutting and making better food choices and you’ve made some progress on your goal, to then proceed with tracking how much of each macronutrient you eat and making adjustments as needed.
You know what works best of all? Figuring out what works for you and having some help and accountability along the way. If you need a hand moving in the right direction and making some better choices, then contact me to book a nutrition assessment!
If you’d like to hear me explain all of this at greater length, then check out the video of the class on which I based this blog.
