I have provided more in-depth notes where appropriate, however, in order to provide more detailed information on the subjects discussed, and more detailed guidance for applying the recommendations to your individual circumstances.
Ready? Here we go!
1. Calculate the amount of calories your body burns just by being alive. This is the amount of calories your body burns at rest and is called your Resting Metabolic Rate, or RMR for short. The formula for calculating your RMR is below.
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Note: This formula however does not take into account your lean body mass, and will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will underestimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will overestimate calorie needs). For greater accuracy, I have provided a formula for calculating your RMR which takes into account your lean body mass, right below the metric RMR for men formula.
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RMR for Women
RMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
RMR for Men
RMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
Metric RMR for Women
RMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age in years)
Metric RMR for Men
RMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years)
This is the formula for calculating your RMR which takes into account your lean body mass, for greater accuracy.
RMR = 370 + (21.6 x lean bodyweight in kg)
Lean Bodyweight In Pounds / 2.2 = Lean Bodyweight in Kilograms (kg)
2. From your RMR, calculate your TDEE, which is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This is how many calories your body burns in a day performing all your day's activities.
TDEE = RMR x Activity Level
Grouped into activity levels, you are either:
Sedentary:
- 1.30 (130%) = Very Light: Sitting, studying, talking, little walking or other activities through out the day
1.55 (155%) = Light: Typing, teaching, lab/shop work, some walking throughout the day
- 1.55 (155%) = Light: Typing, teaching, lab/shop work, some walking throughout the day
1.65 (165%) = Moderate: Walking, jogging, gardening type job with activities such as cycling, tennis, dancing, skiing or weight training 1-2 hours per day
Or Highly Active:
- 1.80 (180%) = Heavy: Heavy manual labor such as digging, tree felling, climbing, with activities such as football, soccer or body building 2-4 hours per day
2.00 (200%) = Very Heavy: A combination of moderate and heavy activity 8 or more hours per day, plus 2-4 hours of intense training per day
3. Take your TDEE and add or subtract 250 - 500 calories, or a percentage of your total calories (say add or subtract 10 - 15% of TDEE) depending on your goal. Subtract the suggested calories from your TDEE if you want to lose fat, and add the suggested amount of calories to your TDEE if you want to gain lean muscle tissue. Or you can just have your TDEE if you want to just maintain your weight.
4. Now that you have your total number of calories to be eaten in a day for your goal, divvy the calories up between the 3 macronutrients: Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrates, again depending on your goals, activity level, bodyweight, body type, metabolism, etc.
Below I have included a list of typical recommendations whether you're an ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph.
Ectomorph
Ectomorph: 25% Protein, 15% Fat, 60% Carbohydrates or 25/15/60 macronutrient ratio.
Mesomorph
Mesomorph: 30% Protein, 20% Fat, 50% Carbohydrates or 30/20/50
Endomorph
Endomorph: 30-40% Protein, 30%, Fat, 30-40% Carbohydrates or 30/30/40 - 40/30/30
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Note: Please keep in mind that these are only suggestions and typical recommendations. You may need to play around with the numbers a little bit to find the ratio that works best for you, especially if you have problems with carbohydrate or insulin management, or find that personally you can't eat a lot of protein.
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Once you have your percentages or macronutrient ratio, convert them into the actual amount of calories to be eaten from each macronutrient. (Ex. In order to convert your macronutrient percentage of 25% protein into calories, simply multiply .25 by the total daily amount of calories to be eaten. Using 2000 calories as our daily calorie requirement example, you would multiply .25 x 2000. So 2000 x .25 = 500 calories from protein. Continue on with your fat and carbohydrate percentages.
5. Once you have the actual amount of calories to be eaten from each macronutrient, convert these calories into grams.
For every gram of protein, there are 4 calories of protein.
For every gram of fat, there are 9 calories of fat.
For every gram of carbohydrate, there are 4 calories of carbohydrates.
(Ex. In order to convert the 500 calories into grams from our above example, we would simply divide 500 calories by 4. 500 / 4 = 125 grams of protein. Continue on and convert your calories of fat and carbohydrate into grams.
6. Once you have the total amount of grams to be eaten for each of the macronutrients, divide them into how many meals you want to eat for the day, making sure to eat every 3 hours and always including a concentrated protein source (containing all the essential amino acids) in adequate amounts with all your meals, in order to stay in a positive nitrogen balance when looking to build on or maintain your current muscle mass.
It is commonly recommended that you divide by 5 for 5 meals/day for maximum results in building lean muscle, and by 6 for 6 meals/day for maximum results in losing fat.
7. Pick your foods for each of the macronutrients from the superior muscle building and fat loss foods list.
Putting it all together, you would eat a lean protein, good fats, complex carbohydrates, and 1 -2 servings of fruits or vegetables at each meal in the appropriate amounts according to your individual calorie requirements.
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A Note on Fruit: The amount of fruit you eat should be based on your tolerance of the simple sugars in the fruits. These simple sugars are best utilized by the body for energy in the morning, when your muscles are starving from the overnight fast and they are eager to take up the simple sugars in the fruit for needed energy. This effect from the overnight fast increasingly tapers off from the first few hours when you wake up in the morning, meaning that the later in the day you eat these simple sugars, the more likely result will be that it will imbalance your blood sugar and lead to fat gain, unless of course you have just completed a workout at any time of the day and once again your muscles will be starving for energy and ready to use the simple sugars most effectively. I recommend restricting your fruits to the morning (the first and second meals - not even the second if you're an endomorph, just the first) and only 1 - 2 servings, or whatever your body responds best to while still feeling full and satisfied.
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4. Now that you have your total number of calories to be eaten in a day for your goal, divvy the calories up between the 3 macronutrients: Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrates, again depending on your goals, activity level, bodyweight, body type, metabolism, etc.
Below I have included a list of typical recommendations whether you're an ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph.
Ectomorph
Ectomorph: 25% Protein, 15% Fat, 60% Carbohydrates or 25/15/60 macronutrient ratio.
Mesomorph
Mesomorph: 30% Protein, 20% Fat, 50% Carbohydrates or 30/20/50
Endomorph
Endomorph: 30-40% Protein, 30%, Fat, 30-40% Carbohydrates or 30/30/40 - 40/30/30
***********************************************************************************
Note: Please keep in mind that these are only suggestions and typical recommendations. You may need to play around with the numbers a little bit to find the ratio that works best for you, especially if you have problems with carbohydrate or insulin management, or find that personally you can't eat a lot of protein.
***********************************************************************************
Once you have your percentages or macronutrient ratio, convert them into the actual amount of calories to be eaten from each macronutrient. (Ex. In order to convert your macronutrient percentage of 25% protein into calories, simply multiply .25 by the total daily amount of calories to be eaten. Using 2000 calories as our daily calorie requirement example, you would multiply .25 x 2000. So 2000 x .25 = 500 calories from protein. Continue on with your fat and carbohydrate percentages.
5. Once you have the actual amount of calories to be eaten from each macronutrient, convert these calories into grams.
For every gram of protein, there are 4 calories of protein.
For every gram of fat, there are 9 calories of fat.
For every gram of carbohydrate, there are 4 calories of carbohydrates.
(Ex. In order to convert the 500 calories into grams from our above example, we would simply divide 500 calories by 4. 500 / 4 = 125 grams of protein. Continue on and convert your calories of fat and carbohydrate into grams.
6. Once you have the total amount of grams to be eaten for each of the macronutrients, divide them into how many meals you want to eat for the day, making sure to eat every 3 hours and always including a concentrated protein source (containing all the essential amino acids) in adequate amounts with all your meals, in order to stay in a positive nitrogen balance when looking to build on or maintain your current muscle mass.
It is commonly recommended that you divide by 5 for 5 meals/day for maximum results in building lean muscle, and by 6 for 6 meals/day for maximum results in losing fat.
7. Pick your foods for each of the macronutrients from the superior muscle building and fat loss foods list.
Putting it all together, you would eat a lean protein, good fats, complex carbohydrates, and 1 -2 servings of fruits or vegetables at each meal in the appropriate amounts according to your individual calorie requirements.
***********************************************************************************
A Note on Fruit: The amount of fruit you eat should be based on your tolerance of the simple sugars in the fruits. These simple sugars are best utilized by the body for energy in the morning, when your muscles are starving from the overnight fast and they are eager to take up the simple sugars in the fruit for needed energy. This effect from the overnight fast increasingly tapers off from the first few hours when you wake up in the morning, meaning that the later in the day you eat these simple sugars, the more likely result will be that it will imbalance your blood sugar and lead to fat gain, unless of course you have just completed a workout at any time of the day and once again your muscles will be starving for energy and ready to use the simple sugars most effectively. I recommend restricting your fruits to the morning (the first and second meals - not even the second if you're an endomorph, just the first) and only 1 - 2 servings, or whatever your body responds best to while still feeling full and satisfied.
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So there you have it, this was a quick-start guide on how to develop your own individual nutrition plan according to your goal whether it be lean muscle growth or fat loss.
If you would like more information, opinions, and suggestions in this or any area of health, fitness, and self-development, be sure to check out all my other articles and blog posts within this site.
Thank you for your time in reading this and for visiting my site. I hope you have enjoyed and continue to enjoy your stay here.
I hope you find what you are looking for and wish you all the best.
To your success,
Joeseph C
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