[Chris]

I found the following formula in Men's Fitness magazine. I think it is a bit more precise than bodyweight x 15 = maintenance calories.

The formula published is as follows:

1. Determine your basal metabolic rate (this is your body's caloric requirement just to stay alive)
   The formula is: 66 + (6.23 * your weight in pounds) + (12.7 * your height in inches) - (6.8 * your age in years).
   
   For a 200lb, 5'10" man who is 27 years old, this works out to 2,017 calories.
   
2. Step 2 takes into account your daily activity level.
   If you sit at a desk and get no exercise, ever, multiply the # from step 1 by 1.2.
   If the only exercise you get is a trip to the gym 3+ times a week, multipy the first # by 1.4.
   If you play sports, multiply by 1.6.
   If your job is physical (i.e. you are a brick layer or construction worker) and you work out regularly, multiply by 1.8
   
   For the 5'10", 200lb man who works a desk job, but hits the gym 3-6 days per week, we multiply the BMR by 1.4 to get 2,824 calories

If you followed the above step, you now have the number of calories required for you to maintain your current weight (based on your current activity level).

If you wish to lose weight, you should either:
1) increase your physical activity to burn more calories
OR
2) decrease calories consumed by 300-500 below your "maintenance level"

I would recommend doing only one of these at a time as doing both could confuse your body.

[Chris]

How should I get these calories?

The simplest way is to use what should be common sense:

• Eat lean proteins like chicken and turkey breast, lean steak, pork, and fish.
• Eat complex carbohydrates like old-fashioned oatmeal, whole grain breads and cereals, fruits and vegetables. Avoid enriched flour and high fructose corn syrup
• Ingest healthy fats like those found in fish, nuts, and olive oil

A simple nutrient breakdown to follow would be 40% calories from carbs/40% from lean protein/20% from unsaturated fats.

protein = 4 calories per gram
carbs = 4 calories per gram
fat = 9 calories per gram

[Chris]

How often do I eat?

Eat 5-6 small "mini-meals" per day. Make sure to get protein and complex cards with each meal.

If your daily caloric requirement, based on your needs, goals and activity level is 2,400 calories, each of your 6 meals should be around 400 calories. It's pretty much just that easy.

[Chris]

What if I am skinny and looking to bulk up?

If you want to pack on muscle, you need to eat above your maintenance level and lift heavy weight. Eat lots of lean protein and hit the gym.

[Chris]

Can I lose fat and build muscle at the same time?

If you have never lifted weights before, your body will be able to do this for about 6 months from when you start seriously lifting. You will see phenomenal muscle gains and fat loss. After this wears off, it becomes quite difficult to lose fat and build muscle at the same time.

Here is the problem:

• You must eat more calories than you burn to build muscle.
• You must burn more calories than you ingest to lose fat.

If you can figure out how to eat more calories than you burn while also eating fewer calories than you burn, please let me know as you are a genius.

[tehk]

Right on the money there Chris. Great info.

[yevetz]

My wife is already love you for this info

[Seedawakener]

I just ate 2 chocolate bars of 500 calories each... thats almost half of my recommended daily intake.... shiit... Im not fat though, so right now ithats not a problem...

[Uber Mega]

Excellent info, thanks a lot Chris.

I lift weight, so i know all about proteins, meals etc. but the calorie counter is really useful.

For a 6ft 1" male, weighing 170 pounds, and weight training with a 4 day split program every week, how many calories do you recommend i take with the 6 daily meals (3 meals + 3 shakes)...it should be a fair amount more than my recommended calorie intake in order to gain weight/muscle right? I normally try to take 2500, but i'm not sure that is enough.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Uber Mega

Excellent info, thanks a lot Chris.

I lift weight, so i know all about proteins, meals etc. but the calorie counter is really useful.

For a 6ft 1" male, weighing 170 pounds, and weight training with a 4 day split program every week, how many calories do you recommend i take with the 6 daily meals (3 meals + 3 shakes)...it should be a fair amount more than my recommended calorie intake in order to gain weight/muscle right? I normally try to take 2500, but i'm not sure that is enough.

I would say more like 5 meals and 1-2 shakes