As explained in this post, macronutrients are proteins,
fats, and carbohydrates. To calculate your macronutrient needs you will first
need to determine your caloric needs from here. Keep in mind the following
:
:
- Proteins: 4 calories/gram
- Fats: 9 calories/gram
- Carbohydrates: 4 calories/gram
Hypothetically speaking...
To simplify things, let’s take an example of an individual
who has the following stats:
- Gender: Male
- Age: 25 years
- Bodyweight: 200 lbs
- Height: 6 feet
- Activity level: Moderately active (Exercise 3-4 times/week)
- Bodyfat percentage: 15%
- Lean Body Mass: bodyweight - (bodyweight x bodyfat% / 100%) = 200 - (200x15%/100%) = 170 lbs
- Goal: Decrease bodyfat percentage
Since the goal here is lose body fat, the individual must
maintain a diet at a caloric deficit. The first and most important step here is
to calculate the right caloric requirement as shown in this guide. According to this individual’s stats:
- “Maintenance” caloric requirement = 2804 calories/day
- “Fat loss” caloric requirement = 2243.2 calories/day (after a 20% reduction in calories)
Ok, but what about macronutrients?
So after calculating the caloric requirement to meet this
individual’s goal, it’s time to determine his macronutrient needs. Since he
does not fall under the athletic performance category, we should begin by
calculating his protein intake first, followed by fats, and then fill the rest
of the remaining calories with carbohydrates.
Proteins:
By looking at this gentleman’s stats, we could tell that he
has a moderate bodyfat percentage of 15%. Therefore, he requires 1.25 grams of
proteins per pound of lean body mass (LBM):
- 170lbs x 1.25 = 212.5 grams of protein
- 212.5 grams of protein x 4 calories/gram = 850 calories should come from protein
Fats:
The bodyfat percentage we’re dealing with is 15%, or
average, thus this individual would need 0.4-1.0 grams of fat per pound TOTAL
bodyweight. Since the goal here is to lose fat, and the individual is
moderately active, it is advised to be at the lower end when calculating fats
needs. Therefore, I would go with 0.4 grams of fat per pound of TOTAL
bodyweight:
- 200lbs x 0.4 = 80 grams of fats
- 80 grams of fat x 9 calories/gram = 720 calories should come from fats
Carbohydrates:
After determining the requirements for proteins and fats, it’s
time to calculate carbs requirement based on the numbers obtained or proteins and fats as follows:
- Carbs calories = Total caloric needs - ([protein grams above x 4] + [fat grams above x 9])
- Carbs calories = 2243.2 – ([212.5 x 4] + [80 x 9])
- Carbs calories = 673.2 calories should come from carbohydrates
- Carbs grams = 673.2/4 = 168.3 grams of carbohydrates
Therefore, the breakdown of this individuals macronutrient
needs would be as follows:
- Proteins: 212.5 grams = 850 calories/day
- Fats: 80 grams = 720 calories/day
- Carbs: 168.3 grams = 673.2 calories/day
In conclusion...
In the hypothetical example mentioned above, the individual
should maintain his “Fat loss” caloric requirement, plus choose the right foods
to meet his daily macronutrients requirement. Combining these two on top of
regular exercising will guarantee a successful fat loss journey. Keep in mind
that the fat loss caloric requirements as well as the macronutrients
requirements could be tailored towards ones needs as they could find suitable. So the next time you are eating that rice cake, make sure you watch out for the nutritional value box so you are able to count your macros.
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