Do you know how many calories you need each day or the grams in macronutrients you need? This can be a confusing thing to figure out. I have a quick and simple method I use to determine how many calories I should aim for and what my macros should be.
Let’s start by figuring out your calorie needs. Take your ideal or goal body weight and multiply by 12. This will give you the calories you need to reach that weight. We will use that number to figure out macros next. If you workout on a regular basis, you can add to that number. Just remember that our workouts don’t burn as many calories as we think they do. If you find that the calorie number you get is too low for you, adjust it. This is a starting point for fat loss. I find my calorie range to be good for me, but we all have different needs.
Here is an example: if your goal weight is 140 lbs, take that number and multiply it by 12. 140 X 12= 1,680. You would need 1,680 calories each day to reach that weight. That might mean being in a calorie deficit or if you need to gain weight to reach that goal, you might need to eat in a surplus.
Next we will figure out macros. We first need to determine what percentage you want for each one. That is very personal and might take a little trial and error to figure out what works best for you. I personally prefer 40% of my calories to come from carbohydrates and 30% to come from protein and 30% from fats. I feel my best with these ratios. Now we can determine what that looks like in grams.
Let’s start with carbohydrates. Take your calories (1,680) and divide by .40 to get the number of calories from carbs. 1,680 X .40= 672. You will need 672 calories to come from carbs. Now let’s figure that out in grams. Take 672 and divide it by 4 since there are 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate. 672 divided by 4= 168. You would need 168 grams of carbs each day.
We can use the sane formula for protein and fats with a slight adjustment for fats. Here is the example for protein:
1,680 X .30= 504 (calories from protein)
504 divided by 4= 126 (126 grams of protein)
Fats: 1,680 X .30= 504 (calories from fats)
504 divided by 9=56 (we divide by 9 because there are 9 calories per gram of fat, which gives us 56 grams of fat)
This is the way I determine my calorie and macro goals for the day. Sometimes I make adjustments based on goals or weight changes, but the formula stays the same. I hope this helps you determine your goals!
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