#1 Calories, #2 Macros, #3 Micros, #4 Nutrient Timing, #5 Supplements
This is the first chapter in my five-part guide on nutrition for fat loss and muscle growth. You can read the introduction (which gives important context) and download the full PDF version of the nutrition setup guide here.
Last Updated: 16th March 2020
This chapter covers the calorie part of the nutrition puzzle. This is the exact system that I have used and refined from working with clients over the last 9 years. Here’s what it covers:
- Why calorie intake comes first and what you’ll hear from those who make money by denying it.
- How to calculate maintenance calorie needs
- Adjusting your calories for your specific goal: fat loss, muscle gain, or gradual body recomp.
- Why calorie calculations are estimations that will need adjusting.
- How to tweak things to stay on target when they don’t go as planned.
Calorie Intake For Fat Loss: The MOst Important Thing
As you’ll see, it’s not quite as simple as it looks.
Whether your goal is muscle gain, fat loss, or weight maintenance, the single most critical piece of the nutritional puzzle is getting your calorie intake right.
- If you consume more calories than your body needs, you will gain weight.
- If you consume the same amount of calories that your body needs, you will maintain your weight.
- If you consume fewer calories than your body needs, you will lose weight.
The calories in, calories out equation (often referred to as CICO) is a simple one, but each side affects the other and there are a few things in and out of our control on both.
Things That Impact Calorie Intake
The energy intake side of the equation looks simple but is actually quite nuanced.
The specific foods we eat and when we eat them impacts how much we eat. This means the macro, micro, and timing sections of the pyramid influence our ability to adhere to this first layer.
While getting our food choices and timing right can help with feelings of fullness, our feelings of hunger are affected by the energy intake side of the equation.
If we overeat, we get less hungry and tend to eat less.
If we undereat, we get more hungry and tend to eat more.
Those who are naturally skinny and struggle to gain weight have a stronger pull the one way than those who are naturally overweight and struggle to lose it.
When you consider we consume nearly one million calories each year, it’s quite remarkable that our weights fluctuate by a mere 1–2 lbs each year on average. This shows how strong a self-regulating mechanism this is.
This is good for life preservation, but terribly inconvenient for those of us who want to change the status quo. We need to override this mechanism, which is why counting calories becomes the necessary next step for people who have made all the obvious lifestyle changes but are still not successful.
Our environment also impacts our choices. This is partially in our control. We can make sure the fridge is stocked with the foods we want to eat and clear the junk out of the house, but we can’t control all the fast-food restaurants and how frequently Betty decides to bring banana bread into the office.
Things That Impact Calorie Expenditure
The two primary factors on the energy expenditure side of the equation, are our metabolic rate and our activity levels. Both of these are affected to some degree by the energy intake side.
Metabolic rate drops when we diet and then returns to normal when we come back to maintenance. This is out of our control. This is out of our control.
Activity levels are partially under conscious control (like how much we exercise) and partially not (how much we fidget and move around throughout the day).
This latter part is particularly interesting because it seems to vary from person to person and can make a big difference in energy expenditure. — Some people get way more lethargic than others when dieting, and some move around a lot more when they overeat. This is called non-exercise activity thermogenesis (nicknamed NEAT) and includes things like the energy expended walking to work, typing and texting friends, shaking up a protein shake, performing yard work, and fidgeting.
So, sharp readers may be thinking, “Ahh, but couldn’t I exercise more rather than restrict my food intake if I want to lose weight?”
Technically, yes, you could. However,
- It’s more time-efficient to control energy balance with your diet, i.e., eating more or less, rather than moving more or less.
- Adding extra weight training will interfere with your recovery. This is not only inefficient but a common way people get injured.
- Cardio should be used sparingly, if at all. Reliance on it is unsustainable and sets people up for failure.
Therefore, dietary changes should be the primary driver of an energy deficit or surplus.
Beware Those Who Deny The Importance Of Calorie Balance
The focus of this guide is on what to do, instead of what not to do. So I won’t spend much time debunking ideas. However, there is one notable exception worth addressing immediately — that is the idea that low-carb diets are superior (or necessary) for weight loss.
The Carbohydrate-Insulin Hypothesis of Obesity
There are a few legitimate-seeming doctors who continue to push something called the carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis of obesity.
The idea is when insulin levels are high, we can’t lose fat because insulin shuts down fat burning. And as carbs are supposedly the biggest thing that stimulate insulin release, if we eat a high-carb diet, we can’t lose fat.
(The argument is more nuanced, but this is the general gist.)
I could point out that protein (whey, dairy, animal protein, etc.) spikes insulin just as high as sugar and all sorts of other mechanistic shortcomings with this theory.
And people love to argue all kinds of biochemical pathways and hormone regulation loops.
But the fact is, when you put two groups on a calorie-matched, high vs low-carb diets, studies show that there is no difference in fat loss outcome.
So why does this idea persist?
- It’s easy to understand and share.
- It makes people who talk about it a shit-ton of money in book sales and speaking gigs. (Gary Taubes and Jason Fung are two names, in particular, to steer clear of.)
- There is an element of truth in the idea that cutting carbs helps with weight loss.
I do not deny that a low carbohydrate diet can be effective for fat loss. But it’s important to note that people lose weight because they eat fewer calories overall, not because of any effect on insulin or because it burns more body fat.
If you are trying to lose fat, you will likely need to reduce your carb intake to create a calorie deficit (and probably your fat intake too). But, if someone tells you that you need to remove carbs almost entirely, or that calorie balance is not the key to sustained weight loss, ignore them.
Lastly, sugar is demonized by the media but is not inherently ‘bad.’ It depends how it fits with the rest of your diet. However, limiting sugary foods is a good idea if you are trying to diet, and you find yourself easily overeating them.
How To CALCULATE Your Daily Calorie Targets
Step 1: We must estimate your basal metabolic rate (BMR).
Step 2: We must adjust this figure based on your daily activity levels.
Step 3: We must adjust this calculation based on your goal.
Before proceeding, it is essential to understand that the final calorie number you calculate is only an estimation. The equations are derived from group averages, the activity multiplier used will be an estimation, and there are individual differences in how people respond to a calorie deficit or surplus.
Therefore, consider your calculation as a starting point from which to adjust based on how you progress. I’ll come back to this later.
Step 1. BMR Calculator
The first thing we need to do is calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR).
There are a variety of formulas designed to estimate basal metabolic rate. I like the Harris-Benedict formula because it’s just as effective, yet simpler to do.
(The Katch-McArticle formula, for example, requires people to estimate their body-fat percentage first. But as all the methods we have available of assessing body-fat percentage have accuracy issues, I don’t see the point of using it.)
The Harris-Benedict Formula for Calculating BMR
For those who use pounds and inches:
- Men: BMR = 66 + (6.2 x weight in lbs) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age)
- Women: BMR = 655 + (4.4 x weight in lbs) + (4.6 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age)
For those who use kilograms and centimeters:
- Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age)
- Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age)
Step 2. TDEE Calculator
The second thing we need to do is to make an adjustment to your BMR for activity levels to find your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).
I like to use the following four categories:
- Sedentary (little or no exercise) [BMR x 1.15]
- Mostly sedentary (office work), plus 3–6 days of weight lifting [BMR x 1.35]
- Lightly active, plus 3–6 days of weight lifting [BMR x 1.55]
- Highly active, plus 3–6 days of weight lifting [BMR x 1.75]
The majority of people reading this will find that the second or third options are the best fit. If you are an office worker who drives to work and walks around little, I’d suggest the second option.
This will give you a number known as your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Example TDEE Calculations
I find examples to be exceptionally helpful, when I am learning new things, to solidify what I am learning. So, I’ll give four examples throughout this guide which fit four common avatars: Fat Freddie, Shredded Sam, Thicc Thelma, and Noobie Natalie.
Fat Freddie is 5’9, 31 years old, weighs 180 lbs, and works in an office so is “mostly sedentary.” His TDEE is estimated to be 2499 kcal.
Shredded Sam is 6’1, 37 years old, weighs 175 lbs, and is lightly active. His TDEE is estimated at 2844 kcal.
Thicc Thelma is 5’4, 44 years old, weighs 190 lbs. Having an office job, her current activity level is sedentary, but she will choose “mostly sedentary” because she’s about to start to lift. Her TDEE is estimated at 2109 kcal.
Noobie Natalie is 5’7, 21 years old, weighs 135 lbs, and works filling shelves at Costco. Up until now, she has enjoyed 3x a week spinning classes with the occasional weekend trail run. She is completely new to strength training, and will drop the spinning class to once per week. Therefore, her activity level is set at “lightly active.” Her TDEE is estimated at 2254 kcal.
(Test these numbers or enter your own using the calorie and macro calculator.)
Choosing A Goal: Bulk, CUt, or Slow Body Recomposition
There are three paths you can choose from here: a slow body recomposition phase, a fat loss phase, or a gaining phase.
When To Choose A Body Recomposition Goal
A body recomposition phase is generally typified by simultaneous muscle growth and fat loss, while weight remains stable.
Everybody wants simultaneous muscle growth and fat loss. However, the rate at which we can achieve this diminishes with training experience, so, I would only recommend this to relatively newer trainees and those coming back from a relatively long training layoff.
I do not recommend it to anyone who is underweight or overweight.
- If you are underweight, you should bulk.
- If you are overweight, you need to cut; however, the less training experience you have, the more likely it is that you will gain muscle at the same time as you lean out (though you’ll lose weight overall).
You are welcome to try a body recomp at any point during your training career, but when progress is hard to measure, it is hard to manage and stay motivated, so I suggest most people build their physiques over time by alternating between fat loss and muscle gain phases.
To hold your weight stable and do a body recomp you do not need to make any further adjustment to your calorie calculation — your target daily intake is your TDEE we calculated in the last step.
Noobie Natalie will shoot for a body recomposition goal. Her TDEE is her target daily calorie intake, which is 2254 kcal.
When To Choose A Fat Loss Goal (Cut)
The goal of a fat loss phase is to maximize lean mass retention while dropping off body fat. It requires a calorie deficit and so you will lose weight overall. We call this a cutting phase.
You may be able to gain some muscle during a cutting phase; however, your ability to do so decreases the leaner you get, the more advanced of a trainee you are, and the size of that calorie deficit. Any muscle gain achieved while cutting may not be obvious.
To put it another way, the fatter you are and the less training experience you have, the more likely you are able to achieve a degree of both. Technically you could call this body recomposition, but as weight is still lost, I like to still call it a cut to make explanations easier.
» Choose to cut if you are overweight or carry a large amount of body fat, regardless of your level of training experience.
Thicc Thelma and Fat Freddie will choose to cut.
When To Choose A Muscle Gain Goal (Bulk)
When your primary goal is to gain muscle, you need to gain weight. This is known as bulking.
Gaining muscle requires the building of new tissue, so bulk phases take more time and require patience. Fortunately, the less advanced of a trainee you are, the faster your muscle growth rate.
» Choose a bulk if you are underweight or are already lean enough to see your abs and wish to get bigger.
Shredded Sam will choose to bulk.
Advice If You Can’t Decide Whether To Cut Or Bulk
If you are a novice trainee, and not really under or overweight (which is obviously a subjective judgment), consider the body recomp.
For non-novice trainees I offer the following guidelines:
» Cut–bulk phases are typically best kept in the 10–20% body fat range (add 7% for women).
» Bulking phases are best capped at 20% because past this point, the risk to health increases and I’d advise not bulking if you estimate yourself to be 16% body fat or above. — You want enough uninterrupted time to gain a meaningful amount of muscle before you need to cut. If this is you, get leaner first.
» You can cut to any point you wish, but lower than 10% body fat (for visual reference, the majority of the clients on the results page are all 8–10% body fat) doesn’t really offer any advantage for a subsequent bulking phase. It may even be pointless to start a bulking phase at lower levels of body fat than this as the body is primed for fat regain. — The body doesn’t want to be exceptionally lean, as it is a threat to survival.
» The majority of dedicated, physique-focussed clients find the sweet spot to be 10% body fat for the end of their cutting phases and 15% for the end of their bulk phases. You may find you prefer a higher range because you feel or perform better, but do not think you can do it effectively at a lower range. You will not make progress if you attempt to stay shredded lean all year round.
SUMMARY GUIDELINES ON HOW TO CHOOSE TO CUT, BULK, OR RECOMP
| CATEGORY OF TRAINEE | RECOMMENDATION |
|---|---|
| Overweight | Cut |
| Underweight | Bulk |
| Inexperienced trainee in the 13–18% body-fat range | Recomp |
| Experienced trainee over 16% body fat | Cut |
| Experienced trainee under 16% body fat | Cut or bulk, as per preference |
| When bulking, suggested upper body fat limit to switch to a cut | 20% |
| When cutting, suggested lower body fat limit to switch to a bulk | 9–10% |
(Women, add 7% to all these bf% numbers)
STEP 3. Calculate YOUR DAILY CALORIE INTAKE BASED ON YOUR GOAL
In this section, I give recommended rates of body weight loss and gain during cut and bulk phases, explain the math used, and give example calculations for Thicc Thelma, Fat Freddie, and Shredded Sam.
HOW TO ADJUST Calorie Intake FOR A Fat Loss GOAL
When your goal is primarily to lose fat, we call this a cut. I recommend a weight loss rate between 0.5–0.75% of body weight per week.
High rates of weight loss are motivating, but they are hard to sustain. The leaner we are, the higher the chances of muscle mass losses.
Slow rates of weight loss are easier to sustain, but hard to stay motivated for, difficult to track, and they can become an increasing mental burden.
For busy individuals who can’t afford the lethargy and brain fog, 0.5% seems to be the sweet spot per week. I’m basing this on my years of client work.
You can go up to 1% if you have a lot of fat to lose, but most clients didn’t find this to be sustainable. Above 1%, your diet will be very hard to sustain and muscle loss is likely.
As you close in on seeing your abs for the first time, I would recommend you stay closer to 0.5%. If you get into the single digits of body fat %, the whole curve shifts to the left and you want to lose at or slightly under a rate of 0.5% to maximize your chances of holding onto muscle mass.
Cutting Math & Example Calculations
It requires an approximate 3500 kcal deficit to burn 1 lb of fat (7700 kcal per kg). Therefore, to lose 1 lb of fat per week, you need a 500 kcal daily deficit (1100 kcal for 1 kg).
The calculation to adjust your calorie intake for a fat loss goal is as follows:
Target daily calorie intake (TDCI) = TDEE – (Bodyweight x target weekly fat loss rate x 500*)
*1100 if you use kg
However, our metabolisms adapt to fight a caloric deficit, which means that if we use the calculation above, it will not likely lead to the 0.5% of body weight loss per week we are hoping for. Therefore, I have set the calorie and macro calculator to use 0.75%.
Fat Freddie’s target daily calorie intake = 2499 – (180 x 0.0075 x 500) = 2499 – 675 = 1824 kcal
Thicc Thelma’s target daily calorie intake = 2109 – (190 x 0.0075 x 500) = 2109 – 712.5 = 1397 kcal
Even if you wish to cut faster than 0.5% of body weight per week, I suggest you use the calculator as I have it, wait, then adjust after a few weeks based on the outcome. This will teach you if you can sustain 0.5% first. Again, for most people, attempts at faster fat loss rates rarely end well.
HOW TO ADJUST Calorie Intake FOR A MUSCLE GAIN GOAL
The goal of the bulk is to maximize our rate of muscle gain while gaining the least amount of fat. Therefore, it is important to estimate our rate of muscle growth potential if we’re to set weight gain targets and calculate the calorie surplus appropriately.
The newer you are to training, the faster the rate you can gain muscle; the more advanced you get, the slower this will happen. Therefore, it is best to set weight gain targets based on your level of training experience. If you ignore this, you’ll either gain too much fat or make slower progress than you could have.
Categorizing training advancement is tricky, but here is my preferred method along with the monthly rates of weight gain I recommend:
- Beginner: 2% (Totally new to training.)
- Novice: 1.5% (Still able to progress most training loads in the gym on a week to week basis.)
- Intermediate: 1% (Able to progress most training loads in the gym on a month to month basis.)
- Advanced: 0.5% (Progress is evident only when viewed over multiple months or a year.)
These rates of weight gain purposefully skew to the upper boundary of the recommendations we have in our Muscle and Strength Pyramid: Nutrition book.
As I often say to online coaching applicants, when it comes to goal setting, it is imperative that the outcome is measurable if we are to manage it. When results are hard to measure, it is both tough to coach for and tough to stay motivated for. This is why I have a preference for slightly higher numbers.
There is also a genetic component to the rate at which people gain muscle. This will work out better for those more genetically blessed.
Bulking Example Calculation
It takes roughly ~2500 kcal to build 1 lb of muscle and ~3500 kcal to burn or store 1 lb of fat.
As people typically gain fat and muscle in a 1:1 ratio in a bulk phase, and if we assume a 30 day month, this means we need a 100 kcal daily caloric surplus to gain 1 lb of weight per month (~220 kcal for 1 kg).
However, like the additional downward adjustment I made for metabolic adaptation when cutting, I believe we should make an additional upward adjustment when bulking. This is because as we raise calories, some of that calorie increase will be eaten up by NEAT and not result in a caloric surplus.
The NEAT increase will be different from person to person and is impossible to predict, but I suggest we add 50% to these numbers, which gives the following heuristic:
To gain 1 lb of weight per month, add 150 kcal each day (330 kcal for 1 kg).
Therefore, the calculation to adjust your calorie intake for a weight gain goal is as follows:
- Target daily calorie intake (TDCI) = TDEE + (Bodyweight x target monthly gain rate x 150*)
*330 if you use kg
Shredded Sam is an intermediate trainee, so his target monthly gain rate will be 1%. His calculation is as follows:
Shredded Sam’s target daily calorie intake = 2844 + (175 x 0.01 x 150) = 2844 + 263 = 3107 kcal
Why CALCULATIONS ARE ESTIMATIONS
It’s essential to realize that any calculation will just be an estimation. This is for three primary reasons:
1. The BMR calculation in step 1 was developed based on group averages, but people can vary up to 15% either side
2. The activity multiplier is an estimation.
3. Reactions to a calorie surplus or deficit vary – some people get more fidgety and move around more throughout the day when in a calorie surplus, some people get very lethargic when in a calorie deficit. This is the NEAT I referred to earlier.
This means two 6 ft, 200 lb dudes of the same age and training schedule could find their maintenance calorie needs 700 calories apart.
No calculation can take into account these differences. Therefore, tracking after the initial calculation and then making refinements is essential.
How to Adjust CALORIE INTAKE WHEN Your WEIGHT DOESN’T CHANGE AS PLANNED
I literally wrote a book and video series (The Last Shred) on this topic, but here are the fundamentals.
How To Track Progress
To know how to adjust your calorie intake, you need to have data on which to base decisions. At the very minimum, I recommend that you track your weight each day and measure your stomach in three places once per week.
Your weight will fluctuate from day to day and vary depending on the time of day, so stepping on the scale a few times a week is not enough.
Note your weight each morning, immediately after using the bathroom after you wake, and write down the average at the end of the week.
What you’ll likely see if you switch to a cut, is a large drop in weight in the first week, and then a more steady rate of change each week thereafter. The opposite will be true when bulking.
This is due to the change in gut content, water, and muscle glycogen in your body, which happens whenever you change the number of carbs you eat or total food intake in general.
Use a tape to measure at your navel, and then 3 finger-widths above and below. This will help you to keep tabs on fat gain when bulking, fat losses when recomping, and confirm that fat (rather than muscle) is being lost when cutting.
So, before deciding you need to adjust, track for several weeks first, taking the average scale weight each day and your stomach measurements once per week, and ignore the first week of data.
How To Adjust
For a Cut
- If weight is lost too quickly, there is a risk of muscle loss. Increase calorie intake.
- If weight is not lost quickly enough, decrease calorie intake.
- Suggested incremental change: 200–250 kcal per day
For a Slow Bulk
- If weight is not gained quickly enough, increase calorie intake.
- If weight is gained too quickly, you’ll have put too much fat on, so decrease calories.
- Suggested incremental change: 100–150 kcal per day.
Remember to take into account water weight fluctuations, and always consider 3–4 weeks’ worth of tracking data before making any changes.
The Weight Loss Stalls And Whooshes You Can Expect
It’s not uncommon for some people to find that the scale weight suddenly stops moving and stays there for several weeks. This is due to water retention — the fat loss is still happening, but as the fat cells empty, they fill back up with water.
I’m not sure exactly why this happens, but potentially due to rises in cortisol, which happen when we are stressed. (A calorie deficit is a stressor, training is a stressor.) All you can do is sleep well, work to reduce other stress in your life, then just wait it out.
A gradual decrease in the rate of fat loss over the weeks is to be expected and does not indicate water retention (in this case you’ll make an adjustment to your calorie intake downwards to bring up the rate of fat loss), but a sudden stall indicates that it is water retention marking the fat loss, as there is no physiological mechanism whereby your body will suddenly cease to burn fat if you are in a calorie deficit.
This has the potential to drive everyone crazy, but there is little you can do but wait it out. One morning you’ll wake up to find yourself a couple of kilograms lighter. This is known as a whoosh. It happens with both sexes but is especially common with women.
Please keep questions on topic, write clearly, concisely, and don't post diet calculations.
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Hi Andy. I do weight training 3 times a week totaling up to 45 min to an hour of activity, and then do 30 minutes of HIIT cardio 3 other days a week. Does this fall under lightly active? I think that I might be moderate now but want to make sure before making adjustments to my diet.
Thanks
Andrew S
Hi Andrew, yes, likely active is probably best.
I’ve just found your nutrition guide and am trying to calculate where my calorie intake should be but as a very short woman who is very active I don’t believe 750 calories a day seems like enough to survive on let alone strength train. I followed the female version to get my body fat percentage and did calculations based off of that. But I was looking for advice on how to better calculate where my calorie intake should be as a short woman? Or does this number seem correct for a 5’2″ woman?
Hi Megan. Correct, 750 kcal per day is too low. Use this new calculator.
Do tall people gain muscle more than short people?
Yes.
Hi Andy, how can i achieve a caloric deficit without counting calories?
This’ll have to be an article for another day.
hello
when i estimated my fat % with the US Navy calculation, i realised that the longer your neck circumference, the more your body fat % went down
would you mind explaining please ?
Sure. The formula has three parts: weight, neck circumference, and navel circumference. More muscled people tend to have thicker necks.
Hello Andy,
I’ve been looking at your cycling method and I have a question. When adjusting calories for a controlled bulk, or a cut, do the adjustments (+/- 200 kCal) come from Carbs, Fat, or a 50/50 split?
Hi Mike. A mix of both. More in the adjustments articles on this though.
[…] you have to lose, the more slowly you need to lose it to preserve muscle tissue. (See the, ‘How much fat can I lose per week?‘ […]
Andy, just would like to say thank you for your brilliance. You really have a hand in changing the fitness world. With that said, I was hoping you can answer my question. When you mention most of you formulas, they are in metric (example:calculate appropriate calorie intake for your goals). Can you point me in the right direction in getting the imperial break down? Thank you so much and keep up the excellent work.
Thank you! Sure thing, Paul. Just stick your email address in the box at the end. You’ll get a download link for the book version of this guide and a spreadsheet that has the imperial calculations in also. If for some reason that box doesn’t display, get it here.)
Hi Andy
I was wondering your thoughts on eating speed and satiety. I have struggled dieting on this method, and I tend to inhale my food, which might be making me hungrier. Do you think there is some correlation here?
Thank you
Definitely. It takes a while for the signals to register that you’re full. This is why you can eat 7 tiny courses over 2 hours at a fancy French restaurant and yet feel full at the end of the meal. Chew your food, eat slowly, it’ll definitely help you to eat less.
Hi Andy, first of all thanks for all the free information!
I got a question re the following paragraph:
“An approximate 1:1 ratio of muscle to fat gain is realistic for most people.
I’ll save you the math but this means that to gain 1 kg of muscle per month, you’ll need to gain 2 kg of body weight, and will require a 440 kcal daily calorie surplus.” (p18).
Could you elaborate a bit on the actual calculation / theoretical background of the numbers?
440kcal*7*4.3 = 13200kcal approx per month for a 2 kilo gain consisting of 1kg fat and 1kg muscle.
I guess my question is: Which theoretical surplus does one require to gain a kilo of muscle.
Hope I am making sense (-;
Hi Peter, thanks for the question. From my article: How To Adjust Your Diet To Successfully Bulk:
*********
The Important Numbers (and where they come from):
In the examples we’ll consider the case of the guy that has been bulking but has stopped making progress, and the case of the dieter that has just finished cutting and is looking to start a bulk.
Here are the important numbers we need to make our calculations:
→ It takes roughly ~2500kCal to synthesise a pound of muscle. (~5500kCal/kg) → It takes roughly ~3500kCal to burn or store a pound of fat. (~7700kCal/kg)
Therefore, if we wish to gain 1lb of muscle per month, and we’re setting our bodyweight gain target at 100% over that (so 2lbs), we will need an approximate 6000kCal monthly increase in calorie intake (1*2500 + 1*3500), which is approximately 200kCal per day.
→ For a 1lb increase in muscle mass per month, target 2lbs of weight gain, so increase daily intake by 200kCal.
******
Theory For Fellow Geeks (feel free to skip)
Where do those 2500kCal, 3500kCal and 200kCal numbers come from?
A pound of muscle itself is only 600-800kcal (protein + glycogen + trace intramuscular adipose tissue). But when you go through the metabolic processes to synthesize 600-800kcal of muscle protein, those processes themselves consume an extra 1500-2000kcal. That’s 2100-2800kCal total. Furthermore, let’s say you’re glycogen super-compensated and well-hydrated. That makes your muscles themselves slightly larger and less dense. – Fewer calories per pound.
Fat takes 3000-3500kCal to burn or store. But let’s say you have small adipocytes (fat cells) – after being obese and dieting for example – with more organelles and smaller fat droplets (less fat per unit volume). – Fewer calories per pound.
So we’ll just use 2500kCal for muscle and 3500kCal for fat, as that is in the right range and makes the math easy. Cool? Good.
Thanks Andy, much appreciated!
Hi Andy,
I’m proud to share that I went from 16% BF to 10.5% (and gained 5 lbs of muscle!) in 3 months using your cutting guidelines and stronglifts. Thank you so much for this website. The quality of your information opened the door to my results.
I am going for surgery soon and will be away from the gym for at least 6 weeks. Activity during this time will consist of sitting on my ass and walking. I’m trying to determine how to best retain muscle and stave off fat with diet.
What is your position on maintenance calories and macros? Even though an activity multiplier of 1.2 is associated with ‘little or no exercise’ it still seems high—or am I just paranoid?
As for macros, I consumed 1.25g/lb LBM of protein when cutting and I’m thinking of sticking with it. For fat, I consumed 0.6g/lb LBM on rest days and 0.4 on training days, and I’m thinking of 0.6 for maintenance. Carbs are the easy part.
Hi Steve, great to read that. Thanks for the questions.
I really wouldn’t worry about your diet during this time and simply enjoy your time off. Any muscle losses will come back quickly due to muscle memory (myonuclear domain theory), and time off of training may actually be beneficial for long-term progress. So, rest up, enjoy yourself, then come back fresh and raring to go.
Hey, I had a clarification question regarding cardio and how it factors into my caloric calculations. The tracking app I use, MyFitnessPal, has a step counter that tracks my movement, estimates the calories burned, and then adds it back into my total calories. So for example the TDEE I’ve calculated based on your guide to be 2034, but I’m regularly burning (according to this app) over 300 calories from general walking every day, which the app then adds back into my TDEE (making it closer to 2300 + Cal/ day). If I’m starting a cut, is there any point in doing additional cardio (e.g. swimming, spinning)? Because it seems to me that for every calorie I burn doing cardio, the app just expects me to to consume that equivalent amount of calories back in order to break even. This doesn’t make sense to me, however, because I’m trying to run a calorie deficit (the very definition of a cut). I can turn off the step counter and just stick with the strict 2034 Cal/day that I’ve calculated but at the end of it all I’m still confused about how to factor calories burned from cardio into the equation (and whether this should change between a cut vs. a bulk). Thanks!
Hi Tyler. This guide should cover it. If not, feel free to hit me back up here with a follow up:
• On Cardio for the Physique-Focused Trainee
Hi Andy, thanks for answering my earlier question 🙂
I was just wondering what your opinion is on the approach of many other fitness writers out there such as Charles Poliquin, who simply recommends removing all carbs from your diet, eating more veggies and a complete source of amino acids each meal, etc etc.
Basically such approaches, which do not focus on calorie counting, have actually been able to achieve recomposition results that far exceed a gaining or losing a pound of muscle and fat a week respectively, and changes of even higher amounts of both tissue for obese and beginners. Do you think focusing on calories may actually be limiting the rate of progress as compared to an approach that focuses on hormones such as the Anabolic diet or John romaniello’s approach in engineering the alpha, where he targets hormones as his first prioritiy?
Most welcome Chat.
“I was just wondering what your opinion is on the approach of many other fitness writers out there such as Charles Poliquin…”
I’ll do this just the once cause I’m not here to talk smack about others:
– You’d do well to steer clear of Charles. His training stuff of the past may have been sound, but now he makes money through exaggerating the effects of supplements so that he can sell those, and his BioSignature training certifications (which leads to more supplement sales), which frankly has no scientific underpinning.
It is not possible to manipulate your hormones in a way that will significantly impact your training.
“Do you think focusing on calories may actually be limiting the rate of progress as compared to an approach that focuses on hormones…”
No. The exception would be those with a medical condition needing medical intervention.
Andy, thank you for this helpful information. Unfortunately i am the typical woman who was with a nutritionist and she told me that I had to eat 1000 calories.. I eat 1000 calories since two years ago every single day.. But I can’t lose weight anymore.. what do you recommend me? I was thinking break the diet and I eat TDEE for one month and then i can diet? I am very sedentary girl and small (1.50 meters)
Hi Kary, thanks for the question. Many, many possibilities here. Check out Leigh Peele’s blog, she has all this stuff nailed for women.
Hi Andy! I hope you are doing well. I am 176 tall and weight 81 kg. I am a very active person, although my job is sedentary (work at a desk all day). My day begins at the gym, work and school at night. I used to skip my dinner. I do two hours of weightlifting Monday through Friday from 6-8 am, and weekends I do HIIT for 30 minutes. Sometimes, also during the week I play Squash (occasionally once a week). I love the exercise and practical way since last year and half. I have a Fitbit Charge Heart Rate Monitor (https://www.fitbit.com/es/chargehr), which measures your heart rate all day through a bracelet that is placed in your hand, and I easily pass the 10,000 steps day (weekends are up to 20,000). Until three months ago, I started to eat enough protein and I follow a diet based on macros with the rules that you seted in your webpage and my body was transformed dramatically. Two months ago, I started doing Intermittent Fasting. My goal is cutting and I think that I have 19% of body fat.
My burning calories (showed by Fitbit) are so variable that one day I can burn 4,500 calories and another 2,200 calories, but I burn 3,200 calories on average (3 days of 7). I have never limited myself to eat an exact amount of calories, but I guided myself how much i can eat between Fitbit and My Fitness Pal show me (I’m a maniac weighing portions of food and usually all my food is prepared at home). My diet is based in a plan of calories in vs calories out, and I usually eat 700 calories less than I burned during the day. Example: The day I burned 4,500 calories, I ate 3,800 calories, always respecting my macros (40% protein or more, enough fat and no more of 200 grams of carbohydrates). I do overfeeding of carbs in Sunday.
Until today, I have had great results and I’ve never had a plateau, but I wonder if my approach is right… what do you recommend me? I should eat a specific amount of calories with the formulas you provided on your site for when I face a plateau can cut calories?
Hi Mike. If you’re having great results then sincerely, stick with it. If/when it fails to start working, come back to these guides.
Many thanks Andy ! =)
Sure thing Mike.
Do you see a problem with this technique in a near future?
I can see issues, but pointing them out isn’t what you need at the moment. You can read through the site and see the differences, but really, right now, if what you’re doing is working then the best thing for you to do is to keep going, and stop reading fitness information for now as it will just make you second guess yourself and screw you up. (Which is most common reason people starting out fail to get things done.)
Hi Andy,
Thank you for taking the Time to answer me.
I have read the 9 trainees categories and seem to be in the skinny fat category .
So i have to do a body recomp.
Or do you think it’s best to do a cut cycle (to have a clean fundation) then slow bulk ?
I have a second question if i may . I have injuried my shoulder a few months ago. Can you tell me by what exercice can i switch the bench press ?
Thank you
have a Nice weekend .
Hi Julian, you’re welcome.
1. This is covered in the article you just read. It’s now down to you to make a decision based on that information.
2. See the FAQ, section injury.
Hi. In these articles about the nutrition pyramide you give the calculations for a bulk or a cut . But what about a recomp ?
Have a Nice day
Hi Julien, great question.
Depends what you mean by ‘recomp’. If you mean muscle growth and fat loss at the same rate, then there will be no deficit or surplus, so you just skip that part of the calculation. However, that is idealistic and simplistic and will only happen under very specific circumstances. Usually, even aiming to do both at the same time, it’s best to have a slight deficit or surplus. Usually the former.
Full details on that in this guide:
• The 9 Categories of Trainee: Their Mistakes, How to Avoid Them, and What You Can Achieve When You Get Things Right (Pt.1of3)
Hey Andy. Have you ever had someone who upped his calories from 1800 to 2500 and started losing weight?
Let’s say they were at 1800 for a while then went to 2500 and started dropping weight.
Someone who is 185 15-20 percent BF and works out 5 days a week.
Hi Allen. Sure. Usually there is one of two things going on. The first explanation pretty bland, the second far more interesting:
1. Some form of miscounting, as there is no getting around the energy equation ruling fat loss. (i.e. The 1800 wasn’t 1800, the increase wasn’t an increase. – Though nobody ever admits to miscounting or believe it can happen to them.)
2. A rush of water weight loss from some water retention that was simply waiting to happen. This can be set off by an increased carb intake. (Multiple other things actually.) When you combine a high workout frequency, low calorie intake and stress, water retention is quite common. More on the mechanisms of this here:
• Why Do Sudden Changes In Weight Happen?
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