Calorie and Nutritional Needs

Good morning my Shirelings and happy Monday!

In my internet wanderings this weekend, I came across a marvelous tool to calculate your daily calorie and nutrient needs. Figuring out how many calories and grams you should get each day from carbs, protein, and fat (also known as macro nutrients), takes just a little bit of math.

The following calculations come from the Institute of Medicine.

First, we are going to calculate daily caloric needs. (Grab a calculator!)

This is to find out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight but it is a baseline ONLY. If you are more active, you are going to need more calories than someone who is sedentary.

I'll be using my weight of 153 as an example. 

1. Convert your weight in pounds to kilograms by dividing your pounds by 2.2.

153/2.2 = 69.55

2. Multiply your weight in kilograms by 9.99.

69.55 x 9.99 = 694.80

3. Convert your height in inches to centimeters by multiplying your inches by 2.54.

62 x 2.54 = 157.48

4. Multiply your height in centimeters by 6.25.

157.48 x 6.25 = 984.25

5. Multiply your age in years by 4.92.

27 x 4.92 = 132.84

6. Add the numbers from steps 2 and 4, and subtract the number from step 5.

694.80 + 984.25 = 1679.05 - 132.84 = 1546.21

7. To the total from step 6, add 5 if you are a man, or subtract 161 if you are a woman.

1546.21 - 161 = 1385.21

1385 Total

Your total is the number of calories you'd need per day to keep your weight the same. 

Next, we'll calculate your daily Macro amounts.

Carbohydrates: You should be getting anywhere from 45 to 65 percent of your calories from carbs, so we'll just go with half.  

Determine how many calories you should have from carbs each day:

Multiply your daily calories (that total number from above) and multiply by 50 percent.

1385 x .50 = 692.50

Now lets see how many GRAMS of carbs you should eat daily. Carbs contain 4 calories per gram so divide your daily carb calories by 4. 

692.50/4 = 173.125

Total carbs - 173g daily

Protein: Between 10 to 35 percent of you daily needs should come from protein. I'm going to use 20% for our calculations. 

Calculate how many calories of protein you should have each day.

Multiply your daily calories by 20 percent. 

1385 x .20 = 277

Now lets see how many grams of protien you should eat daily. Protein contain 4 calories per gram so divide your daily protein calories by 4. 

277/4 = 69.25

Total protein - 69g daily

Fat: Between 20 to 35 percent of your daily needs should come from fat (GOOD FATS!!!!!!). I'm going to use 30%.

Determine how many calories from fat you can have each day.

Daily calories times 30 percent.

1385 x .30 = 415.50

Fat contains 9 calories per gram so to determine how many grams of fat you need daily, divide your fat calories by 9.

415.50/9 = 46.17

Total fat - 46g daily

Now I know it looks like a lot you guys, and it kind of is, but it is really useful information if you are seriously looking to keep your body in tiptop shape. 

In addition to using my Weight Loss Journal, I have also started using My Fitness Pal because it TRACKS MY MACROS FOR ME!!!!!  You can plug in all of your above numbers to set your daily nutritional goals and BOOM it's all there in black and white for you. 

I use both the website and the mobile app, so here is a screen shot of nutrition section of the mobile app and how it compares how you did with your daily goals.  Pretty nifty if you ask me. 

It definitely takes the guesswork out of tracking your Macros. 

Looking for REASONS to track your Macros? Well, I have those too!

1.) Even SLIGHT changes in your nutritional intake could mean the difference between shedding those last few stubborn pounds or staying where you are, stuck on your plateau.

Like I said in my Watching What I Eat post (Linked above under Weight Loss Journal), little bits add up.

2.) Get a handle on your cravings! If your making sure that your body gets exactly what it needs every day, your random junk food cravings should start to disappear. 

3.) You have a deadline to meet. Wedding? Vacation? High School Reunion? TRACK THOSE MACROS! If you've noticed that the scale hasn't budged, it may be because you're taking on excess carbs! Take a look and get everything back on track. Everything should work out fine. 

4.) It will help you learn to proper portion sizes. Sometimes we under- (or even over-) estimate how much we are taking in everyday. Obviously too much fueling is going to put a damper on your weight loss, but too little could as well. You NEED to take in a certain amount of calories everyday in order for your body to perform its everyday tasks (digestion, natural detox, breathing, keeping your heart beating, etc) if you don't, things can get out of whack. 

Bottom line...it's worth it to track them. 

I hope this post helped you out in one way or another! Until next time!

"May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks."

-Hobbit