Easy Calorie Intake Guidelines
After setting the goal for muscle building or weight loss, the very next step you must be taking is figuring out your calorie intake.
Since total calorie intake essentially determines whether or not you gain or lose weight, if this is off by even just a little bit, your progress is going to be lacking.
While there are many complicated formulas out there that you can use to determine this value, there are some very easy general guidelines that tend to be extremely accurate.
Here’s what you need to know.
Calorie Intake For Maintenance
If you’re currently just looking to maintain your body weight, you will want to be taking in the same number of calories as the body requires to function each day.
For most people, assuming about an hour of exercise is performed 3-5 days a week, the formula you will use is:
Body Weight (in pounds) X 14-15
So, if you weigh 140 pounds right now, you would have a maintenance intake of between 1960 – 2100 calories each day.
If you were extremely active (say an individual training for competitive sports or someone who works out regularly and also has an active job), you might need to go higher than this or you would start losing weight.
Calories for Weight Loss
Next up we come to the calories required to experience weight loss.
Since for weight loss to occur the body must be forced to turn to body fat sources as fuel, you will need to eat a calorie intake that is below that of which you burn daily.
The formula for this goal is:
Body Weight X 11-13
Again, this will depend on just how active you are, but for most people, this will put them right around where they want to be.
Note that the value of 11 would typically indicate a faster rate of weight loss or would be best used by individuals who have less muscle mass and thus a lower natural metabolic rate, while the higher value would be used by those looking for modest weight loss or who have a fast metabolism.
Also note that in some cases very sedentary individuals will have to bring calories lower, closer to the 9-10 X body weight value to lose weight, but this should not be done right away – not until the higher intake is used and results are not seen.
Calorie Intake for Muscle Building
Finally, on the opposite end of the spectrum you have people who want to build muscle mass. In this case, you will need to bring the total calorie intake over and above that of which is required to maintain your body weight, since this will provide the extra calories needed to synthesize new muscle tissue.
How far above your maintenance you go will impact how much muscle you build, as well as how much additional body fat you gain.
Since the body can only create so much muscle at once, when you’re overeating too much, you will gain body fat as well.
For this reason, it’s better to not go above maintenance all that much; just enough to get muscle building happening.
The general formula to use her is:
Body weight X 16-18.
Some people will find they have to go higher to even see a small amount of muscle building happening, but most will be within this range.
So, keep this in mind as you go about planning your diet. Before you even start to concern yourself with whether you should be doing high protein, high fat, low carb, or otherwise, this must be taken into consideration.
Related posts:
- Reader Question: Low Calorie Intake and Metabolic Slow-Down
- Top 10 Calorie Counting Myths You Must Know
- Reader Question: Hunger When Trying To Build Muscle?
- A Primer On Protein Requirements – How Much Protein Do You Really Need?
- Assessing Calorie Cardio Burning For Weight Loss
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