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“How much do I need to eat to gain/lose weight?”
Since I get asked that question a lot I thought I might as well make a quick little thread
on figuring this all out:
(Disclaimer: I ain’t no PT or nutritionist)
Since I get asked that question a lot I thought I might as well make a quick little thread
on figuring this all out:(Disclaimer: I ain’t no PT or nutritionist)
1st you gotta understand the concept of “maintenance calories”. These are basically the amount of calories you need to maintain your bodyweight with NO gain or loss in fat or muscle
Once you figure what YOUR maintenance calories are for the day then it’s pretty easy from there
Once you figure what YOUR maintenance calories are for the day then it’s pretty easy from there
There are a few formulas out there to calculate this but the one I prefer to use is the Mifflin St Jeor Equation, it’s easier to use than it sounds I promise loool
This is the equation.
Weight (W) is in kg
Height(H) is in cm
(A) is Age
This is the equation.
Weight (W) is in kg
Height(H) is in cm
(A) is Age
The number you calculate is your resting energy expenditure. You now want to multiply that according to your activity level:
Bum (sitting around doing nothing) - x1.0
Low activity - x1.2
Active - x1.4
Very active - x1.6
Endurance athlete - x2.0
Bum (sitting around doing nothing) - x1.0
Low activity - x1.2
Active - x1.4
Very active - x1.6
Endurance athlete - x2.0
The number you now end up with is your maintenance calories
(Bare in mind what you calculate are estimates, getting the optimal number will require some trial and error)
Anyway, now that you found your maintenance calories there’s a few more steps left.
(Bare in mind what you calculate are estimates, getting the optimal number will require some trial and error)
Anyway, now that you found your maintenance calories there’s a few more steps left.
If you want to LOSE weight (ideally fat, not muscle) then:
⁃You want to aim to eat roughly 200-300 calories less than your maintenance calories, daily
⁃Keep track of the foods you eat and their calories (spoken about further down)
⁃You want to aim to eat roughly 200-300 calories less than your maintenance calories, daily
⁃Keep track of the foods you eat and their calories (spoken about further down)
⁃Weigh yourself consistently, with minimal food/water in your belly (and clothes 
)
⁃If you’re not losing the weight, then you need to either:
•Make sure you’re tracking calories correctly
•Decrease the amount of calories you eat by a further 200 calories and record
)⁃If you’re not losing the weight, then you need to either:
•Make sure you’re tracking calories correctly
•Decrease the amount of calories you eat by a further 200 calories and record
Gaining is essentially what’s above but the opposite.
There’s a lot more to be said regarding this, like ensuring you’re eating the appropriate portions of carbs, protein and fat. The importance of working out and so much more but I’m trynna keep it simple for this thread.
There’s a lot more to be said regarding this, like ensuring you’re eating the appropriate portions of carbs, protein and fat. The importance of working out and so much more but I’m trynna keep it simple for this thread.
Tracking your calories:
My go to app for this is MyFitnessPal, it’s so easy to use. You can keep track of your daily calories and weight as well.
•Make an account on the app
•Enter basic details about you, including your target calories for the day
My go to app for this is MyFitnessPal, it’s so easy to use. You can keep track of your daily calories and weight as well.
•Make an account on the app
•Enter basic details about you, including your target calories for the day
•Majority of food brands can recorded on there via scanning the barcodes on the package, that’ll bring up their nutritional info
•For home foods, that are harder to track, I recommend investing in a cheap food scale (I got mine from Argos for like £10)
•For home foods, that are harder to track, I recommend investing in a cheap food scale (I got mine from Argos for like £10)
•With this food scale you can weigh the food and enter them individually and manually into the app (still relatively easy)
I don’t want to make this thread too long so I’ll leave it there but it goes without saying I’ve simplified and summarised a lot of the content.
There’s so much more to mention in regards to this topic BUT once you get the hang of it I promise you it’s easy and sustainable.
There’s so much more to mention in regards to this topic BUT once you get the hang of it I promise you it’s easy and sustainable.
Once you’re comfortable with keeping track in this way, you’ll even be able to get away with including some junk food into your diet and still lose/gain weight (making sure you manage the portions though)
