CALORIE
CALCULATOR
This calculator estimates your calorie intake target and breaks down macronutrient targets to help you succeed in your goal.
It generates an estimated calorie target based upon your personal metrics, daily exercise level, and your specific goal. You will be given a daily calorie target to hit, a daily protein target, as well as calories to consume from fat and carbohydrates. To log and keep track of your calories and intake, you can use apps like My Fitness Pal.
For explanations of each goal, macronutrients and how to manage your calorie intake in a way that works for YOU, please refer below the calculator towards the bottom of the page. Remember, what gets measured, gets managed.
Lastly, please note that when using calorie trackers, DO NOT eat back the calories burned!
Supplementary InfoRMATION
This calculator has generated your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and takes into consideration your goal in order to give you the estimated Calorie Target.
Please note that this calculator is based on the Harris-Benedict equation and determines a close estimate for your calorie intake, derived from your input.
+ WHEN YOU SELECT ‘MAINTAIN WEIGHT’ AS YOUR GOAL
When you select to maintain weight as your goal, your calorie target will remain the same as your TDEE and therefore you will be consuming 'maintenance calories'.
If you do not wish to gain or lose weight and are already resistance training or wish to start resistance training, eating at maintenance calories will allow you to change your body composition, also known as body recomposition.
It is a method by which eating at your maintenance calories and resistance training (minimum 2-3X week) you can reshape how your body looks by losing fat and building muscle.
Please note that if your main goal is weight loss, you should be in a deficit, and if you want to build muscle in the most efficient way you should select to ‘build muscle’ as your goal.
+ WHEN YOU SELECT ‘STEADY FAT LOSS’ AS YOUR GOAL
When you select steady fat loss as your goal, the calculator subtracts calories from your TDEE and will put you into a calorie deficit for your daily calorie target.
While this option puts you into a calorie deficit, the deficit is smaller than if you were to choose “aggressive fat loss” and therefore you will lose fat at a slower rate.
Perhaps you don’t have a large amount you are seeking to lose. Or maybe you don’t wish to be as aggressive with your deficit to ensure compliance to your diet. Whatever the case may be, this is a good option if you feel you want to take a slower approach to fat loss but still see results.
It is important that you are diligent at tracking your intake while trying to lose fat; if you do not consume less than you burn, you will not see results.
+ WHEN YOU SELECT ‘AGGRESSIVE FAT LOSS’ AS YOUR GOAL
When you select aggressive fat loss as your goal, the calculator subtracts calories from your TDEE and will put you into a calorie deficit for your daily calorie target.
This option provides you with a more extreme calorie deficit than the “steady fat loss” option and will have you losing fat at a faster pace.
If you have a relatively large amount of fat to lose, it is suggested to be more aggressive in your fat loss, especially at the beginning.
It is important that you are diligent at tracking your intake while trying to lose fat; if you do not consume less than you burn, you will not see results.
Be mindful that consuming 500 - 1,000 calories per day less than your TDEE will result in approximately 1-2 pounds of fat loss per week (one pound of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories so reducing intake by 500 calories a day results in approximately one pound of fat loss per week).
+ WHEN YOU SELECT ‘BUILD MUSCLE’ AS YOUR GOAL
When you select build muscle as your goal, you are choosing to go into a calorie surplus.
It is important to note you need to also be resistance training a minimum of 2-3X a week while trying to build muscle.
When in a surplus, you can gain fat as well as building muscle while resistance training. The calculator will put you in a medium sized surplus, but if you accept you may gain more fat while potentially building muscle quicker, you can add some calories.
+ UNDERSTANDING A CALORIE DEFICIT
A calorie deficit is THE most important aspect of fat loss. You 100% CANNOT lose fat without being in a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit means that you are consuming less energy (calories) than what you expend.
A calorie deficit doesn’t have to be achieved by ONLY consuming less calories; you can expend more calories through daily movement (walking, planned exercise, etc.) than you used to and therefore put yourself in a negative energy balance that way too.
If you are just beginning, I recommend you focus on your nutrition first and then slowly start to add exercise in to help aid in the deficit.
+ UNDERSTANDING A CALORIE SURPLUS
A calorie surplus means you are consuming more energy (calories) than what your body burns. A calorie surplus is how fat gain happens; it is when we consume too much (energy in) for the amount of movement we do (energy out).
A calorie surplus is also where we need to be in order to maximize muscle gain.
With this option, you need to be resistance training a minimum of 2-3X a week. While eating more in order to gain muscle, you will gain some fat along the way, but by supplying the body with enough calories it is able to grow quickest.
+ UNDERSTANDING YOUR CALORIE TARGET
The calculator supplies you with a daily calorie target and a weekly NET calorie target based on your goals.
The net calorie target is your allotted calories for 7 days (e.g. daily target X 7).
As long as you DO NOT exceed this number in 7 days, your day to day calorie intake can fluctuate.
If you prefer to eat more on certain days you can, but other days need to be lower in order to average out to your net goal. You can also eat the same number daily, it is up to you. Having this flexibility takes personal preferences into consideration and allows us to still enjoy events in our lives without feeling so rigid.
+ UNDERSTANDING YOUR PROTEIN TARGET
This calculator gives you a target protein intake based on your bodyweight that is recommended you consume. It is not something to stress over if you don’t hit it perfectly everyday; do your best to get close enough to it.
If you want to learn more about the importance of protein in our diet in terms of physical results, please see my Blog Post #1: "PROTEIN INTAKE FOR FAT LOSS AND LEAN MUSCLE GAIN".
I do not tell you how many carbs or fat to eat and leave this up to your discretion by preference and how you feel. The calculator will tell you how many calories you have left to allot to carbs and fat after taking your protein intake into consideration.
+ AN INTRODUCTION TO MACRONUTRIENTS
Protein, carbohydrates and fat make up the calories in our food and drinks.
Tracking macronutrients instead of simply just the caloric number, allows us to fuel our bodies with the energy we need to function best and to keep us feeling full. When you track macros, you are counting calories in a more efficient way.
PROTEIN: 1 gram of protein has 4 calories
CARBOHYDRATES: 1 gram of carbohydrates has 4 calories
FAT: 1 gram of fat has 9 calories
ALCOHOL: 1 gram of alcohol has 7 calories
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALCOHOL IS NOT A MACRONUTRIENT but it does contain calories.
