Free Guide
If you want to lose fat, build muscle or maintain your current physique, you first need an estimate of how many calories your body uses each day.
From there, you can set your protein, fat and carbohydrate targets around your goal.
Your BMR — Basal Metabolic Rate — is roughly how many calories your body would use each day just to keep you alive at complete rest.
A commonly used formula is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.
For men: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) + 5 For women: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) − 161
For example, a 25-year-old man who weighs 80 kg and is 180 cm tall:
BMR = approximately 1,805 calories per day.
However, this is not how many calories he should actually eat.
We still need to account for everything he does throughout the day.
Your maintenance calories are approximately how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current bodyweight.
To estimate this, multiply your BMR by an activity factor.
Using the previous example:
1,805 × 1.55 = approximately 2,800 calories.
So around 2,800 calories would be a reasonable starting estimate for maintenance.
Remember: this is only an estimate.
Your true maintenance is best determined by tracking what you eat alongside how your bodyweight changes over time.
Once you have an estimated maintenance intake, decide whether you want to cut, bulk or maintain.
If your goal is fat loss, you need a calorie deficit.
A useful starting point for many people is approximately 300–500 calories below maintenance per day.
If maintenance is 2,800 calories: Cutting calories = roughly 2,300–2,500 calories.
More aggressive deficits can sometimes be appropriate, particularly for people with higher body fat, but faster weight loss is not automatically better.
Your goal should be to lose fat while maintaining as much muscle, strength and training performance as possible.
If your goal is to build muscle, use a controlled calorie surplus.
A useful starting point is approximately 200–300 calories above maintenance per day.
If maintenance is 2,800 calories: Bulking calories = roughly 3,000–3,100 calories.
Avoid the idea that eating massively above maintenance will automatically build muscle faster.
Your body can only build muscle at a limited rate. Excess calories beyond what you need are more likely to increase fat gain.
If you are happy with your current bodyweight and mainly want to maintain your physique or improve performance, start around your estimated maintenance calories.
Protein is particularly important for maintaining and building muscle.
A strong general target for people who resistance train is 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight per day.
If you weigh 80 kg: 80 × 1.6 = 128 g 80 × 2.2 = 176 g
So your target could fall somewhere between approximately 128–176 g per day.
If you are dieting, aiming towards the higher end can be useful.
Remember: 1 g of protein = 4 calories.
Dietary fat is important for normal bodily functions and hormone production.
A practical starting range is approximately 0.6–1.0 g of fat per kg of bodyweight per day.
For an 80 kg person: 80 × 0.6 = 48 g 80 × 1.0 = 80 g
So approximately 48–80 g of fat per day would be a reasonable range.
Remember: 1 g of fat = 9 calories.
Once you have set your protein and fat, the remaining calories can come largely from carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are particularly useful for supporting resistance training, exercise performance and muscle glycogen.
Remember: 1 g of carbohydrate = 4 calories.
For example, imagine your target is 2,500 calories, protein 170 g and fat 70 g.
Protein: 170 × 4 = 680 calories Fat: 70 × 9 = 630 calories Together: 680 + 630 = 1,310 calories Remaining: 2,500 − 1,310 = 1,190 calories Carbohydrates: 1,190 ÷ 4 = approximately 298 g
Your daily targets would therefore be approximately:
This is one of the most important steps.
A calorie calculator cannot know your exact metabolism, daily movement, training expenditure and lifestyle.
Use your calculated calories as a starting point.
Then track your food intake and average bodyweight consistently.
If you are trying to cut and your weight is gradually decreasing, your calorie target is probably working.
If you are trying to bulk and your weight is gradually increasing at an appropriate rate, your target is probably working.
If your weight consistently stays the same, you are probably eating somewhere around maintenance.
Your calorie needs are not fixed forever.
As your bodyweight, activity levels and lifestyle change, your maintenance calories can also change.
If your progress genuinely stalls for several weeks despite consistently following your plan, you may need to adjust your calories or activity.
Do not change your targets because of one bad weigh-in.
Look at your average bodyweight trend over time.
No.
You do not need to finish every day exactly on 2,500 calories, 170 g protein, 298 g carbohydrates and 70 g fat.
Being reasonably close and consistent matters far more than obsessing over perfect numbers.
Prioritise:
Then focus on consistency.
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Working out the numbers is only the beginning. Knowing how quickly you should progress, when to adjust your calories, how much cardio you should do and how your training should fit around your goal depends on your individual circumstances. With my 1-to-1 coaching, I assess your bodyweight, lifestyle, training experience and goal, then build your calorie, macro, training and recovery strategy around you.
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