Build Muscle, Lose Fat... But How Many Calories Do I Need?

Calories Per Day Explained...

Calories Per day. How much to eat to lose body fat and maintain muscle mass? The easiest formula for calculating your calorie in take per day. For males and females looking to lose weight or build lean muscle... Follow this guide exactly, and you can't go wrong!

No one approaches bodybuilding the same way! Let's look at two examples:

Person B:


Goal: Build muscle - Gain weight
Activity level: Very active
How often do you workout?: Cardio 4 x a week, and occasionally lifts weights
Height: 5'9
Weight: 180 lbs
Age: 23
Calories per day: Over 2,000
Goal weight: 200 lbs
Has been working out for 2 years

For Person A to reach their ideal weight, they have to include cardio and eat less to reach 200 pounds.

For Person B, they have to do more weight training and eat MORE to reach 200 pounds.

Both want to reach 200 pounds of solid muscle mass and low body fat, but both are going about it the wrong way. Both people will have to approach their training differently from one another, and from what they're currently doing... Which brings us to...

There is no ONE solution for all, or one write up that cures or resolves everyone's situation, just like there isn't one pair of shoes that everyone can slip their feet into comfortably... But, there is a little calorie calculation to set you on the right path.

Here's a quick calorie calculation that both people could use to get started for a rough calories per day estimate:

To maintain weight, multiply your current weight by 15
Person A: 220 x 15 = 3300 calories per day to maintain weight.
To gain weight add 500 to 1000 calories to 3300.
To lose weight subtract 500 to 1000 calories from 3300.

Person B: 180 x 15 = 2700 calories per day to maintain weight.
To gain weight add 500 to 1000 calories.
To lose weight subtract 500 to 1000 calories.

There are other variables such as age, activity level, gender, height, metabolic rate, etc, that all come into play for determining how many calories to consume per day, but with this little equation, you can get a pretty good estimate without driving yourself insane. It really comes down to YOU watching your progress, and tweaking this equation as you move along.

The bottom line with this equation is to get a rough estimate, and just simply watch your progress in the mirror. There's just way to many factors to consider for creating the "perfect equation".

Tips:
Both Person A and Person B in the examples above, should do an equal amount of weight training. 3 or 4 days a week of weight training is a very good amount.

Not all calories are created equal. There's a ratio to follow for building muscle and losing fat. And that ratio is: Protein, Carbs, then fats.

Each meal should be high in lean proteins, and natural carbohydrates sources that are unprocessed, and then essential fatty acids.

You can't just eat whatever you want. You have to be strict. Your game has to be on, in the gym and out. Eat extremely healthy, exercise often, and follow the calculation above, and you WILL lose body fat and gain muscle, or whatever goal you have.

You have to exercise for this equation to work.

If you're failing to lose body fat, try this:

Drop your calories down slightly. Don't drop calories too fast. Starving your body will not help you get results faster.

Increase activity level a little more. For example go for walks. Just add a little more activity each day.

If you're failing to gain weight, try this:

Increase calories a little more each day.

Do less cardio, but maintain the same amount of weight training.

Special tips:

You really don't want to lose anything more than 1 pound per week. 2 pounds per week would be considered extreme. Anything more than this and you will sacrifice muscle tissue.

To get accurate measurement of your current weight, weigh yourself in the morning on an empty stomach and compare that weight only. Don't weigh yourself on a full stomach at the end of one day, and then compare that number to the weight you had on a previous day on an empty stomach.

A really good strategy for calorie consumption throughout the week, is to NOT consume the same amount of calories per day... Mix it up.

Let's say your aim was 2,000 calories per day. Your calories per day could look like this...

Mon: 2400
Tue: 1600
Wed: 2000
Thurs: 1800
Fri: 2200
Sat: 2000
Sun: 2000

By the end of the week, you've averaged 2,000 calories a day. By doing this, you'll stimulate your metabolism, and burn even more fat than what you would have if you ate the same amount per day.

Once a week, don't be afraid to increase you calories even more. Treat yourself once and a while. The secret to losing body fat, is to let your body know that it will be fed.

If your body thinks it's starving, you won't lose fat as fast. Your body will work extremely hard to hold onto everything it can in an attempt to survive. But, you can out smart this, by tricking your body. Doing a combination of high and low calorie days and averaging your goal calorie range at the end of the week does just that. As long as you are averaging the ideal calorie goal at the end of the week, and are not starving yourself, you will be fine.

Here's a calculation to know how many calories you've consumed in a week.

1. Each day write out how many calories you consumed.
2. After 7 days add those numbers together
3. Divide that total number by 7

Was this confusing?

It can be, we do understand... But if you'd like something that can help you out further, with more in-depth explanations that go further into details, you may just need the Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle! approach.

And we aren't suggesting Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle! just because it's the latest fad...

Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle! is actually an approach that has helped people understand calories, nutrition, exercise, and puts it into a concise understandable approach!

Seriously, just check it out!

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