Nutrition Numbers Explained

I don’t know why but people usually don’t bring the same intensity as they show in training when it comes to nutrition. People plan their workout schedule so articulately ending up going to the gym 5-6 days a week, hitting those deltoids from all possible angles but are uncertain what they put in their mouth. Nutrition as I said in my previous article is very important to see those results which you so desperately crave. If you don’t take it seriously you my friend are walking a very thin line.

In this article I will try to guide you on how to plan your nutrition numbers which would fulfill your goals.

Step 1. Calculate your BMR

BMR refers to Basal Metabolic Rate, it shows the number of calories your body will burn in a neutral state. There are a number of calculators available online which you can use to calculate your number. For eg. If you get 1800 calories, that means your body will burn 1800 calories in a day if you do absolutely nothing.

Step 2. Factor in your Activity Level

Multiplier	Activity Level
1.2	Very low activity (Couch potato)
1.4	Light activity
1.6	Moderate activity
1.8	High activity

Even if one has a regular desk job and goes to the gym regularly, his activity level should be at the most moderate.

Step 3. Maintenance calories

Multiply results from Step 1 & 2 to know you maintenance calories. Maintenance calories are the calories you need to maintain your body weight and fat percent at the current level of activity.

Step 4. Calculate calories as per your goal

This is the most important number. If your goal is to gain you should be aiming to consume more calories than your maintenance calories and the other way around if you want to lose weight. Half kg of fat contains around 3500 calories. So if you want to lose half kg of fat in a week you should be consuming 500 calories (3500/7) less than your maintenance calories.

For eg:

If you are planning to cut down

BMR	1,800
Light Activity	X          1.4
Maintenance Calories	2,520
Less: Deficit	(500)
Daily Calorie Intake	2,020

If you are planning to gain

BMR	1,800
Moderate Activity	X          1.6
Maintenance Calories	2,880
Add: Extra Calories	500
Daily Calorie Intake	3,380

Tracking your calorie intake can be quite intimidating at first but there are various fitness apps like myfitnesspal available to help you out. Give it a try and become more systematic in your approach to nutrition. You will feel the change if you get those number right.

To keep this article simple I am not going into details regarding macro-nutrients and their composition. I will cover that separately.

Conclusion

There’s a popular saying that you cannot out train a bad diet. If we are so dedicated in our workouts why do we ignore our nutrition? It amazes me.  If you don’t have respect for nutrition, you’ll probably give up on your goals and end up disappointed. Be scientific in your approach, be true to yourself, plan well and bring the same intensity towards nutrition. Beast Mode doesn’t end in the gym, it ends on your dining table.

bon appétit

  

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