InstagramWhat is going on my fellow fitness enthusiasts? This blog is a continuation of last week’s blog of “How to calculate your maintenance calories”.
Before we get started, I just want to put this out there! There is no “perfect” macro split. There isn’t a magical/unique permutation combination of your macronutrients that will yield better results than the other when it comes to fat loss!
Apart from the standard guidelines for protein, the rest of it is quite subjective and based on a persons individual preferences!
Some people prefer low carb/high fat diets while others prefer high carb/low fat. Each to their own. In this one I’m going to give you guidelines of how I set up my own personal macro split. You can take what you find helpful and tweak it to your own preference!
Another thing, I want to stress on is that none of these recommendations are set in stone! Like with maintenance calories, they’re good starting points. You can always do some trial and error and see what works best for you.
- Protein – I like to keep this simple! So, all you have to do is take your body weight in kgs, covert it to pounds (multiply by 2.2) and whatever number you get – you can multiply that from anywhere between 0.7 to 1.2.
This varies for me depending on what phase I currently am in. Lean gains or fat loss.
So for fat loss i usually multiply it into 1.
So if I’m 80 kilos
So kgs x pounds = 80 x 2.2 = 176 lbs x 1 = 176g of protein.
176g of protein = 704 calories.
Since 1g of protein = 4 calories.
If I’m in a lean gains phase, my protein requirements are a little lesser. So I multiply it either into 0.8 or 0.9.
For females, you can stay a little bit lower on the spectrum! I think 0.7 to 0.8 is a fair enough number to start with. Since most females are predominantly into fat loss as a goal.
Another thing to keep in mind is how lean you are. A leaner individual would require a little bit higher protein intake than say, someone who is a little bit heavier with barely any muscle mass.
- Fat – I usually keep fat as 25% of my total daily calorie intake. A little bit higher if I’m in a surplus, say about 30-35%.
For example –
Total daily calorie intake = 2000 calories.
25% of that is 500 calories.
Now to get the amount of fat in grams you just need to divide 500 by 9.
Since, 1g of Fat = 9 calories.
So that equals to 55g of fat!
It can definitely be higher in a deficit as well, if you prefer high fat foods.
Lastly!
- Carbohydrates – once I have my protein and fat calories, whatever remains becomes by carb intake.
Let’s go back to the 2000 calorie example. Out of 2000 calories
704 Cals is coming from protein = 176g
500 Cals is coming from fat = 55g
So total calories so far is at 1204. Subtract that from 2000. That leaves us at 796 calories.
Carb = 796 divided by 4 = 199g of carbs.
Since 1g of carb = 4 calories.
And there you have it. Your final macro calorie and macro split.
Calories = 2000
Protein = 176g
Fat = 55g
Carb = 199g
Something to keep in mind. You do not have to be super duper accurate with these numbers. You don’t have to go to the extent of eating half a biscuit to get those last 2g of carbs.
Keep it flexible, so keep everything in a range.
10-20g up and down for carb and protein and 5-10g up and down for fat is perfectly cool.
Don’t get over obsessed with being perfect with your macros. You’re not a machine. Enjoy the freedom of including foods you love but don’t take it to an extent where counting this stuff becomes more stressful than it is fun!
If I had to list the order of the most imp variables when it comes to fat loss. It would be.
1 – Calories (making sure you’re in a deficit)
2 – Protein (so that you preserve or even maybe build some muscle)
3 – Carb and fat are up to manipulation
That’s it boys and girls. Be in a deficit, learn to fit in foods you enjoy (don’t over do it), eat your veggies, eat your fruits, drink a tonne of water – BOOM!
I’ll see y’all in the next one
Much love,
Coach Dhruv
