| Calorie Intake Calculation |
 What is the best
way to eat? This can be
different for each
person depending on if you want to gain, lose, or maintain bodyweight.
It also depends on the level of activity that you have on a daily basis,
and your body fat percentage.
Bodyfat Percentage
The average female has approximately 30% bodyfat.
The average male has approximately 20% bodyfat.
An accurate measurment of your own bodyfat percentage can be obtained by
having a skinfold caliper test, bioelectrical impedance test, or
better yet a body bouyancy test
performed. For the purposes of the following example, we'll use some
"average" values.
Example: 130 lb female (moderately
active)
130 x .30 = 39 lbs (fat
weight)
130 - 39 = 91 lbs (lean body mass)
Activity Factor
Your activity factor is a value from 0.5 to 1.0 that is approximate for
your level of daily activity. A sedentary person (couch potatoe) would
have an activity level of 0.5. A moderately active person (someone who
excercises 3 times per week for about 1 hour) would have an activity
factor of 0.8. A very active person (competitive athlete, someone who
trains daily) would have an activity level of 1.0. So, try to make a
guess as to where you would fall within that spectrum. This activity
factor will eventually help you get an idea how much of each of the
Macro-Nutrients (fat, protein, carbs) you'll need. Now we can apply the
value we obtained earlier...
91 lbs (lean body mass)
91 x 0.8 = 72 grams of protein
To figure out our carbohydrate and fat intake, we need to put our
macronutrients into blocks:
1 block of protein equals 7 grams. (72 grams divided by 7 equals 10.2
blocks)
1 block of carbs equals 9 grams. (10.2 blocks multiplied by 9 equals 92
grams)
1 block of fat equals 1.5 grams. (10.2 blocks multiplied by 1.5 equals
15.3 grams)
So, to summarize: 72g Protein, 92g Carbs, and 15.3g Fat.
Carbohydrate and fat intake may need to be adjusted for each
individual.
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