Calorie and Macro Targets

What personal trainers can't do: write a step-by-step meal plan, telling you exactly what to eat, when to eat it. This is the job of a dietician or doctor. If a personal trainer offers you this service, he or she is overstepping his or her mark as a professional. In fact, personal trainers can get in legal trouble when offering this type of service.

What personal trainers can do: create a calorie and macronutrient strategy to help you lean out, bulk up, or maintain. This is where we at Farmer Gym can be of service.

Below is an example of what mean:

Step 1: state a few key measurables (height, age, sex) and your goal; lose weight, gain weight, maintain.
Example: Mike is a 6', 35 year-old male who is overweight and wishes to lean out for better health.

Step 2: weigh yourself.
Example: Mike is 215 pounds.

Step 3: calculate your body fat percentage.
Example: by looking at an online chart, Mike guesses his body fat percentage to be 25% (guessing has the highest error rate; but we're only after an estimate in this example, as we can adjust our numbers after time).

Step 4: calculate your lean body mass (LBM).
Example: Mike is 25% fat; therefore, he has a LBM of 75%. Since Mike weighs 215 pounds, nearly 162 pounds of his mass are lean.

Step 5: estimate your basal metabolic rate (BMR), or, in other words, estimate the calories required to just be. This can also be done by journaling and averaging your weekly eating and weight-gain/loss habits.
Example: by using the Mifflin St. Joe BMR Formula, we find that Mike's BMR is 1,950 calories per day
*Mifflin St. Jeor Formula: BMR = 10 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height(cm) - 5 x age(y) + 5 (man); the female formula is different

Step 6: estimate your activity and apply a multiplier to the above formula. This is your approximate maintenance level for calories, accounting for activity.
Example: Mike's activity is considered light, as he has a desk job. Outside of the gym, he will occasionally take his dog for a walk. As a result, his multiplier is 1.5-1.8 (this scale ranges from four to five different activity levels). 2,925 to 3,510 is his maintenance range. For this example, we'll use the middle-of-the-road figure, 3,217.
*Ideally, a one-month trial period should be used to adjust this figure to a more exact figure.

Step 7: state your goal and calculate a calorie deficit.
Example: Mike wishes to lose weight. He will begin with a 20% calorie restriction per day (this can be adjusted up or down; it's best to start conservatively). 2,574 calories per day is Mike's consumption level. (3,217 * .80)

Step 8: estimate your protein intake according to your LBM. A solid range for healthy exercises is 1.2-1.6 (the leaner you are, the higher on the end this can be).
Example: Mike should consume 226 grams of protein (162 * 1.4). A single gram of protein contains 4 calories; therefore, Mike should consume 907 calories from protein.

Step 9: estimate your fat intake. A solid range for healthy exercises is 20-35% of total calories (the leaner you are, the lower on the end this can be).
Example: we've decided to use 30% for Mike. He should consume roughly 86 grams of fat. A single gram of fat contains 9 calories; therefore, Mike should consume 772 calories from fat.

Step 10: calculate your remaining calories, or carbohydrates.
Example: Mike should intake approximately 894 calories of, or 223 grams from, carbohydrates. (2,574 - 907 - 772 = 894) *Please note, we've rounded our numbers, so if you see we are slightly off, that is why.

Protein: 907 calories, or 226 grams
Fat: 772 calories, or 86 grams
Carbohydrate: 894 calories, or 223 gram

Step 11: monitor and re-estimate.
Example: Now that we have Mike's numbers, we must weekly monitor his weight and make adjustments every set period. It usually takes a month or two to fine tune the figure.

Oh, we forgot one other step: #dowork

If you have questions, we have answers! Just let us know what it is we can do for you on your fitness journey. (We know, it takes time to "digest" all of this information.) But we're here for you.

It takes effort, in the gym and in the kitchen. Just be persistent and remain diligent.