Finding our feet with how much to eat

Finding our feet with how much to eat

Before we get started, I must clarify that this is not a dieting protocol, nor is it a gimmick of ‘Flexible Dieting’ or ‘IIFYMS’ – this is general knowledge. Everyone should have an idea of how much they are eating, just like everyone should know how much they exercise to avoid burning out and plateaus, or if they need to raise intensity/volume to progress. With food, if we aren’t eating enough we aren’t going to function properly. Similarly, if we are eating too much we will find it difficult to function properly; excessive body fat and other overweight-related difficulties are likely to affect us psychologically and physiologically. Take this information I'm about to share with you, and help your friends and family. Too easy – let’s carry on. 

Following on from last week’s post, you should now have an average figure for the amount of calories you've eaten over the past 7 days. If you are having difficulties doing this, follow these steps: 

• In my fitness pal, select the “more” button (bottom right corner on the home page)

• Click “nutrition” 

• Slide across to the “calories” section

• Click on the “day view” drop box and select weekly view

• Scroll down and there should be a figure for “daily average” 

• Remember this number! Write it down if you have to…

Congratulations! Now we have a rough idea – depending on how accurately you tracked your food for the last week – on how much we have been eating. Now then, we need to calculate what is known as our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Basically, this is the minimum amount of energy our bodies require to breathe, beat and, to put it simply, get by (not taking into account what we do externally). Oh, and for those detox lovers out there, our BMR also aids in the bodies natural detoxification mechanism. To calculate this figure we need to use a formula. In an ideal world we would all migrate to a respiration chamber, and undergo a calorimeter examination and other forms of metabolic testing. However, fortunately for our wallets and us there are a few simple yet effective formulas that can help us out. 

Working out “our” calories:

Harris–Benedict equation:

Probably my favourite one as it’s simple to use and gives us a good starting point. 

Men

BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) - (5.677 x age in years)

Women

BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) - (4.330 x age in years)

Once we have calculated our BMR, we can go ahead and workout our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This is the amount of calories we are burning in relation to our activity levels. Bear in mind that this can vary and as I’ve said before, this is only a starting point. Choose one of the sections below, be honest, and complete the recommended calculation (i.e., moderate exercise, 3–5 days per week, daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.55).

Activity Level:                                                                      Calculation:

Little to no exercise                                                               Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.2

Light exercise (1–3 days per week)                                      Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.375

Moderate exercise (3–5 days per week)                              Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.55

Heavy exercise (6–7 days per week)                                   Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.725

Very heavy exercise (twice daily, extra heavy workouts)     Daily kilocalories needed = BMR x 1.9

We should now have a number. This number is not concrete and it is, by all means, likely to change. We actually have two numbers: your average calorie intake from the past 7 days; and your maintenance level calories, which we just calculated. Let’s use the maintenance calories as our target number. If your calorie intake from the past 7 days is above this figure, we need to taper it down to match, or potentially to go below the target number. If, however, your average for the past 7 days is below, you require more food. More food you say? Yes – more food! How good! Easy now… let’s not get carried away. Don’t start filling yourself with all those things you've been craving since Christmas, or since last weekend’s booze-up (for some). We need to increase these calories slowly. I recommend adding 200 calories every 2 to 3 weeks. For some this may be too little and for others it’ll be too much. This is where you need to be able to self asses how your body reacts. If your energy levels are low and everything sucks, try every 2 weeks, or alterations in your macronutrient breakdown might be necessary (I’m about to get onto that part so hold tight). Similarly, if your body fat starts to dramatically increase after 2 to 3 week increments, slow things down a bit. Maybe for you 4 to 6 weeks is more suitable. Everyone is different in these circumstances. Some people have caused some serious metabolic damage to themselves through years of poor dietary habits and ultra low calorie eating, only to rebound the next week, and eat in excess of 2000 calories a day and continue on what is essentially a calorie roller coaster.

Macronutrients to suit “us”:

There is a great deal of contradiction in regards to macronutrient ratios and breakdowns in the nutrition world today. Unfortunately, the majority of the population is left in an even greater state of confusion as a result. Some people are more efficient running on high fat diets, in which case carbohydrate consumption is low. Whereas others, will find it tremendously difficult to generate enough ATP (energy) through this metabolic pathway (beta-oxidation), and will tend to favour carbohydrates as a fuel source (glycolysis). Both situations are hoping to obtain better cognitive and physical function. Again, this is where self-assessment comes in. You'll here me say this a lot as nutrition is very much individualistic. By assessing your own energy levels and cognitive function you should be able to determine what fuel source suits you best. A good test is to use your breakfast as an indicator. Experiment with low, moderate and high carbohydrate breakfasts and assess your energy and satiety levels 2 hours following. For example, if you eat 12 Weetabix dressed in 2 tablespoons of sugar using Nesquick/Milo milk for the moisture, (I may have tried this before…) 9 times out of 10 your going to: a) fall into carbohydrate endured hibernation; or b) eat the remaining 12 Weetabix in the 24 pack box along with the last of the Nesquick/Milo, as your ratio of milk to Nesquick/Milo is pushing 1:10. Unfortunately, this is not what I mean by a high carb meal. I apologise if your reading/smart device (too many to name these days) is now covered in saliva, but I’m focusing more on experimenting with mixed meals. For example, a low carb breakfast may be 4 whole eggs, avocado/nuts, and an array of green vegetables all cooked up in some coconut oil. Of course the quantities will vary depending on your caloric intake, but you get the idea. A higher carb breakfast could be something similar, as well as a bowl of porridge, potatoes, or toast – whatever floats your boat! Depending on your response to these meal types, you can then decide which meal composition suits you best. As I’ve said, everyone is different, except when you’re eating boxes of cereal and tins of milk flavouring. Then, you’re almost guaranteed a solid post-prandial snooze. 

How Much Protein Do I need?

Another fire starter among the fitness industry, but I’m not going to over complicate things here. If you consider yourself a bit of a gym junkie (you workout 6 to 7 times a week, train intensely, know your way around a barbell and love the gym chat), I recommend anywhere between 1.0-1.5 grams per lbs of body weight. If you are more of the pilates and yoga type, but still enjoy a good squat here and there, I’d recommend 0.7-1.0 grams per lbs of body weight. Ideally, we should be eating similar amounts of protein at each meal, whether you prefer to eat 3 or 5 meals a day. This is not essential by all means, but it does help with maintaining positive satiety levels, as well as supporting muscle protein synthesis. If you are hoping to build muscle, aim for no less then 30 grams of protein per meal. Multiply the recommended grams of protein by 4 and this will give you your calories from protein. Write it down. 

How Much Fat Do I need? 

The amount of fat you decide to eat per day is highly dependent on how efficiently you metabolise fat. If you find yourself a bit sluggish, Xanax tripping and with a gannet-like appetite after eating a moderate to high carb meal, you’re probably better off increasing your fat intake and tapering down the carbohydrates. This will slow down the digestion of that meal and keep you satisfied for longer. If you feel energised, satisfied and ready to start ‘sexing some stools up’ (work that one out), carbohydrate-containing meals are likely to suit you. Now, a lot of you will be in a habit of eating carbs with every meal and to start with you may not feel that satisfied without them. By increasing your fat intake relative to the reduction of carbohydrates, you should be able to find a balance within that range. I recommend no less then 0.5 grams of fat per lbs of body weight a day. Any less and your libido is likely to fly away and you’ll begin to discover all sorts of issues with your hormones, skin and general well-being. To get your calories from fats, multiply the recommended figure of fat by 9. Write it down. 

Carbohydrates...

Love them or hate them, you need them in there. Some people need them more than others, but we all need them to some degree. You should now have some numbers to play with here: your overall calorie intake, protein calories and fat calories. To work out how many carbohydrates you need, you simply perform this little equation:

Calories to be consumed from carbohydrates = daily calories - (calories from protein + calories from fat) 

Simply divide that figure by 4 to = total grams of carbohydrate per day.

Fibre.

Fibre intake is highly variable, especially now as so many people are being diagnosed, or in most cases, self-diagnosing themselves with IBS and similar bowl difficulties. Find a figure that works for you and stick to it. If you find eating 30g of fibre per day causes you to spend majority of your day sat on the throne, then decrease it and see how you cope. Bear in mind that if you are eating the majority of your calories from whole, ‘clean’ foods, a high fibre intake is not difficult to achieve. Therefore, those of you who cannot cope with high fibre intakes may be better with replacing your brown rice with white, your sweet potatoes with white potatoes and so on. Yes, broccoli is good for you, but if it causes you to hold in your farts all day because your not comfortable with farting in your workplace, while brewing up something in your bowels similar to what you'd find in a witches cauldron, don't eat it. Replace it with a less fibrous green vegetable like spinach. 

Wrap up:

As I’ve said earlier, these numbers are certainly not concreted in, and be prepared to make some changes if you don't feel as energetic or as cognitively sharp as you should. Protein figures should remain fairly constant. Therefore, the changes you make, whether that’s increasing or decreasing overall calories, should come from adjustments to your fat and carbohydrate intake. Please be aware that programs like MyFitnessPal will attempt to calculate calorie and macronutrient intakes for you. If you are able to set your goals on the app to similar suggestions as I have made here, then lucky you. If not, you may have to set your goals to “0” on everything and just remember those 4 numbers we have pointed out: protein, fat, carbohydrates and fibre.