The body needs an excess, or sufficient, number of calories OVER your maintenance level (BMR) to build muscle. If you are in deficit to your BMR, you'll lose fat.
See the following to figure out how many calories (kcals) you need to attain whichever goal you have:
1. Check out this site first. This will help you figure out your BMR:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
2. After you find your BMR, goto this page and take your BMR and multiply it by your activity level. (FYI, NO ONE is sedentary but people stranded to a bed.) Do lightly active as a minimum:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/
3. Then, see this page for ideas on gaining weight:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-gain-weight.php
Basically, once you find your BMR x activity level using the Harris Benedict equation, add 500 to that. That is what you should eat everyday.
4. Or, goto this page for ideas on how to lose fat:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php
The thing here is that diet cannot be sloppy. Diet is 80% of your success. The other 20% is how you do your activity, like heavy weight lifting. I strive for 90% in my diet and the other 10% is a free for all (aka, junk food, beer, etc.). Basically, 100% clean diet Monday-Friday. Then on Saturday and/or Sunday, it's my cheat meals, nights out with buddies, etc. I usually only make it 1-2 meals instead of the whole day, but that is just me. The foods you need to bring in have to be natural, non-processed, whole foods. Things with 1-2 ingredients. No more than this. See what I eat here.
See this site for a list of all foods that are perfect for consumption:
http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php
Don't think of this as a "diet." It's not. It's a lifestyle change and once you incorporate these foods into your routine, you won't want to go back to unknown processed food. This also may sound very "technical" and full of "math", but it's only this way for the first month or two. Once you establish yourself and your routine, this is second nature and you won't have to "count" calories. You'll know what you need after some experimenting and trial-and-error. Measuring out food (for portions), making your meals for the whole week on Sundays, etc. is all part of it. Trust me, life is not about counting calories. It needs to be enjoyed.
Best,
Tyler
It IS possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. It is not efficient and takes very long but it is possible! The better way would of course be building muscle first and then lose the fat.
ReplyDeleteHere's some more Thorben.
ReplyDeleteThe Law of Energy Balance:
To lose weight, you must burn more calories
than you consume each day.
To gain weight, you must consume more calories
Than you burn each day.
Corollary One of the law of calorie balance
Too much of ANYTHING will get stored as fat - even healthy food.
Corollary Two of the law of calorie balance
Small amounts of ANYTHING - even junk food - will probably
NOT get stored as fat if you are eating fewer calories than you burn up.
Hi this is really great tips! thank you
ReplyDelete[...] by Tyler in Diet. Tagged: Diet, food, How-to. Leave a Comment So now that you know how many calories you need to eat to either build muscle or burn fat, the next step is to break down your calories into what is [...]
ReplyDelete