{"id":2154,"date":"2015-11-20T00:29:33","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T00:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.informed-nutrition.com\/?p=2154"},"modified":"2016-12-09T18:44:22","modified_gmt":"2016-12-09T18:44:22","slug":"how-to-calculate-your-macros-calories-to-gain-muscle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/nutrition\/how-to-calculate-your-macros-calories-to-gain-muscle\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Calculate Your Macros & Calories To Gain Muscle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gain-muscle-calorie-consumption\"The perfect ratio and caloric amount will greatly vary between people. Some are what you would call a \u201chard-gainer.\u201d These people struggle to put on weight no matter what or how much they eat. Typically, they stay pretty lean but are unable to gain the amount of muscle they would like to. As always, the grass is always greener on the other side. Other people struggle to lose body fat and get lean. There are many factors at play here, some you can\u2019t control (i.e. genetics) while others you can manipulate to find what works for you (i.e. macros, calories).<\/p>\n

This article should get you started on how to determine your ideal macronutrient goals and caloric needs.<\/p>\n

No matter the goal, being mindful of what you put in your body is critical. In order to gain size, you\u2019ll need to eat for that goal. In this article, you\u2019ll learn how to calculate the calories you need in order to put on lean mass.<\/p>\n

What is a Macro?<\/h2>\n

Macro is short for macronutrient<\/a>. Macro, meaning large, and nutrient meaning, well the things your body needs to survive. Macronutrients are nutrients that are needed by the body in large quantities. The macronutrients consist of protein, fats, & carbohydrates. There also exist micronutrients which are nutrients the body needs in small amounts (i.e. vitamins\/minerals) but that is beyond the scope of this article.<\/p>\n

Often times, you will see protein, fats, and carbs listed on nutritional labels in grams\u00a0(g). We will need to convert those to calories. That is easily accomplished with the following chart.<\/p>\n

Macro<\/u> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(g)<\/u> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0cal<\/u><\/p>\n

Protein \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a01 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 4<\/p>\n

Fat \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 1 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a09<\/p>\n

Carbs \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a01 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a04<\/p>\n

Notice how fats provide twice the energy as protein and carbs. This is probably why our society has a \u201cfat-phobia.\u201d Future articles will address this issue at large. For now, don\u2019t fall into that trap.<\/p>\n

Calculating Calories<\/h2>\n

First, you will need to get an approximation on where your metabolism is. Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the number of calories your body needs to do the bare basics. If you sat on the couch all day and didn\u2019t move, you would still burn X amount of calories. That amount is known as your RMR. A few factors go into this such as body weight and body fat.<\/p>\n

First, you\u2019ll need to estimate your body fat percentage. The following picture should get you into the general vicinity.<\/p>\n

Once you know your BF%, you\u2019ll calculate your Lean Body Mass (LBM). You\u2019ll multiply your BF% by your body weight (BW). For example, if you weigh 185 lbs and are 15% BF, you\u2019ll multiply .15 x 185. You should arrive at: 27.75. You will then subtract that from your BW (i.e. 185 – 27.75 = 157.25).<\/p>\n

Our example would have an LBM of 157 (rounded down for convenience).<\/p>\n

For a caloric deficit multiple by 14 (i.e. 157 x 14 = 2,198 cal)<\/p>\n

For maintenance calories multiple by 16 (i.e. 157 x 16 = 2,464 cal)<\/p>\n

For conservative<\/em> surplus of calories multiple by 18 (i.e. 157 x 18 = 2,826 cal)<\/p>\n

Short of a hyperbaric chamber, there is no sure-fire way to figure out your caloric expenditure and\/or your caloric needs. However, these guidelines will provide you a great starting point.<\/p>\n

If you wanted to be more aggressive with the weight gain, by all means, add more calories. However, I recommend you start with the above and see how it goes. I don\u2019t think anybody actually wants to put on body fat. Perhaps I am wrong, but I have yet to come across anybody who has chosen that as a goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Calculating Macronutrient Ratios<\/h2>\n

The most basic and easy ratio to start with is probably the 40:40:20. Meaning 40% of calories come from protein, 40% from carbs, 20% from fats. This is a pretty good starting point, if you\u2019re not familiar with tracking macros and calories.<\/p>\n

While the 40:40:20 ratio works great for some, others won\u2019t find much use for it. Typically, these are the people who don\u2019t tolerate carbs very well. In which case, you may turn to the opposite side of the spectrum and step into the realm of the ketogenic diet. Remember when I said not to fall into the trap of \u201cfat-phobia\u201d the world seems to have adopted? Well the ketogenic diet ratio will test those fears. It would look like 75:20:5, meaning 75% from fat, 20% from protein, and 5% from carbs.<\/p>\n

Yes, you read that correct. Welcome to the world of high fat dieting. More on that in the future, this is just an article to get you comfortable with configuring your macro nutrients and caloric needs.<\/p>\n

There are also some guidelines in a previous article, \u201cWhat to Eat for Gaining Muscle<\/a>\u201d. Those guidelines are based off of total bodyweight and would be a little bit less specific than these. However, they work in combination. The amount of carbohydrates are going to be the most variable.<\/p>\n

Calculating the Ratio<\/h2>\n

So you\u2019ve decided to go with the 40:40:20 ratio. Good choice. Let\u2019s break it down using our 185 lb example at 15% BF. Our example is wanting to gain weight. The above caloric surplus states that he should start with 2,826 calories. Let\u2019s break it down into individual macros.<\/p>\n

40% Protein = .40 x 2,826 = 1,130.4 (Total amount of calories<\/u>\u00a0<\/em>needed from protein)<\/p>\n

To get our protein number in grams\u00a0(g) we\u2019ll divide 1,130.4 by 4. That yields: 282.6 grams.<\/p>\n

Carbohydrates would yield the same number because they also comprise 40% of diet and contain 4 calories per gram.<\/p>\n

20% Fat = .20 x 2,826 = 565.2 (Total amount of calories<\/u>\u00a0needed from fats)<\/p>\n

To get our fat number in grams\u00a0(g) we\u2019ll divide 565.2 by 9. That yields: 62.8 grams.<\/p>\n

So our example would have calories and macros like the following:<\/p>\n

Calories \u00a0 \u00a0 2,826<\/p>\n

Protein \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 283g<\/p>\n

Carbs \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 283g<\/p>\n

Fats \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 63g<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that a 185 lb athlete with 15% BF would more than likely be well trained and experienced when it comes to weight training. He would need more protein to help recover and rebuild from the gym. At this calorie and macro level, he would expect to put on some quality lean muscle.<\/p>\n

Recap<\/h2>\n

There is no \u201cone size fits all\u201d when it comes to nutrition. It is up to each individual to figure out what works best for him or her. These guidelines will greatly help you start to figure out where you are.<\/p>\n

If you would like to take all the guess work out of it and leave it up to the professionals, you can do that here. Check out our personalized nutrition plans<\/a> and don\u2019t forget to sign up for our newsletter. It\u2019s filled with quick tips and information you need to be the best you, you can be!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The perfect ratio and caloric amount will greatly vary between people. Some are what you would call a \u201chard-gainer.\u201d These people struggle to put on weight no matter what or how much they eat. Typically, they stay pretty lean but are unable to gain the amount of muscle they would like to. As always, the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,17],"tags":[22,101,119],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}