How Many Calories Do I Need Every Day?
Lesson 2 Module 1
Your calorie intake is the logical starting point for achieving your goals, but you might be confused as to how to calculate how much you should be eating.
In this lesson, I'll guide you through exactly how it's done, using the Iron Paradise Fitness Calorie Calculator, which you will find below. You can also access the calculator using the link below.
Click here for the Online Calorie Calculator (scroll to the bottom of the calculator page for the FAQs).
Save the link for future reference too.
Your Calories Explained
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): This is the number of calories your body burns if you did nothing all day. Think of BMR as your 'Couch Potato Calories'. If you sat on your butt all day and watched Netflix, you'd still burn calories. This is your BMR.
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure): Take your BMR and factor in how active you are during the day, including all your training and this is how many calories you burn on average each day. These are your maintenance calories. Eat this amount and you'll neither lose nor gain weight.
Calorie Deficit / Surplus %: To lose weight/body fat you need to be in a calorie deficit, ie eating less than your TDEE. So use the negative percentages to do this. If your goal is to build muscle, a small surplus is optimal (though not always necessary). Therefore, select positive percentages to create an energy surplus.
Target Calories: Using all the information you've entered, this is the amount of calories you need to consume to achieve your goal.