NUTRITION

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR ENERGETIC NEEDS

FOOD AND ENERGY CONTRIBUTION

Our body obtains energy through the food we eat. These foods are made up of different elements, but only three provide us with energy, we call them energy nutrients:

Proteins: 4 cal/gr Function: Tissue construction
Carbohydrates: 4 cal / gr Function: Energy
Fats: 9 cal / gr Function: Energetic and metabolic

HOW MANY CALORIES DO I NEED TO EAT PER DAY?

It depends on:

Gender
Age
Weight
Height
The physical activity we do
The type of food we eat

HOW DO I CALCULATE THE CALORIES I NEED

You have to calculate the sum of these four factors:

Basal metabolism
General physical activity (NEAT)
Specific physical activity (MET)
Thermogenic effect of food

1. What is basal metabolism and how is it calculated?

It is the minimum amount of energy our body needs to function. It is calculated with the Harris Benedict formula:

Men: 66,473 + (13,751 x weight in kg) + (5,003 x height in cm) – (6,755 x age in years)
Women: 655,095 + (9,563 x weight in kg) + (1,844 x height in cm) – (4,675 x age in years)

2. What is NEAT and how is it calculated?

It stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis, and refers to the extra energy expenditure generated by our daily activity, without taking into account the physical exercise we perform. It is calculated by multiplying the basal metabolism by the corresponding coefficient minus the basal metabolism:

(MB x coefficient) – MB = NEAT

Coefficients:

1.2 if you are sedentary
1.3 if you are slightly active
1.4 if you are neither active nor sedentary
1.5 if you are active
1.6 if you are very active

3. What is the MET and how is it calculated?

It refers to the energy necessary to perform a specific physical activity. For them we will use a formula where we will multiply the MET coefficient by the weight and the number of hours of exercise:

MET x Weight (kg) x time (h).

There are different tables to assess the MET of different activities

4. What is it and how is the thermogenic effect of food calculated?

It refers to the amount of energy we need to digest all the food we eat. Its calculation is very complicated, so an estimate is used that consists of calculating 10% of the total sum between the MB, the NEAT and the MET.

Thermogenic effect: (MB+NEAT+MET) x 10%

WHAT IS OUR GOAL: GAIN, LOSE OR MAINTAIN WEIGHT

Gain weight = Eat more calories
Lose weight = Eat fewer calories
Maintain weight = Eat the same calories

If we want to generate a caloric deficit (eat fewer calories) we must start by dropping a maximum of 100 cals per day the first week, until we reach a maximum deficit of 500 cals per day.

If we want to generate a caloric surplus (eat more calories) we must start by increasing a maximum of 50 cals per day the first week, until we reach a maximum surplus of 500 cals per day.

HOW SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY MACRONUTRIENTS

Once you have established the calories you need to eat daily, you must distribute them into the three macronutrients (don’t forget to eat fruits and vegetables because vitamins, minerals and fiber are also important):

Lose weight, lose fat: 35-45% carbohydrates, 20-35% proteins and 15-25% fats. Something that many people think is that to define you have to completely eliminate fats, and that is a mistake, fat will help us in the definition process (mainly use healthy fats).
Gain weight, increase the amount of muscle or volume: 50-55% carbohydrates, 20-25% proteins, 25-30% fats. Although the percentages of protein decrease, the intake in total grams of protein in the three objectives is usually stable, always around 2 g per kg of weight.
Improve body composition, recomposition or maintenance: 45% carbohydrates, 35% proteins and 25% fats.

These values are generic, each person is different, so there may be a 5% range in each macronutrient.

FIXED AMOUNTS OF MACRONUTRIENTS

Try to eat around 2 and 2.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight.
Try to eat around 0.8 and 1.5 grams of fat per kilo of body weight (prioritize mono- and polyunsaturated fats and avoid saturated fats as much as possible).
Allocate the rest of the calories to carbohydrates.

Excess protein is less worrying than lack of it. Rather than worrying about an excess, we should worry about a deficit of them. Several studies have proven how taking doses as high as 4.4g/kg/day does not have any side effects for our body. However, when there is a protein deficiency there are side effects such as loss of muscle and bone mass, even more so if we do not do strength training.

HOW TO DISTRIBUTE PROTEINS IN THE DIET

Scientific literature recommends taking between 20-40 grams of protein per meal to stimulate protein synthesis. Once that amount is exceeded, there will be no further synthesis.Distribute the grams of protein more or less equally throughout the day’s meals.

For this reason, the most interesting thing is to stimulate this protein synthesis many times throughout the day. For example, an 80 kg person will have to consume between 128 – 176 grams of protein per day. If we divide that amount into meals of 20-40 grams each, we will obtain that, on average, we will be able to eat five meals of 30g each, giving a total of 150g for the entire day.