Ok so you’ve used the IA Calories & Macros Calculator and you’re wondering why there’s only calories and protein targets…
At its most basic, the “calorie” is a word used to represent the energy levels within a food. Calories are used as energy for the body. Calories dictate fat loss and fat gain.
Consume too many calories for the amount you need day-to-day? You increase body fat.
Consume too few calories for the amount you need day-to-day? You reduce body fat.
This is called energy balance.
Exercise, bodily functions, sleep, and general daily activity will all burn calories (did you know eating burns calories!?).
On the other hand, you have macros, which are the contents of a calorie (some calories are better quality than others). Protein is a macronutrient and is the main contributor to muscle growth. More on protein in a moment.
There are three main approaches to energy balance:
A calorie surplus; consuming more calories than you burn, which will result in body fat increase and optimal muscle growth.
The opposite; a calorie deficit; burning more calories than you consume, which will result in fat loss and less optimal muscle growth (but still entirely possible to add muscle, it’s just harder).
Then calorie maintenance/balance; consuming as many calories as your body needs on an average day, which will result in maintained body fat and moderate-to-high opportunity for muscle growth.
You will have been assigned one of these approaches by the calculator when choosing your main goal and activity levels.
Honestly, most people’s ambitions when it comes to training are fat loss and/or muscle gain. Of course there is the enjoyment and mental health aspects to training but we often want physical outcomes. So applying the correct diet, via energy balance and protein intake, is essential to this.
Now, if you’re a performance focused athlete/trainee then eating to perform is key; your body composition and dietary approach should align with this goal. With that being said, if you are an athlete, then you need to consume adequate amounts of the two energy-giving macronutrients, carbohydrates and healthy fats, to ensure optimal performance and recovery. Need help on this? Enroll in one of the athlete-specific programs here.
Back to protein:
Science has entered the chat.
When it comes to building muscle, a calorie surplus is an OPTIMAL way to achieve this goal (more calories means more nutrients to muscles) but it is not the ONLY way to do so. You CAN grow muscle and lose body fat together while in a calorie deficit, it’s just less optimal.
This is where protein comes into play. No matter your calorie intake, protein must be adequately consumed within these calories every day. This will allow you to maintain muscle mass, and even improve it, while managing your calories to reduce body fat.
Still, Jak, why are healthy fats and carbohydrates missing from all of this?
Because as long as you’re hitting your daily calories goal and achieving your daily protein target, healthy fats and carbohydrates can fill the rest of your daily calories number as you wish. This allows for flexibility in your diet without sabotaging results and i’ve personally found that my clients stick to a diet much better when allowed to make such flexible decisions. As a guideline, just make sure your healthy fats stay at 20% or more more of your daily calorie intake (this is where MyFitnessPal helps). Carbohydrates you can legitimately do as you wish with; they’re best used for performance and recovery. They usually taste great too.
Just remember, carbs DO NOT make you fat, in fact no single food item inherently makes you fat, only the overconsumption of calories does! Carbs just happen to often be calorie-rich so people cut them out first and can see results. Removing carbs is not necessary to lose body fat. It is a pure numbers game.
Finally, on the point of the “numbers game” please understand that due to biological individuality, meaning how drastically different each person is from the next, that calorie calculations are never an exact science. There are so many variables person-to-person, and within their varying lifestyles, that instead of taking these numbers as concrete, you should instead use them as an (adjustable) starting point.
This means you should use weigh-ins, looking in the mirror, and gauging your physical/psychological response to see if the numbers are working. Body fat not changing? Simply, reduce the calories. Only through consistent application over multiple weeks will you see results. Also, as you get better conditioned (fitter, stronger, more muscle, etc.) you will need to adjust the calories number based on your body’s new energy needs.
Rant over. People go to university to learn all of that! It’s even more complicated as you get deeper in to it; so you should consider getting yourself a good coach to guide you through it and avoid the pitfalls ?
Anyway, you can now get started immediately applying the numbers I’ve given you. This was just a brief lesson on how to get your diet right, approach it with long-term flexibility, and get the results you deserve. There’s much more educational gains on offer in my programs, so please consider joining IA and we can work together to get you exactly where you want to be.
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