Welcome to Part 2 of a very important blog– The calculation of your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE / “Maintenance”), and eventual caloric requirements of your goals is where every person, regardless of their goals, should start; It’s also a number that everyone should know but no one does.
In our last post on the subject, the aptly named “Part 1,” we went into great detail about the home calculations behind these numbers. . . We left off right when it was getting good, though, and you may be asking yourself, “But Gabriel, how does my BMR tell me how much to eat LOL?” Well, here’s how it works:
Hopefully you’re aware that you need a caloric surplus in order to gain (lean) mass; Conversely, you need a deficit in order lose (adipose) mass. If you’re not already aware of that, there you are– You’re welcome. With that in mind. . .
If you’re planning on gaining lean body mass, you’re going to need to eat a very specific amount of calories over your TDEE, otherwise, you won’t achieve the goals you’re setting out for. Bodybuilders and personal trainers used to say that 500 calories above your TDEE, regardless of who you are, would build a pound of lean muscle mass per week. There has since been research to prove that, if bulking naturally, this is nearly impossible, and you will instead gain a fair amount of fat in addition to lean body mass. A better guide to follow (That is gaining momentum) is the 10% rule– That is, you only adjust your caloric intake + / – 10% of your TDEE. While bulking, this helps promote a healthy ratio of lean mass to fat gain, as fat gain is nearly unavoidable during a natural, clean bulk.
To use myself as an example, my TDEE is currently 2,850 KCal.– 10% above this is 3,135 KCal; As such, I’m eating between 3,100 and 3,200 for my bulk right now, to maximize muscle gains while bulking.
So that’s great about gaining mass, but what happens if you’re looking to lose fat; A.K.A. “Cutting”? Have you ever heard of the 500 calorie rule? Well, it goes hand in hand with what we were discussing above. When losing weight, you need to create a caloric deficit. You can be extreme about it, but that is very unhealthy, and will lead to a massive loss in lean body mass. . .
So here’s what to aim for when cutting: Either 10% below your TDEE, or 500 calories below your TDEE– The rationale behind them is the same. 10% below is optimal for maintaining your muscle mass while cutting the fat away, whereas 500 calories below your TDEE may eat away lean body mass in addition to the fat.
Now, some people may ask why they would want to maintain all of that muscle mass; Why not just create an extreme caloric deficit to lose weight quickly? First off, it’s unhealthy to starve your body, and this method only works for so long before your body rebels. Also, keep in mind that muscle burns more calories than fat, so this is something that you want to keep on you body, but more importantly, muscle is shape! Have you ever seen someone who is very skinny, but has zero definition on their body? You can avoid that.
I digress. . .
To use myself as an example, we already know that my TDEE is 2,850 KCal. . . If I were to begin a cutting phase now, I would eat between 2,350 and 2565, the lower bound being my minimum caloric requirements while the upper bound would be my actual goal.
So, after calculating your TDEE with Part 1, and after reading your post, you can determine how many calories you need to achieve your goals!