LET’S TALK CALORIES

I’m quite excited to begin talking about bodybuilding (exercising to cause physical adaptations in the body) but before I can do that, we need to discuss calories.

To begin, we need to think of food as energy, or fuel for your body. Energy is an equivalent word to calories because calories are a measure of energy, if that makes sense. Each of the macronutrients has a specific amount of energy per gram. Carbs and proteins have 4 calories per gram and fats have 9 calories per gram.

Most food nutrition labels are based on a 2,000-calorie daily diet, which is only an average. What really determines a person’s caloric needs are factors such as age, gender, height, distribution of fat versus nonfat mass, and exercise habits. This is called the Total Daily Estimated Expenditure, or TDEE for short. Energy intake relative to TDEE is the primary decider of weight outcomes.

If you are trying to gain weight (either adipose, or lean mass), you must eat above your TDEE; to maintain your current weight you must eat at your TDEE; and to lose weight (adipose tissue and lean mass), you must eat below your TDEE.

Calculating TDEE is actually quite simple, although it is a little bit of a lengthy equation. I will share the equation here, but if you are not a very math-y person, TDEE calculators can easily be found online.

To go about figuring your TDEE, you first will need to know four factors – your weight in kilograms, height in centimeters, age, and sex – to find your BMR. Your Basal Metabolic Rate is the amount of energy your body consumes by just existing through the day. (Fun fact: Did you know your brain will consume approximately 20 percent of your daily calories? That is a factor of BMR.)

To get metric system figures, multiply your height in inches by 2.54 to produce height in centimeters, and multiply your weight in pounds by 0.4536 to find weight in kilograms. Now that you have those, the equations diverge for male and female individuals.

Transgender individuals should use their discretion, based on hormone and transition status, as to which formula to use (i.e., if you are not on hormones or your body is still more on one side or the other, you should use your sex). They should consult the physician who has prescribed them hormones before starting any new dietary or exercise programs.

Here are the equations:

Males: (13.75 x kg) + (5 x cm) – (6.76 x age) + 66 = BMR x activity factor = TDEE

Females: (9.56 x kg) + (1.85 x cm) – (4.68 x age) + 665 = BMR x activity factor = TDEE

The activity factors are as follows: 1.2 sedentary, 1.375 light exercise 1-3 days a week, 1.55 moderate exercise 3-5 days a week, 1.725 intense exercise 6-7 days a week, and 1.9 if you do intense exercise and have a physical job or train 2x a day.

If you have any questions or concerns about calculating your TDEE or are interested in changing your current weight, please send an email to The Advocate addressed to me, and I will aid you to my best ability and/or divulge more information about healthy caloric surplus and deficit. I AM NOT YET CERTIFIED IN ANY HEALTH FIELDS; I CAN ONLY GIVE YOU GENERAL INFORMATION AND ADVICE. If you have any major health concerns, please talk to your doctor before trying to change your caloric intake.

Advocate Staff