INTRODUCTION:
IN THIS SHORT GUIDE, I WILL TEACH YOU
HOW TO CALCULATE THE DAILY CALORIES
YOUR BODY EXPENDS.
There is one simple answer to that. You
don’t know how much energy (calories) your
body needs daily to maintain your weight.
You might be eating all the right foods but if
you consume over the calories your body
burns each day you will be putting on fat,
regardless of eating “clean” or not.
So I decided to create this short guide to
show you the basics you need to get started
on your journey. So let’s dive right into it. I’ve
broken it down into sections so it’s easier for
you to follow the steps outlined below and
make the calculations yourself.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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GETTING STARTED:
Step 1: Estimating total calorie requirements
Calculating your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)
My method of choice (Mifflin St. Jeor Equation)
There are four different formulas that are used to
calculate your BMR but Mifflin St. Jeor equation has been
proved to be the most accurate one so we will use it for our
calculations.
The formula:
Men: (10 x weight kg) + (6.25 x height cm) – (5 x age) + 5
Women: (10 x weight kg) + (6.25 x height cm) – (5 x age) – 161
Examples:
For a 40-year-old, 80 kg. male at 180cm in height:
(10 x 80) +(6.25 x 180) – (5 x 40) + 5 = 800+1125-200+5= 1730
calories
For a 40-year-old, 65 kg. female at 162cm in height:
(10 x 65)+(6,25 x 162)-(5 x 40)-161= 650+1012,5-200-161=
1301,5 calories
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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Step 2: Multiplying the calculated BMR by
activity level
Once you have the BMR calculated, you will then multiply
it by your activity level.
 Sedentary - (little or no exercise, desk job) x 1.2
 Lightly active - (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) x
1.3-1.4
 Moderately Active - (moderate exercise/sports 3-5
days/week) x 1.5-1.6
 Very Active - (Hard exercise/sports 6-7 days per/week)
x 1.7-1.8
 Extremely active - (Very hard daily exercise/sports &
physical job or twice a day training) x 1.9-2.0
Examples:
Our 40-year-old male who trains 4 times per week
(moderately active) x 1,5-1,6
1730 (from the previous page) x 1,6 = 2768 calories That
would be his daily maintenance calories
Our 40-year-old female who trains 2 times per week
(lightly active) x 1,3-1,4
1301,5 (from the previous page) x 1,4 = 1822,1 calories
That would be her daily maintenance calories
TIP: Always aim for the higher end (in these cases 1,6 and
1,4), it’s better to start with more calories and as you
hit a plateau you adjust the calories from there.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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VOILA!
So I’ve thought you how you can calculate your
daily calorie expenditure but I will add few extras so
you can get a head start.
I will teach you how to breakdown this calories
into macronutrients.
www.study.com has provided an awesome description
of what macronutrients are so I will just share it.
Nutrients are environmental substances used for
energy, growth, and bodily functions by organisms.
Depending on the nutrient, these substances are
needed in small amounts or larger amounts. Those
that are needed in large amounts are called
macronutrients.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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Which are the macronutrients?
There are three main macronutrients that are
essential to have a balanced nutrition plan:
carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Each of these
macronutrients provides energy in the form of
calories.
For example:
 In carbohydrates, there are 4 calories per gram
 In proteins, there are 4 calories per gram
 In fats, there are 9 calories per gram
This means that if you look at a food label and
it says 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of
protein, and 0 grams of fat, that food is 40
calories.
I will teach you how to estimate the
breakdown (protein, fats and carbohydrates) of
the calories we calculated above so bear with me.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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Step 3: Setting macronutrient targets based on
the calories we’ve figured
1.Setting protein targets – we are aiming for 2.5 – 3
grams of protein per kg. of bodyweight.
–For muscle growth start at the lower end of the
range as you will be in a caloric surplus so the body
will be in anabolic rather than catabolic
mode(2,5grams of protein per kg of bodyweight)
-For fat loss stay in the higher end of the range as
amino acid oxidation will be greater during calorie
deficit(3 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight)
Examples:
Note: For the following examples I will use our male
athlete, there is no difference between the female and
male so you can apply the same calculations
regardless of your gender.
Let’s take our 80kg. male athlete who’s goal is muscle
growth:
2.5 x 80kg = 200grams of protein or 800 calories
If our athlete goal is fat loss we will take this approach:
3 x 80kg = 240grams of protein or 960 calories
Extra Note: Always start your macronutrient
breakdown with the protein because adequate intake
helps you build muscle and/or prevent muscle loss if
you are in calorie deficit. It also controls appetite and
staves off hunger better than fats and carbohydrates.
So you will feel fuller for a longer period of time.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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2.Setting fat targets – we are aiming for 0,8 – 1,1 grams
of fat per kg. of bodyweight.
Note: Try to start at the lower end here because fats
are high in calories, 9 calories per 1 gram of fat. It’s
better to have some margin for error if you go over by
mistake.
Examples:
For our 80kg. male athlete the equation would look like
this: 0,8 x 80 = 64grams of fat or 576 calories
3.Setting carbohydrate targets – fill in the rest of the
remaining calories as carbohydrates
Examples:
For our 80kg. male athlete the equation would look like
this:
The total calorie target we have is 2768 calories a day.
If his goal is fat loss that would be his daily maintenance
calories:
-960 calories from protein – 240grams of protein (higher
protein intake)
-576 calories from fat – 64 grams of fat
-1232 calories from carbohydrates - 308 grams of
carbohydrates
We came up with this numbers by substracting the
calories we have for fats and protein from the total
calories and that’s what we have left for our
carbohydrate intake. We then divide it by 4 (1 gram of
carbohydrates equals 4 calories) and come up with the
daily goal for carbohydrates.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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Step 4: Adjusting your calories for muscle
building or fat loss
1.Adjusting your macronutrient intake for MUSCLE
GROWTH:
Note: My preference is to use non-linear
approach which means to match the calories
consumed with the training output. This simply
means that an individual would consume more
calories on training days than non-training days.
Non training day calorie & macro nutrient
targets for our 80kg male (maintenance targets):
2,768 calories is our daily target. And it’s split like
this:
Protein 200g (800 calories)
Fat 64g (576 calories)
Carbohydrates 348g (1,398 calories)
Training day calorie & macro nutrient targets for our
80kg male (increase calories by 500 on training
days from carbohydrates):
3,268 calories is our daily target. And it’s split like
this:
Protein 200g (800 calories)
Fat 64g (576 calories)
Carbohydrates 475g (1,898 calories)
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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2.Аdjusting your macronutrient intake for Fat LOSS:
Note: For fat loss, being able to consume the most
amounts of calories while still losing fat is the primary
goal, this gives you more calories to cut from when
you hit a plateau. Hence why, I still like to start at
approximately maintenance calories on training days,
and calorie deficit for rest days.
Training day calorie & macro nutrient targets for our
80kg male (maintenance targets):
2,768 calories is our daily target. And it’s split like this:
 Protein 240g (960 calories)
 Fat 64g (576 calories)
 Carbohydrates 310g (1,238 calories).
Non-training day calorie & macro nutrient targets for
our 80kg male (decrease calories by 500 on nontraining days from carbohydrates):
2,268 calories is our daily target. And it’s split like this:
 Protein 240g (960 calories)
 Fat 64g (576 calories)
 Carbohydrates 185g (738 calories)
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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Step 5: Micro nutrients vitamins/minerals &
water, fiber intake
Fiber intake:
Fiber is important to digestion and regularity, weight
management, blood sugar regulation, cholesterol
maintenance and more, according to Paige Smathers,
a Utah-based dietitian. It has also been linked to
longevity and decreasing the risk of cancer. 10g of
fiber per 1,000 calories is a very good starting point.
Example:
For 2700 calories daily consumption you should aim for
27 grams of fiber.
Micro nutrients vitamins/minerals:
Note: Total calorie intake & macronutrient intake are
the number one priorities, secondary to that is fiber,
micro nutrient/vitamin intake.
Micro nutrients:
Fruits & fibrous vegetables:
 1,200-2,000 calories per day = 2 cups of fruit &
vegetables.
 2,000-3,000 calories per day = 3 cups of fruit &
vegetables.
 3,000-4,000 calories= 4 cups of fruit & vegetables.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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Water intake:
(Body weight in lbs x 0.6) divided by 34 = daily water intake
in liters
For our 80kg. male athlete the equation would look like this:
Note: Multiply your weight in kg. by 2,2 to convert it to
pounds.
(80x2,2 x0,6) / 34 = (176 x 0,6) / 34 = 3 liters and 100 ml.
Note: You should have 5 clear urinations per day,
increase/decrease water intake depending on this.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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Meal Frequency:
There are so many myths regarding meal frequency!
I will try to keep this as simple as possible, limit the
theory and give you what you need to know to
implement immediately.
With regards to meal frequency for fat loss, there is
no evidence to my knowledge that the number of
meals you consume makes any difference. Total
calories, macro nutrients, fiber, micro nutrient
numbers consumed by the end of the day is the most
important factor, whether that comes in 2 or 6 meals,
it doesn’t matter!
With regards to meal frequency for muscle growth,
total protein intake is still the number one priority,
however maxing out muscle protein synthesis per
meal is the secondary objective. Consuming a protein
containing meal every 4-5 hours ensuring at least 3040 of protein per meal, should max out muscle protein
synthesis. However like I said earlier, total protein
intake is the priority, yet to be safe I would
recommend a minimum meal frequency of 3 meals
per day for muscle growth.
If you train 2x per day or twice within an 8 hour
period to be more precise, nutrient timing is more of
an importance. Having said that I won’t go into detail
with this, as this is unlikely for most.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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Making changes to continually
make progress:
The real art to this is knowing when and how to
make changes, the above is a simple example of what
are some of the factors I take into account when I do
such manipulations. However depending on the
individual and how much data I have on that person, I
may go about things differently.
For instance if I know an individual tolerates
carbohydrates very well, I am likely to decrease fat
intake and increase carbohydrates. Likewise I have
some clients that do not tolerate carbohydrates very
well and therefore I will bring fats higher and then
decrease carbohydrate intake.
As a general rule of thumb protein intake will stay
relatively constant and fat and carbohydrates will
fluctuate. With regard to making changes, this is
more of an art than a science. Some clients will
progress very quickly with minimal or no changes
whereas others will require more, that is where trial
and error comes into place. As a general rule, if your
goal is muscle growth and you are not growing, you
will need to progressively increase calories,
predominantly from carbohydrates. With regards to
fat loss the opposite holds true (and also a decrease
in fats possibly) & or an increase in energy
expenditure (training volume). Also when an
individual gets very lean, a person may do well with a
high carbohydrate re-feed day or days during the
week to help reset a hormone called leptin and give
their metabolism a boost.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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How to track your daily
consumption:
You can either do it old school by writing everything
down on piece of paper which could be time
consuming or track down everything with this amazing
FREE application called “My Fitness Pal”.
Step 1: Download it to your Phone
Step 2: Select Custom Goals and place everything to
ZERO
Step 3: Put in the foods to hit your daily calorie targets
NOTE: DO NOT consume the targets that MyFitnessPal
have put together, protein is set ridiculously low along
with total calories, in hope that you will lose a lot of
weight quickly leading to more use of their product.
This weight loss is NOT sustainable however.
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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Conclusion:
My name is Simeon Krastev, I’ve been helping busy
professionals feel and look better. I simplify fitness and
make sure they become more productive and peak their
energy levels. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past 6
years and I plan on doing in the future.
When I’m “off the clock” I seek adventures both mental
and physical. Snowboarding, hiking, quizzes and books.
If you want to bribe me, grab me a cup of strong coffee
and share with me your dreams and aspirations.
If you want me to help you feel and look better, check
out the premium courses I offer:
http://simeonkrastevfitness.com/courses/
If you want me to help you with a custom meal plan.
Click down below:
129USD 99USD
©Simeon Krastev 2016
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