Recently, one of your fellow Metabolic Masterpiece blog readers, Steve asked, “It would be helpful to me if you would disclose your daily calorie maintenance level. I know you are doing some carb cycling now. Will you also tell me your calorie intake on your 3 low calorie/carb days and your calorie intake on your 1 high calorie/carb day? Thanks”
Absolutely Steve… and thanks for the question!
When it comes to calculating your desired caloric intake for the day I prefer to use the Harris-Benedict Formula. First you will need to calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR)…
Men: 66 + (13.7 x wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) – (6.8 X age in years)
Women: 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) – (4.7 X age in years)
Conversions:
1 inch = 2.54 cm
1 kg = 2.2 lbs
Here’s an example of a male who is 5’8” tall, 35 years old, and weighs 165 pounds…
BMR: 66 + 1027.5 + 863.6 – 238 = 1719.1
1719.1 calories is what this particular male would burn if he was at rest all day. This does not take into account his activity level.
With most of my workout programs you would be weight training 4 days per week and performing some form of cardio, whether it be walking, jogging, biking, or HIIT, multiple days throughout the week. Based on this activity level I recommend that you multiply your BMR by 1.55.
For the example above, this male would multiply 1719.1 X 1.55 = 2664.61
Therefore, the average Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) that this male would experience while following my workout programs is approximately 2664.61 calories per day. Obviously, the days that you are more active, the more calories you would burn compared to your less active days.
NOTE: As you progress and release fat from your body you should recalculate your BMR and TDEE. Toward the end of your body sculpting journey your BMR and TDEE will be slightly lower because you weigh less. If you are still going by your original calculations even though you may be 10 or 15 pounds lighter, your caloric deficit may be 100 calories less than what you think it is or even worse. That could lead to stalled results during the home stretch.
How many calories you consume on your low days will depend on how aggressive you wish to be with your deficit. I rarely stay in the same deficit for an extended period of time. I will go from a 15% difference for a few weeks, up to a 30% deficit, and back down again.
For the sake of illustrating an example, lets say that you decide to go with an aggressive approach where you spend 3 days in a 30% caloric deficit and raise your caloric intake up to your TDEE (maintenance level) on the 4th day. Continuing with the example of the male subject above and considering that you are carb cycling at the same time, that would mean…
Day 1, 2, 3 = 1865.23 calories consisting of mostly lean protein, veggies, and healthy fats.
Day 4 = 2664.61 calories consisting of lean protein, veggies, healthy fats, and some starchy carbs. Ideally the starchy carbs should be consumed earlier in the day or immediately after your workout.
You would then continue to repeat this cycle of 3 days in a 30% caloric deficit and 1 day of TDDE caloric intake.
I hope that makes sense. If you require a further explanation, please do not hesitate to ask in the comment box below.
Sculpt a Masterpiece,
Scott Tousignant
PS As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, a significant amount of my nutrition philosophies are based on the principles in Tom Venuto’s books Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle and The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program. Those books go into much greater detail about nutrition and will provide you with a serious education that you will help you become more precise with your body sculpting results.
About The Authors
Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping men and women, just like you, sculpt their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.
Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.
Their line up of body sculpting programs includes, ROCK That Body, Girl Empowered, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.
We’re excited to share in you successful body sculpting journey!