Diet Math 101 Part 2

Now you have a range of calories to consume a day.  What should you eat and how much of Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats.

First you need to figure out what are your goals.  Are you an elite athlete, a bodybuilder or regular person who just wants to trim up and show off your abs for summer.  A good rule of thumb for regular people who wants to trim up are 50%(Carbs) 30%(Proteins) 20%(Fats) of your total caloric intake.  Like everything else you need to try it then adjust on how you feel and the results you receive. 

Once you start reading labels you will notice that they report Carbs, Proteins, Fats (CPFs) in gram form but I only know how many calories to eat...well you will need to convert calories to grams.

First figure out your ratios for CPFs we will use 50%-30%-20% 

Next take the total calories you are going to consume (we will use 2,000 calories to keep the math simple).

Multiple each category by the percentage

2000 x 50%(.5) = 1000 calories of carbohydrates

2000 x 30%(.3) = 600 calories of protein

2000 x 20%(.2) = 400 calories of fat

4-4-9 Rule

Carbs and Protein equals 4 grams per calorie

Fat equals 9 grams per calorie

Now we will convert the number of calories of CPFs into grams that you will eat per day

1000 calories of Carbs / 4 = 250 grams of Carbs per day

600 calories of Pro / 4 = 150 grams of PRO per day

400 calories of Fat / 9 = 44.4 round up to 45 grams of Fats per day

Now you are ready to read labels and fill in your meals

Daily Totals

In our example we would eat each day:

2,000 calories

250grams of Carbs

150grams of Protein

45grams of Fats

Divide the totals by the total number of meals you are going to eat each day (we will use 5 meals per day).  You now have your guidelines on how to structure you meals

5 meals per day consisting of

400 calories – 50grams of Carbs – 30grams of Protein – 9grams of Fat

Break Your Plateau

JT

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