#5 Supplement 2: Calorie quantification formulas There's a lot of math. Sorry. Examples always help, so let's do an example together. And let's name our example. We'll call her... Bev Sharkheart, DDS (I've decided to make her a dentist). Bev Sharkheart, DDS is a 63 kg (139 lb), 40-year-old woman with 35% body fat. She would very much like to be 20%. The first thing Bev (i.e., BSDDS) will need to do is figure out her goal body weight. Her goal body weight = lean body mass / (1 - % fat desired). What's Bev's lean body mass? It's her entire body -- her whole corporeal bulk -- except for her fat. Exactly 100% of Bev minus her grease. That's her "lean body mass" or "fat-free mass". Before we can figure out Bev's goal body weight, we need to figure out how much fat mass and lean mass she'll carry at her desired bodyfat percentage. Here is how Bev will determine those values: Fat mass = 63 kg x 0.25 = 15.75 kg. * The 0.25 is Bev's goal body fat %. Take that percentage and multiply it to her current weight. In this case that is 63 kg. Once Bev knows the weight of her fat at her desired body composition, she will then subtract that from her current weight. Here's how: Fat-free body mass = 63 kg - 15.75 kg = 47.25 kg. * The 47.25 kg is what her lean body mass will be at her desired body fat percent. Next, Bev will take her calculated fat-free body mass (47.25 kg), and enter it into this formula: Goal body weight = (calculated fat-free body mass) / (1 - desired body fat %) Plugging her numbers in, she gets this: Goal body weight = 47.25 kg / (1 - 0.15). And that = 55.59 kg. Bev now knows her goal weight. Yay! The final step to figure out exactly how much fat Bev will need to lose is to subtract her goal body weight from her present body weight. Like this: Amount of fat Bev aspires to lose = Present body weight (i.e., 63 kg) - goal body weight (i.e., 55.59 kg). So Bev wants to lose 7.41 kg of fat (a little over 16 lb). * If your goal is to gain weight, you do the same calculations but you add here rather than subtract. And what you're trying to gain is probably lean mass, so... crunch your numbers accordingly. Finished! Bev will need to lose a total of 7.41 kg of fat to reach her desired body weight goal. How many kilograms or pounds or stones or whatever are you trying to shed? Or gain? Or mutate? Assuming you just did the math, we now know your goal body weight. So let's determine how many kcals you should be consuming in a day. There are two primary factors that determine daily caloric expenditure: 1) Resting metabolic rate, and 2) Energy expended in daily activities. Assuming you do not have access to a gas analysis device, the most accurate formula to estimate your basal metabolic rate (i.e., BMR, which is the amount of energy your body consumes while at rest) is the Harris-Benedict formula: Adult male: 66 / (6.3 x weight in pounds) / (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years) Adult female: 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years) Once you have your BMR value, multiply that value by the appropriate activity factor: 1. Sedentary: BMR x 1.2 2. Lightly active (physical activity 1-3 days a week): BMR x 1.375 3. Moderately active (physical activity 3-5 days a week): BMR x 1.55 4. Very active (physical activity 6-7 days a week): BMR x 1.725 5. Extra active (very hard physical activity 6-7 days a week): BMR x 1.9 If you've calculated both your desired body weight and the metabolic requirements of basic, daily maintenance, you can now determine how many kcals you should be eating to reach your goal weight. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, if you'd like to lose one pound per week, a 500-kcal deficit should be created each day. If you want to gain a pound a week, a 500-kcal surplus. But don't feel you have to race through a full pound every week. Let this be an individual, you-paced journey.