This post is to serve anyone who is interested in their diet in order to reach a goal, whether that be health, fitness or weightloss.

Im going to begin with the fairly basic concept of calories. Despite what many gurus out there would have you believe calories are the single most important factor in determining weight loss or weight gain. All of the diets out there such as paleo and others like to sell themselves on the idea that it is food choice that determines weight loss or gain. This is simply not true. Such diets have you consuming red meat and lots of vegetable, both of which are very satiating and LOW IN CALORIES. So at the end of the day you are hitting below what you need in calories thus achieving weight loss. One issue with these diets is that they do not take into account the fact that we are social creatures and sometimes its nice to eat out at a restaurant with our family without stressing about food choice.

So how do we live in a social environment and still hit our weight and calorie goals?
Its quite simple, you calculate your daily calorie needs and set your goals upon them.
The following is a way to calculate your daily calorie needs.
Estimating Requirements
The simplest method is to base your intake on a standard 'calories per unit of weight (usually kilograms)'. Typically:
- 26 to 30 kcals/kg/day for normal, healthy individuals with sedentary lifestyles doing little physical activity [12.0-14 kcal/pound]
- 31 to 37 kcal/kg/day for those involved in light to moderate activity 3-5 x a week with moderately active lifestyles [14-16 kcal/ pound]
- 38 to 40 kcals/kg/day for those involved in vigorous activity and highly active jobs [16-18 kcal/ pound].
For those involved in HEAVY training (eg: athletes) - the demand is greater:
- 41 to 50 kcals/kg/day for those involved in moderate to heavy training (for example: 15-20 hrs/ week training) [18.5-22 kcal/ pound]
- 50 or above kcals/kg/day for those involved in heavy to extreme training [> 22 kcal/ pound]

There are then a number of other formula which calculate BMR. This means it calculates what you need should you be in a coma.
1/ Harris-Benedict formula: Very inaccurate. It was derived from studies on LEAN, YOUNG, ACTIVE males MANY YEARS AGO (1919). Notorious for OVERESTIMATING requirements, especially in the overweight. IF YOU CAN AVOID IT, DON'T USE IT!
MEN: BMR = 66 + [13.7 x weight (kg)] + [5 x height (cm)] - [6.76 x age (years)]
WOMEN: BMR = 655 + [9.6 x weight (kg)] + [1.8 x height (cm)] - [4.7 x age (years)]

2/Mifflin-St Jeor: Developed in the 1990s and more realistic in todays settings. It still doesn't take into consideration the differences as a consequence of high BF%. Thus, once again, it OVERESTIMATES NEEDS, ESPECIALLY IN THE OVERWEIGHT.
MEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] + 5
WOMEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] -161

3/Katch-McArdle:Considered the most accurate formula for those who are relatively lean. Use ONLY if you have a good estimate of your bodyfat %.
BMR = 370 + (21.6 x LBM)Where LBM = [total weight (kg) x (100 - bodyfat %)]/100

As these are only BMR calculations To convert BMR to a TOTAL requirement you need to multiply the result of your BMR by an 'activity variable' to give TEE.
The Activity Factor is the TOTAL cost of living, NOT JUST YOUR TRAINING. Think about it - if you train 1 hr a day - WHAT ARE YOU DOING THE OTHER 23 HRS?! So MORE important than training -- it includes work, life activities, training/sport & the TEF of ~15% (an average mixed diet).
Average activity variables are:
1.2 = Sedentary (Desk job, and Little Formal Exercise)
1.3-1.4 = Lightly Active (Light daily activity AND light exercise 1-3 days a week)
1.5-1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately daily Activity & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
1.7-1.8 = Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle & Hard exercise 6-7 days a week)
1.9-2.2 = Extremely Active (Athlete in ENDURANCE training or VERY HARD physical job)

The most accurate of these ways is calculating the bmr then using a multiplier.
So now what, you calculated you need 3000 calories a day so what?
Actually this number tells you quite alot, in order to lose weight you want to subtract 10 to 20 percent of your calories from the total. So for the example of 3000 calories it will be 2400 calories needed if you want to lose weight. If you are exercising or want to maintain you want to take somewhere between 3000 and 3600 calories a day.


Now i will go onto the subject of macronutrients, your food no matter what it is is made up of the 3 macronutrients(in regards to calories). You have carbs, protein and fat. Carbs have 4 calories per gram, protein has 4 calories per gram, and fat has 9 calories per gram. So how do you calculate how much of each of these you need?
Use this calculator: http://macronutrientcalculator.com/
I would recommend 50% carbs 25% protein and 25% fat.
So per day this person will need 375 grams of carbs 188 grams of protein and 83 grams of fat.
I cannot talk about this topic without recommending the myfitnesspal app. You type in the food you ate and it automatically subtracts it from your daily total so you can know how many carbs fats and proteins you have left to eat. Hopefully you can see how this applies, lets say you ate some cereal like this one http://www.quitehealthy....d-labels/label080771.gif
After you ate this you would subtract from you daily total of each macronutrient. Carbs = 375-23 protein = 188-2 fat = 83-.5. This will leave you with how many of each macronutrient you have left for the day. Again myfitnesspal does all of this for you including meals from restraunts.

Now i can hear you asking what about fruits and veggies surely i cant just eat candy to get all of my carbs. This is very true, this just gives you and outline. It is not to say you shouldnt fill those macronutrients with a variety of fruits, veggies, different sources of fats and omega 3 6 and 9. Also i would recommend talking a multivitamin in order to assure you get all of your MICROnutrients for the day. Also you should be getting your fiber which varies from person to person but i recommend getting about 35 to 50 grams. Again you should google what you specifically need as fiber isn't my area of specialty.

The above plan will allow you to lead a healthy lifestyle/lose wight/gain muscle and still eat at parties and at restaurants without worry.

Credits to Emma-Leigh for the calorie calculator

First post )
Anyways id likesome help on gaining weight.
My daily average calorie intake is around 4000 calories and all i do is sit on my ass all day

Last winter on december 4th i was in a TERRIBLE auto accident
(I ruptured and lost my left kidney and spleen, broke my pelvis's pubic bone and tail bone along with 9 other bones)
I had to teach my self to walk again

I couldnt drink or eat anything for 5 days (hats off to any one whos been there)
In that time i lost 15 lbs.!!!!!

Before the accident i was really fit, but now i CANT gain weight
Im now a meer shadow of who i was, i weigh 120 lbs and am 5'3"
(15 pounds and 3 inches shorter)

Does anyone have any clues as too why im eating so much and just cant gain weight????

Wow thats crazy man. If ur eating 4000 calories and not gaining any weight, then there is definitely something wrong.

"The above plan will allow you to lead a healthy lifestyle/lose wight/gain muscle and still eat at parties and at restaurants without worry."

Got a source for this?..because based on the reading I have done and experimenting with diets over the years this is not true. I would take the information in this thread with a grain of salt.

Post an issue with one of my statements and i will address it, its important to realize that many of these diets you will see floating around and fads and pseudoscience designed to make someone money and can lead to eating disorders.

Like i said all diets arise from the few basic principals of nutrition and basic thermodynamics. Most diets just dress up the concepts in one way or another.