How Much Am I Supposed To Eat?

So, you say, I know I am supposed to eat PPW (Protein, Produce and Water) every 3 hours, but how much am I supposed to eat?

A fair question, to be sure.

Here’s my answer:

I Don’t Know.

I am sure you are saying to yourself – Well that’s helpful!

The reason I say that is because while there are certainly general principles of nutrition, there is no one size fits all.

But don’t be discouraged, because there is a way for you to find out.

As a certified Precision Nutrition coach (and client) I get very specific with individual clients who hire me to coach nutrition, but there are general principles we can apply, depending on the goal. You are going to eat very differently when your goal is to lose bodyfat than if it is to gain muscle. A naturally thin person with skinny limbs (ectomorph) is not going to eat the same amounts or type of food as a naturally broad or thick person (endomorph).

It also may be true that two people of identical size may not be able to eat the same amount of calories and lose weight at the same rate.

So what to do?

We Test and Find Out!

While the following is a hypothetical, it applies to many of our clients who struggle with fat loss, so pay attention.

Step 1: Estimate Calories

For a client who is moderately active (exercises 3-4 times a week) and wants to lose weight, we will start by multiplying their current bodyweight by 12-14.

Example:  A 160 pound person would start by eating between 1920 (160 x 12) and 2240 (160 x 14) calories per day. A 200 pound person would start by eating 2400 (200 x 12) and 2800 (200 x 14) calories per day.

Step 2: Macronutrient Split

According to Dr. John Berardi, author of Precision Nutrition, the endomorph (naturally broad/thick) described above would consume the average starting percentages:

• Protein: 35%
• Carbohydrate: 25%
• Fat: 40%

Step 3: Calculate calories for each Macronutrient

The 160 pound person would consume:

• about 728 calories (182 grams) of protein
• about 520 calories (130 grams) of carbohydrate
• about 832 calories (92 grams) of fat

and the 200 pound person would consume:

• about 910 calories (228 grams) of protein
• about 650 calories (163 grams) of carbohydrate
• about 1040 calories (116 grams) of fat

Step 4: Approximate calories per meal

160 pound person:

• Breakfast: 36 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 23 g fat
• Snack:36 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 23 g fat
• Lunch: 36 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 23 g fat
• Post Exercise Snack: 36 g protein, 72 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat (this meals timing will be adjusted depending on when you exercise)
• Dinner:36 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 23 g fat

200 pound person:

• Breakfast: 46 g protein, 18 g carbohydrate, 29 g fat
• Snack:46 g protein, 18 g carbohydrate, 29 g fat
• Lunch: 46 g protein, 18 g carbohydrate, 29 g fat
• Post Exercise Snack: 46 g protein, 92 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat (this meals timing will be adjusted depending on when you exercise)
• Dinner:46 g protein, 18 g carbohydrate, 29 g fat

Step 5: Achieve 90% compliance and adjust

Here’s the key – as with any experiment there must be controls. In order to discover what calorie level you can eat and reach your goals, you must be consistent.  In this case that means achieving 90% compliance with your plan. That means out of 35 meals a week, 31 or 32 must conform to the guidelines, which allows 3 or 4 non-compliant or “splurge” meals a week. You don’t have to be and shouldn’t try to be “perfect”. Most of the time shooting for perfection is setting yourself up for failure – do yourself a favor, plan (another key) your “splurges” and give yourself a break.

With our coaching clients we measure and adjust every two weeks, if compliance has been achieved. Two weeks is long enough to see how your body is responding. If you are losing weight at the desired rate, we stay right where we are. If we are losing at a different rate (high or low) we will adjust something (calories, exercise amount, etc.) until we are where we want to be.

More Tips:

Notice the majority of carbohydrates are ingested after training. Read why here…

Eat Vegetables and Fruit in an approximately 5:1 ratio – 5 servings of veggies for every serving of fruit. Here’s the scoop on slow carbs…

So there you go – the very basics we use to help clients dial in their nutrition and get the results they want. Hop on the scale, get out the calculator, and figure out where your starting point is.

For more detailed information and coaching I recommend one of two paths:

1) Get your own copy of Precision Nutrition, the A-Z resource for your nutrition and body composition goals. This is the resource I used (and still use) to achieve over 80 pounds of weight loss.

2) Get your own copy of Precision Nutrition and personal nutrition coaching from the only certified Precision Nutrition coach in the state of NH (yours truly 🙂 You can give me a call at the office or drop me a line to discuss your options.

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean