Q. Why do you need my personal information like gender, age, height & weight?
A. In order to calculate your BMI, BMR & TDEE, the calculator uses highly accurate formulas like the Mifflin-St Jeor Formula & the Katch-McArdle Formula [if you enter your body fat percentage]. These equations require personal information like one’s gender, age, height and weight!
Q. Why do you need my body fat percentage? Will the results be more accurate if I manage to figure it out?
Body Fat Percentage is the amount of body fat you store. If you know your body fat percentage the calculator will use the Katch-McArdle formula which is said to be slightly more accurate then the Mifflin-St Jeor Formula.
Q. I am confused! Which activity level should I choose?
A. The various activity multiplier can be defined as follows:
A ‘Sedentary’ lifestyle is self-explanatory. This is where you sit all day, and have zero activity. Its time to move your ass!
Choose ‘Lightly Active‘ if you walk a bit, perhaps do 20-30 minutes of cardio 1-2 times a week.
Choose ‘Moderately Active‘ if you weight train 3-5 times a week or play any intermittent type activity like a sport for these many times a week. In addition, you supplement this with few cardio/HIIT sessions.
Note: I mostly choose the moderately active range.
‘Very active‘ is reserved for those people who do all the activity discussed above plus they remain active throughout the day. I would say they average more than 10,000 steps per day.
Lastly, ‘Extra Active‘ is reserved for someone who probably works out 2 times a day [close to 3 hours or more per day]. This person can be a regular marathon runner, a powerlifter or perhaps a professional athlete.
If you’re having trouble deciding between two activity factors, choose the lower one to be on the safe side.
Q. What is BMI?
A. BMI is Body Mass Index. It is simply your weight in (kilograms) divided by your height in meters squared.
You are underweight if your BMI is less than 18.5
you are in normal range if it is between 18.5 to 24.9, and
Overweight if your BMI is between 25 to 29.9 and
Obese if it is over 30.
It’s same for both men and women.
It does not take into account muscle mass, bone density etc and therefore a natural weightlifter with more muscle mass may be overweight according to BMI!
Q. What is BMR?
A basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy expressed in calories that a person needs to keep the body functioning at rest. Just imagine you lying down on a sofa the whole day..doing nothing at all…The energy that your body will burn will be related to breathing, blood circulation, controlling body temperature etc. And BMR accounts for about 60 to 70% of the daily calories burned.
By the way, BMR declines at [1-2]% per decade after you turn 20.
Do note that BMR is a function of how much lean Lean Mass you have.
High Lean Mass=High BMR.
Similarly more you weigh= High BMR
Q. What is TDEE??
A. TDEE is defined as Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is your maintenance calories which means if you eat these many calories you will maintain your weight.
TDEE is the sum of BMR + TEA + TEF.
Here is a comprehensive article that will explain TDEE in more detail.
Q. What is a calorie deficit? How did you calculate it?
A. A calorie deficit is the number of calories one should eat if their goal is to lose weight. In my more than a decade of expereince as a weight loss coach and after training and consulting thousands of people, I believe that a 20% deficit is the sweet spot when it comes to losing weight.
Let’s say your TDEE is 2500 calories. If you eat these many calories you will maintain your weight.
In order to lose weight, you need to eat less than 2500 calories.
20% of 2500 calories = 500 calories. Therefore your calorie deficit comes out to be: 2500-500= 2000 calories.
One pound of body fat has 3,500 calories. This means in order to lose 1 pound of body fat in any given week, you need a deficit of 3500 calories per week which comes out to be 500 calories/day!
You can eat 10% less than TDEE, or you can eat up to 30% less than TDEE.
Either of these ranges can be employed for a slower or an aggressive fat loss. However, it’s best to consult a master weight loss coach to know what approach suits you the best!
Lastly, going out the range of 10-30% less than TDEE is not recommended and will not give you optimal results!
Related: A Step-by-Step Approach to Lose Fat: The Ultimate Guide
Q. What is a calorie surplus? How did you calculate it?
A. A calorie surplus is the number of calories one should eat if their goal is to build muscle.
In my more than a decade of experience as a lean muscle coach, I believe that a 10% surplus is the sweet spot when it comes to gaining muscle.
However, do note, if you are a beginner, or are very far away from your genetic potential, then it is very much possible to build muscles and lose fat at the same time by being in a calorie deficit.
For Macro Calculator click here.
Make your life easy and stop planning. Get detailed shopping lists and months of meal plans tailored to your TDEE & Macros with our
60+ Awesome Fat Loss/Muscle Building Diet Plans!
Diet Plans Features:
- Upload the Best Macros for Fat Loss or Muscle Building
- Mix of Indian and Continental Meals & Diet plans
- Pure-Continental Diet Plans [Veg & Non-Veg]
- Pure Indian Diet Plans [Veg & Non-Veg]
- Pure Vegetarian [with options for Ovo and or Lacto]
- Vegans and Keto Diet Plans also included
- Three types of
calorie count i.e. 1500 | 2250 | 2700 with- - Options to increase or decrease 250 calories to match your exact calorie requirement [Your T.C.–targeted calories…man]
- Exact Calories and Portion Sizes Figured out for You
- More than 100+ Recipes with a minimal ingredient list
- Meals take very less time to prepare and cook, and they are super tasty too! [Hopefully for you:)]
And The Best Part these Diet Plans are:
Priced at less than $1 a day with a 30-Days No Questions Asked-Money Back Guarantee:)
No coach, trainer or an expert will give you a money-back on these type of diet plans.
I care for your results and believe in 100% Satisfaction and Happiness.
Get started today with ZERO-RISK:)
All the best,
Your Coach
Akash Sehrawat