Know your numbers.
Your daily calories, protein and fat for fat loss, maintenance or muscle gain, in seconds. The same starting point I use before building a plan.
Daily calories to lose fat
2,190 kcal
About 20% below your maintenance of 2,740 kcal.
Protein a day
156 g
2.0 g per kg of body weightFat a day
59 g
0.8 g per kg of your healthy weight (74 kg)Protein per meal (4 meals)
39 g
Spread through the dayResting burn
1,770 kcal
Mifflin–St Jeor estimate
Where your fat should come from
Most of it: unsaturatedMonounsaturated fats such as olive oil, nuts, avocado and seeds.
A smaller share: saturatedGhee, butter, fatty meats and full-fat dairy.
Numbers are the easy part.
Hitting them with food you enjoy, around your schedule, is what coaching is for.
Turn this into a plan
- These numbers are a starting point, not a prescription.
- Protein is ideally calculated on lean body mass, not total body weight. If you carry more body fat, your true requirement may be lower than shown.
- Fat is calculated on your healthy body weight if you are currently above it.
- For a plan built for your body, goals and health markers, book a call with me.
Estimates for healthy adults, not medical advice. If you're pregnant, under 18 or managing a medical condition, speak to your doctor first.
What these numbers mean.
- Maintenance calories
- Roughly what you burn in a day, from your resting burn and how active you are. Eat this and your weight stays about the same.
- Target calories
- About 20% below maintenance to lose fat steadily, or about 10% above it to build muscle without gaining much fat.
- Protein
- 1.6 g per kg of body weight if you're sedentary, rising to 1.8, 2.0 and 2.2 g as you get more active. Enough to protect muscle while you lose fat, and to build it when you train.
- Fat
- 0.8 g per kg of body weight, worked out on your healthy weight (a BMI of 24.9 for your height) if you're currently above it. Most of it from unsaturated sources.
- The catch
- Calculators give a starting point. Real progress comes from adjusting it week by week to how your body actually responds. That's what I do in coaching.