How to track calories and macros for weight loss

1. Estimate maintenance calories

For a simple estimate multiply your body weight by 14 to 16, depending on activity level.

• Use 14x if your lifestyle is fairly sedentary (e.g. an office worker).
• Use 16x if your lifestyle is highly active (e.g. a construction worker).

2. Calculate a target calorie deficit

Aim to lose 0.5% to 1% of your body weight per week. Going too fast, or crash dieting, is unsustainable and can lead to excess muscle loss.

A rough planning rule is that 3,500 calories equals 1 lb of fat, so a 500 calorie daily deficit is roughly 1 lb of fat loss per week.

3. Calculate macro targets (optional)

You can lose weight by focusing only on calories. Feel free to skip this step if you want to keep things simple. Macro targets are optional, but they can help with fullness, body composition, and training energy.

Treat protein and fat targets as minimums. Your protein target supports muscle preservation and growth. Your fat target supports normal bodily function. Beyond these minimums, fill the remaining calories based on your personal preferences.

4. Track your weight and adjust

• Weigh yourself daily. Do it first thing in the morning after using the bathroom, then record the weight. I used a Wi-Fi enabled scale to automate this, but any scale will work.
• Weight loss is not linear. Day-to-day weight changes with water, sodium, meal timing, and other factors. Track your trailing 7-day median weight to reduce noise and understand the trend.
• Weigh and track your food. I used MyFitnessPal, but there are lots of great apps. I also used this food scale, but any accurate food scale will work.
• Follow your plan for at least two weeks before changing it. Maintenance calories are an estimate. If you are losing faster than planned, add a few calories. If you are losing slower, remove calories or consider adding cardio.

Final tips

• Track everything you eat. Be honest. If you eat it, it has calories whether you track it or not.
• This works with any exercise program as long as calories are tracked and adjusted.
• Exercise helps, but it is not required. Weight loss comes down to calories in versus calories out; you can lose weight by changing only your overall calorie intake.
• Use high-volume, low-calorie foods to stay full.
  • High-volume staples: berries, melon, vegetables of all kinds, spinach, egg whites, chicken breast, Greek yogurt, beans, lentils, and clever low-calorie substitutes like cauliflower rice.
  • Big meal ideas: build meals that fill your stomach without many calories, like big salads with balsamic vinaigrette or a packed lavash wrap with chicken breast, spinach, onions, tomatoes, vegetables, and low-calorie barbecue sauce.
  • Be careful with: processed, sugary, and fatty foods are obvious calorie traps, but healthy foods can add up too. Watch portions for nuts, nut butters, granola, avocado, dried fruit, and bananas because they are calorie dense.
  The internet is full of creative high-volume recipe ideas if you want more variety.
• Cardio adds a lever for your calorie deficit. Even intense lifting burns fewer calories than low-intensity steady-state cardio for the same time. Lifting still matters because building muscle can increase your base metabolic rate over time.