Calculating protein and calories

[discoballv]

Hope this is ok to ask. I have tried searching but the search function on the app is terrible!

I start MJ on Friday and I am trying to work out how many calories I need to track, and how much protein I should be eating each day.

I lost weight in recent years by eating high protein and less carbs, plus drastically reducing my sugar intake. Meals like 10% fat Greek yoghurt with berries, nuts and flaxseed or eggs for lunch, some type of fish with roasted veg, lots of interesting salads etc. The less processed the better. I felt so good eating this way - full of energy and my skin was so clear from cutting out sugar - and I believe this approach will work well alongside MJ.

I ended up losing 2st over 18 months without tracking calories, but I think it would be beneficial for me to track, especially if I have days where suppression is high and need to make sure I'm getting enough good food.

Can anyone give me any rough guidelines about how much protein I should aim for, or a site which calculates for you? I've tried a few different ones and keep getting wildly different results!

I read that you should aim for 1g protein per KG of your weight - is that correct? I am 12st 2 so would be 77g protein a day. Does that sound about right?

Also recommendations for how to calculate calories very welcome. I don't exercise and have a sedentary job but I do walk the dog for an hour every day. I did a TDEE calculator but getting confused about how many cals I then reduce this by to get my daily calorie amount.

Use the James Smith TDEE and don't take anything off for your deficit it's already included.

I'm not sure of the physical activity levels (I'm sure you count your steps and more steps mean more activity level)

I just out sedentary as I'm office based and whilst I can get my steps in it's not a daily given that I will

That one will also give you a protein goal too :)

@Mieliwood thank you so much! That is exactly what I was looking for. I will also say sedentary as any steps I do are a bonus.

Aim for 1gram for each kg, so yes, you’re right.

for cal deficit, 500 under your tdee will give you 1lb a week weight loss, multiply that as per whatever you wish to lose. So for example if you want 2lbs a week you eat 1000 less a day.

The TDEE calculator uses the most up-to-date formula (Mifflin-St Jeor Equation) for modern populations. I prefer it as it lets you see your TDEE and then you can decide how much calorie deficit you want.

Calculators that use the (1984 Harris-Benedict Equation) may overestimate energy needs compared to Mifflin-St Jeor as based more on an older dataset. They run at around 100 calories extra a day for me which is not that significant really.

(I only know there are different calculations as I put one in my excel tracker!)

Either calculation, is still an estimate and just a starting point. Everyone is different depending on their body composition. Take your TDEE and subtract 500-750 calories and try it out.

If you are losing too quickly then increase your daily calories. If you are losing too slowly, consider decreasing IF you are eating well, eating protein, moving as much as possible, staying hydrated with at least 2L a day, still have a reasonable amount of calories (I wouldn't go below 1200 unless discussed with someone professional first).

1g of protein per kg is a good target to aim for.