Training with Dylan

I’ve had a few questions about calories and how much we should or shouldn’t be eating, so let’s break it down. 

You may have heard the saying that changing your body composition is 80% food and 20% exercise. It is very true. I have included a photo below of a BMR calculation done for myself. BMR meaning Basal Metabolic Rate, how much energy does your body use to stay alive per day if you were doing no activity whatsoever 

Your BMR is calculated off your height, weight and gender. We then have to account for your daily/weekly level of activity, this includes working out and general movement throughout the day (I.e work). If we use me for example, it takes 1,750 calories/day for my body to function (at complete rest, no phyical activity). Then we have to add on what kind of energy we would burn by exercising and general movement throughout the day. I would fall into the “Daily exercise or intense exercise 3-4 times/week” category. So, for me to maintain my weight, I need to eat 2,713 calories/day. This gives us our maintenance Calories/day 

If you want to gain muscle mass, add 500 calories per day to your maintenance number, if you want to lose weight, minus 500 calories per day. So, for me, I want to gain weight so I need to be eating 3,213 calories/day to reach my goals. 

Here is the cool part. As long as you eat a decent amount of protein, you can make up the rest of the calories with whatever you want (within reason). Just be aware that processed foods like refined sugars and deep fried stuff is extremely calorie dense. It is absolutely fine to eat  and  or  if you’re trying to lose weight. Just keep in mind that these foods have a lot of calories.

I would recommend that everyone use an app like My Fitness Pal for a week or even just a day or two to get an idea of how many calories the foods you generally eat contain. The more awareness you have about certain foods, the better choices you can make 

Thank you to everyone last week for being understanding when I got sick and had to reschedule sessions. It took a lot of stress off my shoulders! I’m back playing golf now, so everything is right with the world