Maintaining Your Weight

If you are already at an appropriate weight and body composition, congratulations! You just need to ensure that you consume enough calories and the appropriate macro nutrients to maintain your weight and health. After estimating your caloric needs, determine your macro nutrient needs-- how much protein, fat, and carbohydrate you need each day. The estimates for each macro nutrient are the following:

• Grams of protein per day = .82 × body weight in pounds.
• Convert grams of protein into Calories: 1 gram of protein = 4 Calories
• Grams of fat each day = 30 percent of your estimated caloric needs.
• Convert grams of fat into Calories: 1 gram of fat = 9 Calories
• Grams of carbohydrate each day = remaining calories.
• Convert grams of carbohydrate into Calories: 1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 Calories

For example, a 132-pound woman who requires 2,383 Calories each day to maintain her weight would consume approximately 109 (.82 × 132) grams of protein each day. This amount of protein is equal to 436 Calories (109 × 4). She would also consume about 715 (.30 × 2,382) Calories from fat. To convert these fat calories into fat grams, we divide 715 by 9 (715 / 9) to equal approximately 80 grams of fat each day. To estimate carbohydrate needs, subtract the 436 protein Calories and the 715 fat Calories from the estimated daily energy intake (2,383 - 436 - 715 = 1,232) to find that this woman needs 1,232 Calories from carbohydrate daily. To convert this number of carbohydrate calories into grams, divide it by four to equal 308 grams of carbohydrate each day (1,232 / 4 = 308). To review, the 132-pound active female would eat

109 grams of protein × 4 (Calories per gram) = 436 Calories.

80 grams of fat × 9 (Calories per gram) = 720 Calories.

308 grams of carbohydrate × 4 (Calories per gram) = 1,232 Calories.