Regardless of what your goals are, if they have anything to do with your body, nutrition will play a major part. And the biggest questions is: How much should you be eating?
Your daily nutritional needs are determined by a variety of factors such as gender, age, body size (specifically muscle mass) and activity levels. There are several ways to estimate the amount of energy or calories your body needs to support it's basic metabolic functions or your basal metabolic rate. For simplicity's sake here is a general rule of thumb for how much you should be eating:
On days that you are working out, you should consume ~18 calories per pound of body weight if you are looking to maintain your body weight.
If you are looking to add weight (hopefully just muscle mass but you never know) you should consume a little bit more and strive for ~20 calories per pound of body weight on days that you are exercising (3,000 calories per day for a 150 lb person) and 18 calories per pound on rest days.
For individuals looking to gain/maintain muscle and lose fat at the same time (never easy to do) you should be in the range of 18 calories per pound on workout days and 14-16 on off days.
*Another key concept to remember, is what type of calorie you are consuming. If I had to pick the most important macronutrient, I would have to say protein. Protein is involved in protein synthesis which helps you maintain and build muscle mass and muscle mass is highly correlated to calories burned throughout the day. Focus on hitting your daily protein goals first and then fill in the rest. For a general rule of thumb, I would shoot for 1 g of protein per pound of body weight followed by 1.5 g of carbs per pound of body weight.
Remember, these are just general numbers to shoot for. Don't freak out if you go over or under by a little bit each day as your body will adjust. Also, be patient; changes in body composition do not occur overnight.
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