This widget calculates both your daily caloric requirement and your proper protein/carbohydrate/fat consumption ratio. The first part of this calculation is described here (as it is identical to another widget, the Daily Caloric Requirement Calculator).

Basics

Almost all the food we are eating falls into one of the three categories: carbohydrates (sugars), proteins and fats.

All the three categories are absolutely necessary for our health – it is not possible to survive on a long-term diet lacking one of them.

Both proteins and carbohydrates provide 4 calories per 1 gram. Fats provide 9 calories per gram.

Most traditional and modern diets are based on carbohydrates with lower proportion of proteins and fats.

On the other hand, it is widely accepted today that athletes (especially those seeking to build muscle mass) need higher proportion of proteins in their diet than general population.

This widget is taking into consideration the requirements of active athletes.

Default settings

By default, we set the protein intake as 2 grams per 1 kg of your bodyweight. Many scientists suggest much lower daily protein consumption, usually around 1 gram per 1 kg. On the other hand, more than a few bodybuilders actually eat around 2.4 grams per kg. It’s up to you to change this number as you see appropriate for your training aims.

The other variable is percentage of fat. Most nutritionists suggest 20% but very few bodybuilders actually consume so much fat.

Typical fitness/bodybuilding diet will usually contain about 15% healthy fat. Going lower than this number can be both dangerous to your health and foolish: don’t forget that testosterone and other steroid hormones (like estradiol) are all produced from cholesterol.