How do you work out the number of food blocks you need to eat, as a man? These are the calculations given by Barry Sears in his book ‘The Zone’ which is well worth buying. It is a great book:
- Measure your waist at the navel (in inches).
- Measure your wrist, on your dominant hand, at the point where your wrist meets your hand.
- Subtract your wrist measurement from your waist measurement.
- Weigh yourself and convert the amount to pounds if weighing in kilos.
- Look at the chart below for men, and match up your weight in pounds with the waist minus wrist measurement (basically the number you had left after deducting your wrist measurement from your waist measurement.) So, for instance, if you are 290 lbs and the figure you have left is 37 inches, you would get the number 23, which is your body fat percentage. Find your weight first, in the lists below, and then move across horizontally until you are under the column which is the same number as your waist minus your wrist measurement. That is the number you are seeking.
- Multiply your weight, ie. 290 lbs, by your body fat percentage. So 290 x 23% = 66.7. This is the total weight of the fat on your body.
- Subtract the weight of your body fat from your total body weight. 290 – 66.7 = 223.3. This is your lean body mass (the weight you would be if you had no fat).
- Now, estimate how much you are exercising each week*:
0.5 – No activity at all – sedentary
0.6 – Light fitness training such as walking*
0.7 – Sports participation 3 times a week
0.8 – daily aerobic training or weight training
0.9 – Extensive daily weight training
1.0 – Extensive daily weight training and intense sport training twice a day
Multiply your lean body mass by one of these. So if you are just walking, multiply 223.3 x 0.6 = 133.98. That is the amount of protein in grams that you need to eat EVERY DAY, spread out over the day.
Whatever number you have above, divide it by 7. The reason for this is there are 7 grams of protein in every protein block listed in the food blocks. So 133.98 divided by 7 = 19.14. So every day you need to eat 19 blocks of protein, plus 19 blocks of fat and 19 blocks of carbs. If you eat protein you must also eat carbs and fat at the same time.
See the food lists to see how much of each foodstuff is in each block. Recalculate your food requirement each week as your measurements, and your weight, changes.
*If you have over 30 per cent body fat as a male, just walking around all day is an exercise workout of sorts, so even if you do no other exercise, multiply by 0.6.
If this has you totally foxed I will happily help you. Just email me.