The Customized Zone Macro Plan focuses on the Three Macronutrients: Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats and is designed to help ensure you are eating the correct ratios of each. The Zone Macro Plan first determines how many calories you should be consuming for your weight, fitness level, activity level and body fat percentage and then breaks those calories down into percentages coming from the Three Macronutrients.
So what are the percentages for each macro nutrient you might ask? I will explain it in detail now. The percentage ratios are as follows. 40% of your calories will come from Carbohydrates. Now these are complex carbohydrates not simple sugars. Next is Protein which has 30% of your calories coming from them. And finally, the percentage for fat calories is 30% also.
While the macronutrient breakdown is important, what is even more important is knowing how many calories in total need to be consumed to optimize fat loss. Many diet and weight loss plans use a - One size fits all - approach and use a general calorie recommendation of 1600 calories per day for females and 2000 calories per day for males. With the Customized Zone Macro plan we take how many calories you need to consume very seriously. Let me explain.
How many calories you should consume is a moving target and needs to be looked at in depth. While we don't subscribe to the simple "calories in - calories out" approach to weight loss, we do stress the importance of consuming few calories than you burn each day to accomplish weight loss. One way, really the only way to look at weight loss or rather fat loss is in simple numbers. 1 pound of fat is approximately 3500 stored calories. To lose 1 lb of fat in a week's time, you need to burn 3500 more calories than you consume. To lose 2 LBS in a week's time, burn 7000 more calories. Pretty simple.
This might lead you to believe that starving yourself 2 times per week and not eating for 2 days is a great way to accomplish this. While I do believe in fasting and to some extend intermittent fasting, I prefer daily balance for sustained weight loss.
A more balanced approach to sustained weight loss is a daily restriction of calories. But in order to properly restrict, you first need to know how many calories you are burning in a 24 hour period. This is where we have an edge on other nutrition plans and even nutritionist. In order to truly lose weight in an efficient and time-tested approach of daily caloric deficits combined with proper macronutrient consumption and that is exactly what our Customized Zone Macro Plan does.
In order to determine how many calories you need to consume as mentioned above, we first determine how many calories you are burning. When working with someone, I use what is called Total Daily Caloric Expenditure or TDCE to represent how many calories they burn in a 24 hour period. To begin determining the TDCE, first we utilize what is called the Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR as the base. This number is the number of calories required to run all of the metabolic processes in the body. This includes all the major organs and their roles in the body as well as maintaining a core body temperature of approximately 98.6 degrees. This number is often considered as pre-set based on weight, height, gender and age and for the most part when working with someone I will use this number. There are times when this number is not accurate but before looking deeper into other possible issues, I recommend starting with the BMR as a baseline and begin to work from there.
After the BMR, Daily Activity is the next driver of the TDCE. How much you move in a day results in calories burned. Just standing up in the morning burns calories above and beyond the base BMR. Now I am sure you can imagine that those who perform manual labor every day are going to burn more than someone who is confined to working behind a desk. Someone who chooses to walk to work, ride a bike or find some other physical means to go places will burn more than someone who always drives their own vehicle to work and anywhere else they may go and so on. But in addition to movement one must consider general personality traits. Someone who is fidgety and always seems to be moving around burns an estimated 200 more calories a day. Then consider how animated someone is in general. Consider as an example two famous people on the opposite ends of the spectrum. First consider Mr. Rogers and then compare his level of animated to Robin Williams. For those who know who these two are recognize instantly the contrast between the two. All of this contributes to the TDCE.
The Daily Activity Index is what I call this rating and it has a number ranging from 1 to 10. Obviously the 1 is very low energy and probably is someone who sits all day at work and does as little movement as possible. I have never met someone I would completely rate as a 1. Someone who is a 10 would be bouncing off the walls all day and to be honest with you probably would not be seeking my help for weight loss because they are burning so many calories per day as to keep their weight in balance.
Most individuals I work with range from a 3 to a 7 or 8. The number associated with the rating is a calculation based on the BMR and can account for as much as another 25% of total daily calories above the BMR. So ask to this point in determining TDCE we have the BMR + Daily Activity. Next we move on to exercise. Which is where lies the area you can control the most.
Exercise calories are based on Weight, Height, Age and you guessed it, Gender. Let me use and example here. Let's use who is 5'2" tall, is an older person who is female who is meets her BMI or in other words weighs what is expected for her. Let's say she ways 115 lbs and we will call her Sarah. And for the other we will use a young male who is over weight weighing in at 260 lbs and who is 6'5" and we will call him Jim. We will use the same exercise of running on a treadmill at 5 mph for 30 min and you will notice the difference in exercise calories burned between the two. First we have Sarah, she will burn 210 calories. And now Jim will burn 475 doing the same 30 min at 5 mph. This important to know and to include in the TDCE. As I work with you, you decide how much and when you exercise and this number will be added to your TDCE so you need to be committed to your workout plan and stay the course.
After Exercise Calories, we need to consider what is known as Thermic Effect of Food. This number is based on calories consumed and Body Fat Percentage. If you work with me in person, I will help you calculate your body fat percent. If we are working on-line. I can give you a general idea, however I would recommend you find somewhere local to have your body fat tested and provide me with that number when we meet remotely.
So now we have BMR, Daily Activity Index, Exercise and TEF. All of these together equal your TDCE. From here, we begin now to work backwards and create the perfect nutrition profile to help you lose those unwanted pounds. Let's get to that part now.
Since we already have an example from the Exercise portion of this program we will use Jim as our client. Jim is 23 years old. As stated above, Jim is 6'2" and weighs 260 LBS. Jim is going to school full-time and works part time at a local call center where he sits at a desk 25 hours per week. Jim also likes sports and plays pick-up basket ball on Saturdays. In the rest of Jim's spare time he plays video games on-line. Jim rates himself a 4 on the activity index. Jim as decided he will go to the gym 5 days a week for 1.5 hours per day and will split his time at the gym doing 1 hour of weight training and 30 mins of cardio on the treadmill walking at 4 mph. Jim's body fat percent is 32%.
Let's start with BMR. Based on Jim's information, using the Harris Benedict Equation, we can assume Jim's BMR is 2468. Next we will use his Daily Activity Index rating of 4 which gives Jim an additional calorie expenditure of 576 calories per day. With Jim's commitment to his exercise routine from above we can estimate his calories from exercise to be 875 calories per day on average. Finally, Jim's TEF based on his Body Fat Percentage of 32% is 157 calories per day. This brings Jim's TDCE to 4076 calories per day. Now we know how many calories Jim burns on average per day, we can determine how many calories Jim should eat to begin to shed the unwanted extra body fat and pounds.
Previously I mentioned that a pound of fat is approximately 3500 calories. To burn one pound of body fat per week, Jim should eat approximately 3500 calories per day. To burn 2, Jim should eat about 3000. This may seem like a lot when you consider that I mentioned previously that it is recommended for a man to eat 2000 calories per day to lose weight. This is where understanding how the body works, how the body burns fat for fuel and how the body either maintains muscle or burns it a caloric deficit is important. I am certain that Jim can and will lose 2 lbs of fat per day all while maintaining his lean body weight. At the end of the day, we want to burn fat, not lose muscle.
Now that we have an goal of 3000 calories per day, we can apply the Customized Zone Nutrition Plan ratios of Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats. I will begin with protein. Protein is the most important macronutrient overall and is responsible for maintaining lean muscle mass, hormone production and countless other functions. Protein should come from health lean sources and when needed with quality protein supplements. Jim's Protein requirement in calories is 900 calories. These calories can be further broken down into grams or protein. Each protein gram is 4 calories so based on this information, 900/4 is 225 grams.
Next, we will determine Jim's caloric need from carbohydrates. Jim needs to get 40% of his calories from this source or 1200 calories. Each carbohydrate has 4 calories per gram also so Jim' needs to consume 300 grams of carbohydrates and Finally, let's figure out Jim's Fat requirement.
Jim needs to consume 30% of his calories or 900 calories from Fat sources such as avocado , olive oil and other healthy fats. Unlike carbohydrates and proteins, fat's have 9 calories per gram. The math is easy here. 900 calories equals 100 grams of health fats.
Jim now has a nutrition strategy or plan. The final step for Jim is to follow through and I recommend he get his body fat tested once every 4 weeks to ensure he is loosing just body fat and not lean tissue. As needed, his caloric need will change and as he meets with me over the course of his plan, we will make the needed changes.
One thing you will notice here is that I have not indicated how or when you get those calories. There are individuals who thrive on intermittent fasting and eat only 2 meals a day while there are others who prefer 3 meals a day with 3 small snacks. Either way, ensure you meet the macronutrients in your plan and you can chose how and when to get them. This is where there is some flexibility in our Customized Zone Macronutrient Plan. So, is this plan right for you?
So what do you get when you work with us on a 12 Week Customized Zone Macro Plan?
1 - The program lasts for 12 weeks (originally only 10 weeks but now 12)
2- We will utilize the formula described above to determine your Total Daily Expenditure, help you decide on a workout regimen and help you set your needed Caloric Intake to maximize weight/fat loss.
3- We will customize your Zone Macro Plan to utilize the proper ratios of Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat to maximize your weight/fat loss and provide you with the proper education on how to obtain the best sources of each macronutrient.
4 - During your 12 week plan, you will able to use our State-of-the-Art InBody 570 to scan your body re-composition from body fat to increase lean muscle mass weekly as you work with a nutritionist to track your progress.
5 - We will use Skin Fold Measurements (another method to determine scrutinous fat loss) at the beginning and ending of your 12 week plan. This shows you how much fat you have lost under your skin.
What is the price? All of this for only $199 dollars. That is less than $17 dollars a week.
Nothing changes if you don't change. Now is the time to act. Contact James or Kaydee at weightreleasemadeeasy@gmail.com
Next Up? The Macro Blue Print