There Are No Magic Amount of Calories
There is no magic amount of daily calories you should be eating to be "X" weight or the best macro ratio for accomplishing "X".
Any initial calorie/macro calculation is going to be an educated estimate from formulas derived from the amount of biometric data you are able to provide. Some are more refined than others, however these will still be only an estimate.
Our physiologies are incredibly dynamic, and vary in how we process and metabolize certain foods. So the "magic" is in recording, monitoring, adjusting, consistency, and periodizing.
You can be the same exact weight, at substantially different body compositions, and eat vastly quantities of food.
Here I am eating similar amounts of food (+-200 kcals) at very different body weights. 25 pounds of difference.
So how can I weigh 12% less, be significantly leaner, but eat more food?
Periodization
Much different from the standard yo-yo dieting fads that provide some success, then lead to large rebounds.
I haven’t just continued to eat between 3600-3900 calories for the duration of time between these two photos.
Change doesn’t come from staying exactly where you’re at and continuing to do exactly what you’ve been doing.
If you want a different result, then you need to change what you’re doing.
You will need to eat to hold weight stable for periods of time. Maintenance.
You will need to eat more for given periods of time. Surplus.
You will need to eat less for given periods of time. Deficit.
You will need to eat to strategically return to a safe and necessary baseline after a deficit so you don’t eventually fuck yourself up. Reverse.
That is the secret, periodization. Not magic, but when properly followed an executed people might just believe that it's magic.
If you're want to learn more about how to incorporate periodization in your nutrition your should take a look at my Metabolic Performance Protocol, where we take our time, we learn exactly why we’re periodizing, and we produce results.
