The Cunningham Equation -An accurate way to predict calories

[lovestolift]

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NOTE by Mehdi
* First big thanks to lovestolift for posting this!
* As the headline says: what follows is a way to predict your caloric needs
* It will be fairly accurate, but never 100% accurate. Reason: too many factors influence your caloric needs.
* Point: do not trust the calorie calculator blindly.

Right way to use this
* Use the cunningham equation to get an estimation of your caloric needs
=> fat loss: eat 10-20% less calories per day
=> weight gain: eat 20% more per day

Remember
* Fat loss: eat less calorie and/or burn more calories. If you're not losing fat: you don't have a caloric deficit. Calculator could be off. Solution: lower daily caloric intake by 10%.
* Gain weight: eat more calories and/or burn less calories. Same thing as above: no weight gain, no caloric excess. Need to eat more: increase intake by 10% per day.

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* List of useful links later posted
* Java version by rossi
* Spreadsheet by rossi (obsolete)
* Massive Eating Calculator by John Berardi
* Body Fat Calculator posted by erebusii or get a fat caliper
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I decided to post this for those who want to tweak their diets. It's complex, but it's been proven accurate to within 158 calories for men and 103 calories for women. Here it is:

The Cunningham Equation

Step #1 Determine Resting Metabolic Rate
Sample trainee is 200 lbs at 5% bodyfat, so 0.05 equals 5% bodyfat

Take your weight in pounds and divide by 2.2 to get your weight in
Kilograms (skip if you use metric). E.g. 200/2.2=90.91 kg

Next take your fat percentage and multiply by your mass in kilograms,
this will give you your fat mass (FM) E.g. 90.91x0.05=4.55 kg

Subtract your (FM) from your total weight in kilograms to get your fat
free mass (FFM) E.g. 90.91-4.55=86.36 kg
Now enter your (FFM) into this formula
RMR = 500 + [22 x (FFM)] E.g. RMR=500 + [22 x 86.36]
RMR=500 + 1,899.92
RMR=2,399.93 cal

Step #2 Determine the Thermic Effect of Food

If you eat a moderate protein diet your factor will be 0.10
(roughly 1g/lb of body weight), for a high protein diet your factor
will be 0.15 (roughly 1.5 g/lb of body weight) .

TEF = RMR x factor (0.10 or 0.15) E.g. TEF=359.99

Do not add this to your RMR yet.

Step #3 Determine Activity Thermogenesis

The first part is to determine your Non Exercise Activity
Thermogenesis (NEAT)
You’ll need to use one of these NEAT factors (or one in between, like 1.45):

1.2- 1.3 for bed- or chair-ridden individuals
1.4- 1.5 for sedentary occupation without daily movement
1.5- 1.6 for sedentary occupation with daily movement
1.6- 1.7 for occupation with prolonged standing
1.9-2.1 for strenuous work

RMR + NEAT = RMR x NEAT factor E.g. RMR+NEAT=2,399.93 x 1.45
RMR+NEAT =3,479.88

Now add in your TEF

RMR + NEAT + TEF = Non training day caloric needs E.g. RMR+NEAT+TEF=3839.86

Now determine your Exercise Related Activity Thermogenesis (ERAT)
For intense free weight lifting the Metabolic Effect of Training (MET)
is 6. Use your total weight, including fat. For the duration use a decimal
to represent the amount of time (45 min = 0.75, 90 min = 1.5).

ERAT = Body Mass x duration x MET E.g. ERAT=90.91 x 1.5 x 6
ERAT=819.19

On training days you add in your ERAT number for your total calories
E.g.RMR+NEAT+TEF+ERAT = 4,659.05

Our sample trainee would eat 3,839.86 calories on a Non Training Day and 4,659.05 for a Training Day.
Round down to 3,800 and 4,600 and our sample trainee knows how much he needs to eat to maintain his weight.

Simply calculate your own numbers and add or subtract 250 calories depending on your goal. Maintain this change for two weeks and decide if you need to readjust. If you lost or gained weight, maintain for two more weeks until you are no longer losing or gaining, then add or subtract another 250 calories and continue this process until you reach your goal.

NOTE by Mehdi: better is to work with percentages: eat 10-20% less for fat loss. Working with fixed amounts of calories isn't the right way to do it: if maintenance caloric needs is 3000kcal (big guy) 250kcal isn't a lot. But if maintenance caloric needs is 1500kcal (small female), it will be a lot. So: work with percentages.

[groundskeeperwillie]

This part can't be right or it's a typo.

Next take your fat percentage and multiply by your mass in kilograms,
this will give you your fat mass (FM) E.g. 90.91x0.05=4.55 kg

My BF percentage is approx 15% & my BW is 93kg, therefore 93 x 15=1395. In the above example, it says 0.05! Where's that figure come from?
gkw

[lovestolift]

Sorry, I forgot to note at the top that our sample trainee is 200 lbs at 5% bodyfat, so 0.05 equals 5% bodyfat. It's just the example that is used for the equation. Your 15% would translate to 0.15 so: 93 x 0.15 = 13.95 kg fat mass. Subtract that for the next part of the equation. You'd get : 79.05 kg Fat Free Mass. If there is anything else that is confusing, let me know.

[groundskeeperwillie]

Cheers L2L, that sorts that out a treat
gkw

[lovestolift]

Here's something that may be helpful in planning your body composition goals:

Calculating Target Bodyweight (TBW):
1) Get your BF% measured, & realize that this is an educated guess at best. Get your your 1st thing in the morning weight.
2) Calculate your fat mass (BF% divided by 100, multiply by total weight).
3) Subtract fat mass from total weight, this is your lean body mass (LBM).
4) Decide how much lbs of muscle you wanna gain or lose (hah), then add this to your LBM. If you wanna maintain, then don't mess with this number.
5) Multiply your target LBM by 100.
6) Divide the answer of step 5 by the following calculation: 100 minus whatever BF% you're shooting for. This gives you your target bodyweight (TBW) at your goal body comp.

I've blatantly stolen it form here:http://www.muscleandscience.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2552

[Doo]

Interestingly, the ERAT (also called TEA or Thermic Effect of Activity) calorie amount (using MET=6) was about the same as the calories reported by my heart rate monitor that I wear when I lift.

[lovestolift]

That is interesting, more evidence validating it.

As a comparison the MET for using machines to train is 3. Shows how much harder it is to lift free weights.

[Doo]

The key to whether MET=6 is really how many muscles you are incorporating in a short time. I have noticed what amounts to be an MET of 5 when lifting near RMs since I am likely doing less volume but yet time is longer due to longer rest times.

[lovestolift]

I suppose that ERAT would be the greatest variable, assuming that you've accurately calculated everything else. Glad to see you are putting so much though into this. Have you altered your diet in any way due to this new knowledge?

[rossi]

I've made a quick&dirty excel sheet so you can input your own data. The green fields are input fields:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key= ... Gw4xSs_GMQ

BTW, everyone can edit it, so don't abuse it please. And only 1 person can use it at the time, else you're inputting data while someone else is also (you can see differently coloured markers jump in that case)

[lovestolift]

Nicely done. It's very similar to the one I use on Microsoft Spreadsheet. I am glad to see that people are taking a pro-active approach to this.

[Doo]

...Have you altered your diet in any way due to this new knowledge?

Yes, I expanded my calorie range in Gyminee to reflect lower calories on rest days. I am aiming for a 1000kcal deficit per day to lose about 2lb of fat per week. I try to maintain 1g/lb protein every day with 40% protein/35% carb/25% (good) fat.

[lovestolift]

Okay, just be sure to track body fat and see if you are losing any muscle. I think 1000 calorie deficit is a little much at one time. The idea was to cut 250 a day, and keep checking progress every two weeks. It's slow, but it minimizes muscle loss. But as long as you are not losing muscle, then go for it.

[rossi]

(Apparently I can't edit my previous post).

I've made a version that is permanent (can't be vandalised).

http://www.editgrid.com/user/slayer/calories_cunningham

[lovestolift]

Can multiple people use it at the same time now?