Hello BBM, hope all is well!
Is there a website/app that has a calculator which somewhat accurately guides you on how many calories/macros to consume for body composition(weight loss/weight gain/maintenance) goals? I find that Myfitness pal is unaccurate.
Thank you all! 
The NIH BW planner is great for calories:
We do not recommend any of the existing calculators for macronutrient levels, though we would recommend 1.6-3.1grams of protein/kg bodyweight/day, eating all the fruits and vegetables, and keeping saturated fat intake <10% of total daily calories.
-Jordan
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Thank you!
I just think theyâre too rigid and donât take into account an individualâs preferences, so I donât find them. I think there are a range of useful macro intakes that work 
Hi Jordan - not sure if Iâm following, apologies.
Are you saying you donât use the current macro calculations (e.g. those set out in TBAB), or you donât use the apps (e.g myfitnesspal)? Your response seems to suggest you (Barbell Medicine) now only track calories, hitting minimum protein intake and saturated fat intake. Is that correct?
Many thanks
What should we do when weâre trying to gain weight beyond the âhealthyâ range and the tool wonât work for estimating calories? Iâm in the process of trying to bulk towards 185lbs and the tool wonât even let me enter that as a value because the max âhealthyâ weight for my height of 5â10" is 175lbs apparently. From what I recall you and Austin are both around the same height and weigh between 20-30lbs over that and donât seem particularly unhealthy. Will changing my height to a number that will allow it change any of the estimates and therefore compromise their utility?
I donât like apps that prescribe specific macros- at least the ones Iâm aware of. I do use MFP, but I ignore their macro suggestions.
I track my macros, fiber intake, and number of fruit/veg servings per day.
If you switch it to expert mode itâll let you enter that in.
I wasnât aware initially, but you can actually amend macro recommendations through the ânutrition goalsâ section of the app - it only lets you change macros in 5% increase/decreases, but Iâve found I can get it pretty close (TBAB recommends 43.75% Protein, 35% Carb, 21.25% Fat for me, so Iâve just set it in the app at 45%/35%/20%)
Yea I know- itâs a neat feature! What Iâm getting at is that the predicted macro percentages are just made up and I am not too thrilled with any of them- even my own. While I think picking a place to start is a good strategy, I fear that many people take the percentages or recommended macro numbers too much weight.
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Hey Jordan!!
- thank you for the link to the body weight planner⌠super cool tool!!!
- I hate to keep asking questions however I wanted to clarify something you said I found interesting and i just wanted to make sure I understoodâŚ
a. Track Fiber
b. Track protein for 1.6-3.1 gram/kilogram of body weight (not sure how we choose this but that is for another time:)
c. No more than 10% fat ( well actually this is saturated fat I believe)
d. Everything else all the fruits and veggyâs one can endure as long its within the calorie count
e. count calories
- So for weight loss purposes grains and things other than protein and produce (P squared style) is best to be put aside for the time being?
Thank you!!
No problem
- Glad you like It.
- a and b- yes. C- <10% of total daily calories from saturated fat. d. Yes. e. if thatâs the method you prefer to use, yes.
- Not at all. Most foods can be incorporated without violating any of these other things.
Hey Jordan-
Curious how you go about coaching someone interested in weight loss, who may not be willing to track caloric intake or any of the other parameters outlined above? My thoughts would be to layer habits. Starting out with single ingredient foods, then layering on proper portion control. From there maybe you could bridge them towards more diligent tracking in the future.