Coding Keto Macro Calculator: A Guide For Your Website

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet that puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When in ketosis, your body turns fat into ketones for energy, instead of burning carbohydrates for glucose. To get into ketosis, you need to keep your daily carbohydrate intake very low (for most people, this means less than 30 grams of net carbs per day). To help people work out their macronutrient intake, keto macro calculators are available online. These calculators take into account your body weight, height, age, gender, and activity level to determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). They then suggest a total daily calorie count with a breakdown of each macronutrient (fat, carbs, and protein) to help you meet your desired goal. In this report, I will take you through how to code a keto macro calculator for your website.

User input: Height, weight, age, gender, and activity level

The keto calculator uses several factors to determine a user's basal metabolic rate (BMR) and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). These factors include height, weight, age, gender, and activity level.

Height and Weight

The keto calculator uses a person's height and weight to determine their unique body composition. This is important because the amount of energy a person burns at rest (BMR) and the number of calories they burn in a day (TDEE) depend on their body composition. For example, taller people tend to have more muscle mass and body fat, resulting in a higher weight.

Age

Age is another factor that affects a person's BMR. As people age, their muscle mass tends to decrease, and it becomes easier to accumulate excess body fat. Therefore, a person's RMR (resting metabolic rate) decreases with age.

Gender

Gender is also a factor in determining BMR since body composition differs between men and women. Generally, females weigh less than males, even though they naturally have a higher percentage of body fat. This is because males tend to have higher muscle mass, and muscle weighs more than fat.

Activity Level

A person's physical activity level (PAL) measures how much energy they spend daily when they are active. This information is combined with their BMR to calculate their TDEE, or the total number of calories their body burns in a day. Knowing a user's activity level is crucial for determining how many calories they need to consume to maintain or lose weight.

In summary, by taking into account a person's height, weight, age, gender, and activity level, the keto calculator can provide personalized macro targets that will help them reach their health and weight goals.

Calculating BMR: Mifflin-St Jeor equation

The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is a widely used tool to calculate the basal metabolic rate (BMR) of an individual. BMR is the number of calories burned by an individual when their body is in a state of complete rest. It includes the energy used by the body to maintain vital processes and organ functions such as respiration, heartbeat, and brain function.

The Mifflin-St Jeor equation for men is:

> BMR (kcal/day) = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) – 5 × age (y) + 5 (kcal/day)

And for women:

> BMR (kcal/day) = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) – 5 × age (y) – 161 (kcal/day)

For example, let's calculate the BMR of a 35-year-old man who weighs 200 pounds (90.7 kg) and is 6 feet (183 cm) tall. Using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, we can determine his BMR to be approximately 1,882 calories per day.

Now, let's calculate the BMR for a 35-year-old woman who weighs 150 pounds (68 kg) and is 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall. Her BMR would be around 1,409 calories per day.

It is important to note that BMR is not the same as the total number of calories your body needs in a day. It only represents the calories burned at rest. To determine your total daily calorie needs, you must consider your activity level and other factors.

Additionally, the Mifflin-St Jeor equation provides a more accurate estimation of BMR compared to other equations like the Harris-Benedict equation. It is considered one of the most reliable formulas available.

Calculating TDEE: BMR + activity level

To calculate your TDEE, you need to first calculate your BMR. Your BMR is the amount of energy your body requires to fuel its vital functions. It represents the minimum amount of energy your body needs to function at complete rest. It is calculated based on your physical characteristics such as age, gender, height, and weight.

Once you have your BMR, you can calculate your TDEE by multiplying it by your physical activity level (PAL). Your PAL measures how much energy you spend daily when you are active. This includes deliberate exercise as well as other activities you may do as part of your job or daily routine.

• Sedentary (little to no exercise): 1.2
• Lightly active (light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week): 1.375
• Moderately active (moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week): 1.55
• Very active (hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week): 1.725
• Super active (very hard exercise and a physical job or training twice a day): 1.9

For example, if your BMR is 1500 calories and you are lightly active, your TDEE would be calculated as follows:

BMR x PAL = TDEE

1500 calories x 1.375 = 2062.5 calories

So, your TDEE would be approximately 2063 calories.

It is important to note that TDEE is an estimate and can vary from day to day. It is also a good idea to recalculate your BMR and TDEE whenever there are significant changes to your body weight, as these values may need to be adjusted.

Calculating calorie intake goal: Calorie deficit or surplus

To calculate your calorie intake goal, you need to determine whether you want to maintain your weight or create a calorie deficit or surplus to lose or gain weight.

Maintaining Weight

To maintain your weight, you need to consume the same number of calories that your body burns in a day. This is known as your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). Your TDEE is the number of calories your body burns in 24 hours and includes your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the number of calories you burn while at rest, your physical activity, and the calories burned from digesting food. To maintain your weight, you should keep the calorie bar at 0%.

Calorie Deficit

To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, which means consuming fewer calories than your body burns. You can do this by moving the calorie bar between 0 and -50 (calorie deficit). Staying within a 10-20% deficit will help you lose weight at a moderate, safe rate. A calorie deficit forces your body to break down body fat and muscle to get the additional energy it needs, resulting in weight loss.

Calorie Surplus

To gain weight, you need to create a calorie surplus, which means consuming more calories than your body burns. You can do this by moving the calorie bar between 0 and +50 (calorie surplus). Staying within a 10-20% surplus will help you gain weight at a moderate, safe rate. A calorie surplus means your body will store the extra calories as fat.

It's important to note that the number of calories you need to consume to maintain, lose, or gain weight will depend on various factors, including your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level. You can use online calculators to estimate your TDEE and determine your calorie intake goal based on your weight goals.

Macro targets: Carbohydrates, protein, and fat

The keto diet involves high fat consumption, moderate protein, and low carbohydrates. The standard macro ratio is 5% or fewer calories from carbohydrates, 70-80% of calories from healthy fats, and 20-30% of calories from protein.

Carbohydrates are viewed as a maximum amount, protein is a goal to reach, and fat is to satisfy. On a ketogenic diet, it is recommended to keep your carb intake to 5% or less of total calories, which works out to be an average of 30g net carbs a day. However, this can be adjusted based on your needs. For example, if you want to maintain your weight, you can consume up to 50g of net carbs daily.

It is important to consume adequate protein on a ketogenic diet. For most people, it is undesirable to lose muscle mass. The minimum ratio is 0.8g/lb of lean body mass, but this can be increased based on your strength goals and exercise demands.

On a ketogenic diet, most of your daily calories (70-80%) should come from fat. This can be achieved by consuming fatty cuts of meat, eggs, fatty fish, whole raw milk, avocados, nuts, and MCT oil. You can also cook with fats like lard, tallow, butter, coconut oil, and olive oil.

To calculate your specific macro targets, you can use a keto calculator. These calculators take into account factors such as your gender, age, weight, activity level, body fat percentage, and goals to determine your ideal macronutrient ratio.

Frequently asked questions