Nutrition: Calories and macronutrients

Macronutrients and recommended daily calories

Last update: March 26, 2024

Expertise

Julien Quaglierini calls on the services of qualified dieticians specializing in the field of nutrition to design recipes and nutrition programs.

Whether you're young or old, sporty or sedentary, want to lose weight or adapt your diet to your physical activity, we can meet your expectations and help you.

Food databases

Our application is based on different foundations:

USDA database (calculation of macronutrients)
CIQUAL database (calculation of macronutrients)
Open Food Fact database (products identified by barcode)

The Nutritional Diary allows you to record the foods you eat based on these dietary basics. So you can monitor your entire diet independently, and see if it's in line with your nutritional objectives.

What are macronutrients?

Macronutrients are food components that give us energy. The body uses them in relatively large quantities," explains Rahaf Al Bochi, RDN, LD, spokesman for Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and founder from Olive Tree Nutrition.

They fall into three categories: carbohydrates, proteins and the fats.

Each category provides a certain amount of energy per gram, expressed in calories.

How do you count calories?

Determine your daily calorie requirement

This depends on your anthropometric data (age, weight, height) and your daily level of physical activity.

You can modify/update whenever you like on your application.

Estimate your basal metabolic rate

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR or MBR) reflects the number of calories per day your body needs to function, based on your height, weight, age and gender. This formula was developed in 1966 by Black and his colleagues. This is the one recommended by the Association française des diététiciens nutritionnistes (AFDN) for the clinical practice of dieticians.

To get a general idea of your BMR, enter your data in one of the most recent forms of Black et al. below, then round off your answer to the nearest whole number :

WomanKcal = [0.963 x Weight (kg)^0.48 x Height (m)^0.50 x Age(years)^-0.13] x (1000/4.1855)
ManKcal = [1.083 x Weight (kg)^0.48 x Height(m)^0.50 x Age(years)^-0.13] x (1000/4.1855)

Multiply by your activity level

Next, you need to think about your daily physical activity level (NAP) to determine your non-resting energy expenditure, i.e. the calories you burn when you move.

To do this, multiply your BMR from step 1 by the number below that best corresponds to your activity level in an average week.

Sedentary (frequent sitting, little or no exercise) : BMR x 1.2
Not very active (occasional sitting, light exercise one to three days a week) : BMR x 1.375
Moderately active (very frequent walking, moderate exercise three to five days a week) : BMR x 1.55
Very active (hard physical work, intense exercise six to seven days a week) : BMR x 1.725

The NAP values given are averages only.

It's important to take into account all your daily physical activities (transport, work, sport, hobbies, etc.).

Your answer is an estimate of your DEJ (daily energy expenditure).

NAP equivalents on the application / back office in nutritional parameters :

Sedentary = low activity.
Not very active = average activity.
Moderately active = high activity.
Very active = very high activity.

Calculation example

After recording general information (age, sex, etc.) and measurements (notably weight and height), the software automatically calculates basal metabolic rate using the formula of Black et al.

This is the formula for a moderately active 35-year-old woman weighing 68 kg and measuring 170 cm.

Estimation of basal metabolic rate :

BMR = [0.963× 68^0.48 × 1.7^0.50 × 35^-0.13 ] x (1,000/4.1855) = 1,611 calories

Estimated TDEE as a function of activity level :

DEJ = 1,610.5 calories x 1.55 = 2,497 calories.