Here's what the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle book says to calculate your calories. Sorry, I know it's not simple, but it's been very helpful to me and I am losing weight using this method.
BMR (basal metabolic rate for men and women) = 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)
Example:
You are male, You weigh 172 lbs (78 kilos), Your body fat percentage is 14% (24.1 lbs fat, 147.9 lbs lean)
Your lean mass is 147.9 lbs (67.2 kilos)
Your BMR = 370 + (21.6 X 67.2) = 1821 calories
To determine TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) from BMR, multiply BMR by the activity factor:
Continuing with the previous example:
Your BMR is 1821
Your activity level is moderately active (you work out 3-4 times per week), so activity factor is 1.55
Your TDEE = 1.55 X 1821 = 2822 calories
Here are the activity factors:
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2 X day training, marathon, football camp, contest, etc.)
Then the author suggests you reduce your TDEE by 15-20% each day and exercise to obtain enough of a calorie deficit to safely lose 1-2 lbs of bodyfat a week. (1 lb fat = 3500 calories). So divide what your calories per day will be after the 15-20% deficit into 5 meals. For each meal (or at least for the day) eat foods that will give you about this ratio (the %'s are in calories) 50-55% carbs, 30% protein, 15-20% fat).
Baseline diet formula (50-55% carbs, 30% protein, 15-20% fat). For each meal:
Step 1: Choose a lean protein from the list for every meal.
Step 2: Choose a starchy carbohydrate from the list for every meal
Step 3: Choose your simple carbohydrates for your breakfasts
Step 4: Choose your fibrous carbs for your lunches and dinners
Step 5: Add essential fats if insufficient quantities are present in your foods
Step 6: Count your meal subtotals and grand totals.
Step 7: Compare your totals to your calorie target and adjust the serving sizes
Step 8: Assign a time a time for each meal
He also suggests eating at your calorie deficit for 3 days, then eating at your maintenance level for 1 day to prevent your body's starvation response from preventing you from losing fat. This is all baseline stuff, and you will have to adjust your calories and ratios based on your individual results. But I hope this helps.
