How to Use Macronutrients to Build Muscle and Burn Fat

No Meat Athlete: The Macronutrient Cheat Sheet

Copyright © 2019 No Meat Athlete LLC

Disclaimer: The information in this document is for educational purposes only. It is

not intended as a substitute for medical advice of physicians or for proper athletic
training and nutrition. The reader should regularly consult a physician in all matters
relating to his or her health, as well as before beginning a new health or fitness
program, and particularly in respect of any symptoms that may require diagnosis or
medical attention.
Hi, we’re Dani and Giacomo, competitive
bodybuilders, coaches, and fitness and
nutrition bloggers at VeganProteins.

We’ve partnered with No Meat Athlete to

put together a macronutrient cheat sheet
for anyone looking to undertake a body
transformation.

Body transformations look differently for

different people.

Your goal could be to lose fat and gain muscle. Or maybe you’d like to gain both
muscle and fat. Or possibly your only focus is to lose weight.

What we’ve found through our work with hundreds of clients, and through undergoing
years of serious training ourselves, is that when it comes to a body transformation, it
starts with nutrition.

And not just eating healthy foods, but focusing on calories first, and which
macronutrients those calories come from second.

Below we’ve outlined three steps for calculating your caloric and macronutrient needs.

Once you’ve established the correct ratios for yourself and your own goals, you can
use the handy cheat sheet as a quick reference guide to build your meals. And to get
you started, we’ve even provided two meal blueprints with some of our favorite
ingredients.

Good luck!

Dani and Giacomo

PS. If you’re serious about making a body transformation, check out our brand new
Plant-Based Body Transformation program. Macronutrients are just part of the
equation, and this new program covers it all, including diet and strength training. Click
here to learn more.
Note: This cheat sheet is a streamlined version of the process outlined in our blog post on No
Meat Athlete, Flexible Plant-Based Dieting: How to Use Macro Nutrients to Build Muscle and
Burn Fat. Much more context and detail are provided there, so refer to that post if you need
more information about any of these steps.

Step 1: Find Your Maintenance Calories

Your maintenance level of calories is the number of calories you need in order to maintain
your weight right now.

Figuring out that number is simple: Just track what you’re eating right now for one week.

If your weight is relatively stable (within a couple-pound range on any given day), whatever you
are eating right now is your maintenance caloric level.

Record the amounts, the food itself, and the calories. Be as specific as you can be.
Don’t tweak the numbers, don’t sneak unrecorded food, and don’t try to be “good” just
because you’re keeping track. Just eat whatever you normally eat and keep track of it.

Do this for 7 days and get the average number of calories (add up all of the numbers and divide
them by 7) to get your rough caloric maintenance.

This is the most accurate way to find out where you currently are, calorically and metabolically
speaking. This is far more accurate than any calculator on the planet.

But… if tracking is out of the question, you could always use this basic formula:
Step 2: Find Your Caloric Deficit
To calculate your caloric deficit, you’ll want to subtract anywhere from 200-600 calories per day
from your maintenance calories.

Over the first few weeks, pay close attention to how much weight you are losing. If it’s more
than 2 pounds per week, you are almost certainly losing some muscle, and you’ll want to lessen
the deficit.

The example below uses a deficit of 400 calories:

Step 3: Calculate Your Macros
Your macronutrient numbers will give framework to the types of foods you eat, and provide
you with the right ratios of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and fiber.

Let’s start with protein:

Protein

To determine your protien needs, you will need to estimate your body fat percentage. It
doesn’t need to be exact, as almost no method will give you a perfectly accurate measurement,
but it’s important to be honest with yourself in order to be as accurate as possible.

Here are a few ways you could go about finding your rough body fat calculations:
• Go to a nearby gym and see if a trainer can measure you with calipers.
• Order a pair of calipers online and learn how to measure yourself.
• Use this picture as a rough estimate – it does NOT have to be exact.
Once you have your rough body fat percentage, get ready for some fun math:

1. Multiply your body fat percentage by your weight in pounds.

2. Subtract your answer from your weight.

What you are left with is your lean body mass (LBM), or the fat free mass in your body. This is
skeletal muscle, bone, connective tissue, blood, and organs.

For a fat loss, muscle gain body transformation, you should be aiming to get anywhere from .7-
1.2g of protein per pound of lean body mass, depending on your preferences.

Note: If you’ve never focused on gaining muscle before, this is probably a lot more than what
you’re getting now, and more than we typically recommend for the average person. This protein
target is for people focused on a body transformation.

Pro Tip: Many people can stop right here! If you’re brand new to tracking your food and are
already feeling overwhelmed by all of these numbers, you can focus on these two numbers to
start: your calories and your protein.
Fat

Next, calculate your fat requirements. This will be dependent on your preferences. Which do
you prefer: carbs or fats? Because the more fat you have, the fewer carbohydrates you will
need to get, and vice versa.

So ask yourself: What makes you feel the most satisfied? Which gives you better workouts?
Better sleep? Better focus in your daily life?

If you’re scratching your head over this one, I will say that you can safely fall anywhere in the
range of having 20- 40% of your calories coming from fat. For hormonal health reasons, and the
absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, I would not recommend going below 30g fat, no matter
what.

In this example, we use 30% of calories from fat (the .3 in the top formula):
Carbohydrates

Ware going to fill our remaining calories with carbs. To do this:

Combine your calories from protein (by multiplying the grams by 4) with the calories from fat
(by multiplying those grams by 9).

Subtract that number from your total daily calories. The remaining number is the amount of
calories you’ll get from carbohydrates.

Divide this number by 4 (the number of calories per gram of carbohydrates) and you have your
carbohydrate goal, in grams, for the day.

In simpler terms:

1. (Protein x 4) + (Fat x 9) = Calories from protein and fat

2. Total calories – Protein and Fat calories = Carb calories
3. Carb calories ÷ 4 = Carbohydrate grams
Veggies Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)
Asparagus 100g 20 3.9 0.1 2.2
Bell Pepper 100g 20 4.6 0.5 0.9
Broccoli 100g 34 7 0.4 2.8
Brussels sprouts 100g 43 9 0.3 3.4
Carrot 100g 41 9.6 0.25 0.9
Corn 1 cup 125 27 2 4.75
Green Peas 1 cup 117 21 0.6 7.9
Mushrooms 100g 22 3.3 0.3 3.1
Onion 100g 40 9 0.1 1.1
Russet Potato 100g 59 15.7 0.1 1.7
Sweet Potato 100g 86 20 0.1 1.6
Yam 100g 118 27.9 0.2 1.5
Yellow Squash 100g 16 3.4 1.2 1
Zucchini 100g 17 3.1 0.3 1.2

Leafy Greens Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)
Arugula 85g 21 3.1 0.6 2.2
Kale 100g 49 9 0.9 4.3
Romaine 100g 17 3.3 0.3 1.2
Spinach 170g 40 6 0.5 5
Swiss Chard 100g 19 3.7 0.2 1.8

Fruit Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)

Apple 100g 52 13.8 0.17 0.26
Avocado 100g 160 8.5 14.7 2
Banana 100g 89 22.8 0.3 1.1
Blackberries 100g 43 9.6 0.5 1.4
Blueberries 100g 57 14.5 0.33 0.74
Mango 100g 60 15 0.4 0.82
Medjool Dates 100g 277 75 0.15 1.8
Peach 100g 39 9.5 0.25 0.9
Pear 100g 57 15.2 0.14 0.36
Pineapple 100g 50 13.1 0.12 0.54
Raspberries 100g 52 11.9 0.65 1.2
Strawberries 100g 32 7.7 0.3 0.67
Tomatoes 1 tomato 11 2.4 0.1 0.6
Beans and Legumes Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)

Black Beans (cooked) 1 cup 132 23.7 0.5 8.9

Black-eyed peas (cooked) 1 cup 160 33.5 0.6 5.2
Brown lentils (cooked) 1 cup 230 40 0.75 17.9
Cannelini beans (cooked) 130g 100 17 1g 6g
Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans,
cooked) 1 cup 269 45 4.2 14.5
Firm Tofu 1 oz 27 1 1.3 3
Green lentils (cooked) 100g 116 20 0.4 9
Lima beans (cooked) 100g 115 21 0.4 8
Navy beans (cooked) 100g 67 13 0.7 6
Pinto beans (cooked) 1 cup 245 44.9 1.1 15.4
Red lentils (cooked) 100g 345 59 2.2 25
Split peas (cooked) 100g 341 60 1.2 25
Tempeh 1 oz 47 3.3 1.5 5.3

Breads, Grains,
Pasta Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)
Brown Rice 100g 112 23.5 0.8 2.3
Buckwheat 100g 346 75 2.7 11.7
Quinoa 100g 120 21.3 1.9 4.4
Seitan 1 oz 40 1.7 0.7 7
Steel-Cut Oats 100g 371 68.2 16.9 13.7
Teff 100g 367 73 0.4 13.3
White pasta 100g 131 25 1.1 5
White Rice 100g 130 28.6 0.2 2.4

Whole wheat bread 1 slice 69 12 0.9 3.6

Whole wheat pasta 100g 124 26.5 0.5 5.3

Nuts and Seeds Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)

Almond butter, w/o salt 100g 614 18.8 55.5 21

Almonds, w/o salt 1 oz 169 21g 14 20
Black walnuts 100g 618 10g 59 24

Cashew butter, w/o salt 100g 587 27.6 49.4 17.6

Cashews, w/o salt 100g 553 30.2 43.9 18.2

Chia seeds 1 Tbl 60 4 4 2
Flax meal 1 Tbl 35 2.5 2.5 1.5
Hemp seeds 3 Tbsp 165 8 14 31

Peanut butter, w/o salt 100g 590 21.8 49.9 24

Peanuts, without shells 100g 567 16.3 49.25 25.8

Pistachios, without shells 100g 562 27.5 45.4 20.3

Pumpkin seeds, kernels only 100g 446 54 19 19

Sunflower seeds, w/ salt 100g 584 20 51 21

Walnuts 100g 654 13.7 65.2 15.2

Other Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)

Almond Milk 1 cup 30 1 2.5 1
Coconut Oil 1 Tbl 117 0 13.6 0
Coconut Milk 1 cup 45 1 4.5 0
Corn tortilla, 6" 1 tortilla 58 12.1 0.6 1.5

Daiya Cheese Shreds 100g 321.3 25 21.4 3.6

Daiya Cream Cheese 1 Tbl 45 2 3.5 0.5

Daiya Slices 1 slice 60 5 4.5 1
Nutritional Yeast 1 Tbl 20 2 0 3
Oat Milk 8 oz 120 16 5 2
Olive Oil 1 Tbl 119 0 13.6 0
Soy Milk 1 cup 80 3 4 7

Tofutti Brand Cream Cheese 1 Tbl 30 1 2.5 0.1

Veganaise 1 Tbl 80 0 9 0
The beauty of a smoothie is
that you can throw in
everything from berries and
greens to tofu and beans. It’s a
great way to pack macro and
micronutrients into a single,
easy-to-prepare meal. Here are
some of our favorite
ingredients you can use to build
your next smoothie:
Base Ingredients

Food Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)

Banana 1 banana 134 34g 0g 2g
Almond Milk 2 cup 78 0g 4g 0g

Add-On Ingredients

Food Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)

Apple 100g 52 13.8 0.17 0.26
Avocado 100g 160 8.5 14.7 2
Cannelini beans 130g 100 17 1 6
Chia seeds 1 Tbl 60 4 4 2
Firm Tofu 1 oz 27 1 1.3 3
Flax seeds 1 Tbl 35 2.5 2.5 1.5
Mango 100g 60 15 0.4 0.82
Peanut butter, w/o salt 100g 590 21.8 49.9 24
Pineapple 100g 50 13.1 0.12 0.54
Protein Powder x x x x x

Pumpkin seeds, kernels

only 100g 446 54 19 19
Strawberries 100g 32 7.7 0.3 0.67
Walnuts 100g 618 10 59 24
Similar to the smoothie, the
burrito acts as vessel for a wide
range of foods. With rice and
beans as your base, you can
add sautéed vegetables,
tempeh, greens, and so much
more. Here’s a look at some of
our go-to combinations:

Base Ingredients
Food Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)
Brown Rice 100g 112 23.5 0.8 2.3
Black Beans (cooked) 1 cup 132 23.7 0.5 8.9
Corn tortilla, 6" 1 tortilla 58 12.1 0.6 1.5
Add-On Ingredients
Food Measurement Calories Carbs (grams) Fat (grams) Protein (grams)
Avocado 100g 160 8.5 14.7 2
Bell Pepper 100g 20 4.6 0.5 0.9
Daiya Cheese Shreds 100g 321.3 25 21.4 3.6
Mushrooms 100g 22 3.3 0.3 3.1
Onion 100g 40 9 0.1 1.1
Romaine 100g 17 3.3 0.3 1.2
Seitan 1 oz 40 1.7 0.7 7
Spinach 170g 40 6 0.5 5
Sweet Potato 100g 86 20 0.1 1.6
Tempeh 1 oz 47 3.3 1.5 5.3
Tomatoes 1 tomato 11 2.4 0.1 0.6