Estimate maintenance, then distrust it
Start with a population equation (Mifflin-St Jeor times an activity multiplier) to get a maintenance estimate. It is wrong by a few hundred calories for most people, in either direction, because activity multipliers are guesses. Treat it as a starting point and plan to replace it with measured maintenance from two to three weeks of logged intake and bodyweight.
Once a client has logged consistently, an adaptive TDEE (intake averaged against weight change) is the number to trust. On CoachVana, a client's food diary and bodyweight trend sit on their profile, which is what that number is measured from.
Choose the direction and the size
For fat loss, a deficit of 300 to 500 calories below measured maintenance loses roughly 0.5 to 1 percent of bodyweight a week without wrecking training. For muscle gain, 150 to 300 above. Larger deficits work for a few weeks and then cost adherence, muscle and sleep. Floor the target: rarely below 1,200 for women or 1,500 for men without clinical supervision.
Protein first
Set protein at 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight (0.7 to 1 gram per pound), toward the top of that range in a deficit. Protein is the macro that protects muscle and manages hunger, so it is fixed before anything else.
Fat second, carbs take the rest
Fat at 0.6 to 1 gram per kilogram keeps hormones and satiety in order; below about 20 percent of calories most clients feel it. Whatever calories remain go to carbohydrate, which is where training performance lives. A client who lifts hard four days a week does better with the carbs than with a 'low carb' split that starves the sessions.
- Example, 80 kg client, 2,300 kcal target: protein 180 g (720 kcal), fat 70 g (630 kcal), carbs 237 g (950 kcal).
- Type the grams, not a ratio. A fixed 40/30/30 split ignores bodyweight entirely.
Adjust every two weeks, from data
Compare the two-week average bodyweight, not day to day. If the rate is on target, change nothing. If it has stalled for two weeks with good adherence, move calories by 100 to 150 (from carbs or fat, never protein). If adherence is the problem, fix adherence, not the numbers.
On CoachVana the target is set in grams on the dashboard and shows in the client's account once you save. Their profile shows seven-day compliance against it and their weight trend, and each check-in shows their weight and the week's change with a button straight to their macros.