2023 Sesh Macro Calculator Updates
In this post we’ll be breaking down the updates we recently made to the Sesh Macro Calculator for you. We just made another improvement to our macro calculator to provide the best calculations for each of our subscribers and challengers. So, we went to our trusted coaches and team of experts and developed a few updates to ensure we’re giving ALL of you the best macros possible.
WHY UPDATE?
With other calculators you’ll find online, there is a very ‘one size fits all’ approach taken, and we’ve consistently tried to ensure that we take a more customized approach! While our ‘old’ macro calculator was quite accurate for around 90% of our users, there were improvements to be made so that we could be more precise for 100% of you.
WHAT DID WE DO?
Without going into all the mathematical calculations, here’s a rundown of what we did.
- Updated backend calculations, especially for unique height and weight ranges (very tall or short, very under or overweight).
- Updated numerical multipliers for our activity level options to ensure a realistic, sustainable goal is given.
- Updated “outlier” minimum and maximum calculations to ensure no one is too low or high on any macronutrient.
HOW DOES THIS IMPACT YOU?
If you are currently in the coached challenge, your macros will be updated for you in advance of the start date! If you are not in a coached challenge, you may notice your macros are quite close to the ones you had previously, or you could notice a substantial change (most likely an increase in calories). To ensure that you are getting the right macro goals for you, be sure to select the activity level that's right for you based on your lifestyle. More on that below. Other than slight changes to your macro goals, this should not impact you too much.
WHAT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?
When going through the macro calculations it is vital to choose the appropriate answer to each question. We’ll dive into those here.
WHAT’S YOUR GOAL?
- Option 1: Lose Fat
This should be your choice if, and only if, you have more than 8-10 pounds of fat to lose AND you haven’t been in a caloric deficit for more than 16 weeks.
If you have been in a caloric deficit for more than 16 weeks, please choose Maintain.
- Option 2: Build Muscle
This should be your choice if you’re ready to change the composition of your body in a big way – you’ll need to be in a caloric surplus consistently with this choice as that is the only way to gain muscle.
- Option 3: Maintain
This should be your choice if you are comfortable with your current body fat percentage, and want to learn how to live in maintenance (many women do not understand what maintains their body weight and only know how to lose or gain).
HOW ACTIVE ARE YOU?
This is the one we get the most questions about. Please read below to alleviate any confusion.
- Option 1: Sedentary
If you are in an active challenge, you will not choose this option.
If you are not in an active challenge, this should be your choice if you are exercising 1-2x/week or less for 45-60 minutes and rarely achieve more than 5K steps/day.
- Option 2: Moderate
If you are in a challenge, this should be your choice if you are sedentary most of the day. For example, if you sit at a desk for most of the day, or you are a student studying / going to class most of the day, etc. you would choose moderate.
If you are not in an active challenge, this should be your choice if you are exercising 3-4x/week for 45-60 minutes and usually achieve 6-8K steps/day.
- Option 3: Active
If you are in a challenge, this should be your choice if you are on your feet most of the day. For example, if you have an active job like an Emergency Room Nurse, or PE Teacher, you would want to choose active.
If you are not in an active challenge, this should be your choice if you are exercising 4-5x/week for more than 45 minutes and consistently hit 8-10K+ steps/day.
WHAT WAS YOUR MORNING WEIGHT?
While this one should be self-explanatory, please note that if your weight has changed since the last time you calculated, that could (and should) change your macro goals accordingly. Please put in the most recent, and accurate scale weight you have for yourself right now.
WHAT IS YOUR BIOLOGICAL SEX?
Another that should be self-explanatory. Female and male bodies do need different macronutrient makeups in their diets.
ARE YOU BREASTFEEDING?
In order to keep a steady supply for your baby, if you are breastfeeding you need to take your pre-breastfeeding macro targets based on your goal, and increase them by around 300 calories, broken into 17g of fat + 37.5g of carbs. We do this automatically for you when you choose that you are breastfeeding.
REMINDERS FROM THE SESH TEAM
At Sesh it is of the utmost importance to us that we do not promote or encourage unrealistic or unhealthy eating habits. This means we do not starve ourselves, we eat carbs happily, we understand how whole foods impact our body and mind and we do not preach restrictions because we know that it is utterly unsustainable.
Here are some things to keep in mind when you see your recalculated macro targets:
You want to keep your macros as high as possible while still seeing results. This should be obvious why, but you’d be shocked by how many people are mad at us when we say you need to eat more!
Hint: things like being in a caloric deficit for too long, eating super-low-carb, neglecting nutritional density in foods you choose, etc. can all have long-term ramifications on not only your metabolism, but your overall health as well.
For the vast majority of our community, just making the change to an 80/20 diet will show substantial improvement, please try not to get too bogged down in the macro nuances.
The entire point of macros is to set them, stay at them, and then adjust them based on how your body is responding. Read more about that here.
If your body weight and/or activity level has changed since the last time you calculated macros in our app… that will show up in your new macros! Don’t be alarmed if your macros fluctuate 100-400 calories.
Drink your water. Seriously, it’s more important than you think!
We’re here for you! Reach out in the Sesh Community Group or email us at support@seshfitnessapp.com!