> > > MEAL CALCULATOR INSTRUCTIONS
The HBS Meal Calculator is designed to be convenient and user-friendly for quickly adding up calories and macro-nutrient percentages of meals. If you're attempting to maintain a 40/30/30 or 40/40/20 ratio of carbs, protein, and fat (or something close to one), this tool will greatly help. It will also help you in the otherwise difficult task of just keeping track of calories. Simply begin typing a food item into the long rectangular box and suggestions will drop down. Click on any of the suggestions and they'll go into the box.
Note: Items are entered in the system by their root keyword. So, for example, if you want to enter 'Wheat Bread', it will work best to type 'bread' into the item box; if you want 'Swiss Cheese' in the item box, it'll be best to begin typing 'cheese.'
The smaller box on the left is for quantity. You can put whatever number in that box represents the measured quantity you desire. For example, if what's entered in the item box is measured in '1/2 cup' (like low-fat cottage cheese) and you'd like two cups of it, be sure to enter the number 4 in the quantity box. We're making a point of entering items in the data base in as small of quantities as people are likely to measure them. If you'd like a food item entered in a smaller quantity than it is presently, don't hesitate to email us with that suggestion.
Once you have a food item entered in the quantity you'd like, just click the 'add item' tab over on the right. This will add the item to your menu and show you the calories and macro-nutrient percentages that comprise the food item. It will then add up the calories and macro percentages of all subsequent entries you enter. You can hit the 'remove item' tab for any food you'd like to delete from the menu. This will allow you to build meals and keep track of their calorie content and macro-nutrient composition. You can print out the meal page for future reference and use.
> > > CHARACTERISTICS OF CALCULATOR
The HBS Meal Calculator is programmed with the estimate of there being 4 calories per gram of protein, 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate, and 9 calories per gram of dietary fat. This puts the calorie content of food items close to what's likely printed on their corresponding food labels, but won't always exactly match the food labels.
The macro-nutrient percentage total will usually equal 100 when entering and adding up items. However, due to a needed 'rounding function' within the calculator, the total will sometimes be short by a percentage point; it's normal to occasionally see them add up to 99%.
Great care is being taken, however, in getting food items into the system as close to their actual calorie and macro-nutrient percentage composition as possible.
If there are any food items not currently on the calculator that you'd like to have entered, please send an email with your suggestion/s to scott@hardbodysuccess.com. The item/s you request will be entered as soon as possible. Return to Meal Calculator.
