Module One · Lesson Four · Companion

The lean aesthetic calculator.

Plug your stats in. Get your maintenance calories, daily protein target, and a cut timeline if one is warranted. The math is Mifflin-St Jeor plus the science-based hypertrophy consensus.

Your stats.

Default to 1.55 activity unless you genuinely train hard six days and walk a lot. Most people overpick this; it's the biggest source of error in TDEE.

i. Age

ii. Sex

iii. Body fat %

iv. Height

v. Weight

vi. Activity

Default to 1.55 unless you genuinely train hard six days and walk a lot. The biggest source of error in TDEE calculation. Israetel · Helms.

Your numbers.

Maintenance is the band where your weight stays flat. Eat above it, you gain. Eat below, you lose. The protein target is non-negotiable.

Maintenance calories · TDEE Eat to this number. Average over the week.

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Daily protein target 1 g per lb of bodyweight

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Maintenance window ±200 kcal forgiveness band

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BMR · resting expenditure Mifflin-St Jeor, 24-hr at rest

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BMR formula · Mifflin-St Jeor (1990).
Men: (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) + 5
Women: (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) − 161
TDEE = BMR × activity factor.

If you cut to twelve per cent.

Run a cut only if you've held maintenance six months and your body fat has drifted to fourteen, fifteen per cent. Otherwise, don't cut. Run maintenance.

Cut duration 12-week cap. Re-enter maintenance for 4 weeks before another cut.

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Daily intake during cut 500 kcal deficit from TDEE

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Estimated end weight At 12% body fat

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Lean body mass to preserve Hit protein. Don't lose it.

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The cut math. 500 kcal/day deficit ≈ 1 lb/week of fat loss. Helms / Israetel / Nippard consensus is 0.5–1 % of bodyweight per week (slower preserves more muscle). 12-week max per cut, then a mandatory 4-week maintenance phase before any thought of bulking.

If you're already at or below twelve per cent.

Don't cut. Run maintenance. Sub-12% is the floor of the lean-aesthetic band, not a target to chase further. Below 10% is stage lean, unsustainable for natural lifters trying to also gain muscle. The cut math above assumes you're above 12% and need to come down.

How to use this. Plug your stats in. Eat to the maintenance number, hit the protein target. Track only during the 14-day calibration phase. After that, switch to the plate method (Volume 04) and stop logging meals. If you've drifted to 14–15% body fat after six months at maintenance, run the cut once. Otherwise, don't.

Math sources. Mifflin-St Jeor (J Am Diet Assoc, 1990). Helms et al. systematic review on protein during caloric restriction (J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2014). Cross-creator consensus on cut pace — Nippard, Helms, Israetel public material.