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The plan your body
actually needs.

Conflicting advice online makes finding the right plan harder than it should be. PhysioPlan cuts through the noise — personalized calorie, macro, and training recommendations built on peer-reviewed research.

Takes 2 minutes

Example output

Everything in one place.

Calories, macros, training volume, intensity, split, body composition projections, and timeline — from one short form.

180 lbs · 18% BF · Cutting to 165 lbs

Daily calories 2,140

Protein

175g

Fat

72g

Carbs

189g

Training volume

8–12 sets / muscle

Timeline

14 weeks

What makes it different

Most calculators leave these out.

Lean mass BMR

Uses the Katch-McArdle formula — based on lean mass, not total bodyweight. Two people at the same weight with different body fat percentages have different metabolisms.

Thermic effect of food

Protein burns 25% of its calories just to digest. Carbs 7.5%, fat 1.5%. This is solved iteratively alongside your macros. Most TDEE calculators skip it entirely.

Goal body fat %, not weight

Set a target body fat percentage instead of a scale number. The calculator accounts for lean mass loss during the cut and reverse-engineers the correct goal weight.

Experience-scaled surplus

Beginners bulk at +400 cal, intermediates +300, advanced +200. Matched to realistic muscle gain rates so extra calories don't just become fat.

Deficit-adjusted LBM model

On a cut, expected muscle loss scales with both your experience level and how aggressive your deficit is — not a fixed assumption across all users.

Training + nutrition unified

Volume, intensity, progression strategy, recommended split, and macros all in one place. No switching between separate calculators.

What you get

Everything in one place.

Smart calorie targets

Uses lean mass — not total bodyweight — to calculate your true maintenance. Accounts for BMR, NEAT, exercise expenditure, and thermic effect of food.

Macros in grams

Exact daily targets for protein, fat, and carbs — set based on lean mass and adjusted for your goal phase.

Training volume

Sets per muscle group per week, RPE targets, and progression — scaled to beginner, intermediate, or advanced.

Split recommendations

Full Body, Upper/Lower, or PPL — automatically matched to how many days per week you can train.

Body composition projections

Projected lean mass, fat mass, and body fat % at your goal — with realistic muscle retention estimates.

Timeline to goal

Calculated from your deficit size and weight to lose — with the math shown, not hidden.

How it works

Three steps.

Pick your goal

Cut, bulk, or recomp. Everything downstream adjusts based on this.

Enter your stats

Weight, body fat %, experience level, training days. About 90 seconds.

Get your complete plan

Calories, macros, volume, split, body composition projections, and timeline — all from one form.

Research & Methodology

The science behind every output.

Every formula and recommendation is grounded in peer-reviewed research. This page walks through the methodology — from nutrition targets to training volume to the exact calculations behind each output.

Nutrition

Macronutrient targets

Protein — Cut: 1.2g/lb LM | Bulk: 1.0g/lb LM

Elevated protein during restriction

During a caloric deficit, protein needs rise to prevent lean mass loss. Research shows intakes of 1.8–2.7 g/kg during restriction preserve significantly more muscle. Protein is set from lean mass — not total bodyweight — because only muscle tissue requires it.

↗ Helms et al. (2014) — Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab ↗ Longland et al. (2016) — Am J Clin Nutr

Fat — 0.4–0.5g/lb bodyweight

Dietary fat & hormone support

Low-fat diets significantly reduce testosterone. A meta-analysis of 6 intervention studies found meaningful decreases in androgens on low-fat vs high-fat diets. Cholesterol — supplied by dietary fat — is the direct precursor for steroid hormone synthesis.

↗ Whittaker & Wu (2021) — J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol

TEF — 25% / 7.5% / 1.5%

Thermic effect of food

Digesting food burns calories — protein at 20–30% of its caloric content, carbs 5–10%, fat 0–3%. Most TDEE calculators skip this. The TEF is solved iteratively alongside macros since each depends on the other.

↗ Westerterp (2004) — Nutrition & Metabolism

Surplus — 200–400 cal by experience

Experience-scaled calorie surplus

A surplus maximizes muscle gain, but larger surpluses increase fat without proportionally more muscle. The 200/300/400 values are derived from these principles combined with documented diminishing returns in muscle gain with training age.

↗ Ribeiro et al. (2019) — PMC ↗ Barakat et al. (2023) — PMC

Bulk partitioning — 70% lean / 30% fat

Lean mass gain ratio

During a caloric surplus with resistance training, weight gained splits between lean mass and fat. A pilot study found surplus produced more lean mass than maintenance, but also more fat — lean mass comprising roughly 30% of total mass gained.

↗ Ribeiro et al. (2019) — PMC

Deficit — 300 / 500 / 750 cal

Deficit size & LBM retention

A meta-analysis found a ~500 kcal/day deficit fully blunts lean mass gains during resistance training. Larger deficits proportionally increase lean mass losses — the basis for scaling expected muscle loss by deficit size and experience level.

↗ Murphy et al. (2021) — PubMed

Training

Training recommendations

Frequency — 2–3x per muscle

Training frequency & hypertrophy

A landmark meta-analysis established that training each muscle group at least twice per week produces superior hypertrophic outcomes compared to once per week.

↗ Schoenfeld, Ogborn & Krieger (2016) — Sports Medicine

Volume — 6–22 sets/muscle/week

Volume dose-response

Hypertrophy follows a dose-response relationship with volume up to a recoverable ceiling. Israetel's volume landmark framework (MEV, MAV, MRV) and Schoenfeld's meta-analysis form the basis for the experience-differentiated ranges.

↗ Schoenfeld et al. (2017) — J Sports Sci

Intensity — RPE 7–9.5

Proximity to failure

RPE provides a practical intensity metric. Beginners train further from failure to build motor patterns; advanced lifters train closer to maintain the hypertrophic stimulus as the adaptive ceiling rises.

↗ Schoenfeld & Grgic (2019) — Strength & Cond J

Recomposition

Simultaneous muscle gain & fat loss

A systematic review confirmed recomposition in resistance-trained individuals across multiple RCTs. Rate is highest in beginners and declines sharply with experience.

↗ Barakat et al. (2020) — Strength & Conditioning Journal

Formulas

How it's calculated.

A plain-English walkthrough of every calculation that runs when you hit Generate. Each step feeds into the next.

Step 1

How many calories does your body burn at rest?

Most calculators use total bodyweight — but that ignores body composition. The Katch-McArdle formula uses lean mass only, making it more accurate for people at different body fat levels.

Lean Mass (kg) = bodyweight × (1 − BF%) × 0.454
Resting Calories = 370 + (21.6 × Lean Mass in kg)

Example: 180 lbs at 15% BF → 153 lbs lean mass → ~68 kg → resting burn of ~1,838 cal/day

Step 2

How many calories do you burn moving around?

Your resting burn is the baseline. On top of that, your body burns calories through everyday movement (NEAT) and actual workouts, scaled separately.

Daily movement = Resting Calories × activity multiplier
// Sedentary × 1.2  |  Moderately Active × 1.35  |  Very Active × 1.5
Workout calories = (training days/week × 300) ÷ 7

Step 3

How many calories does digestion burn?

Digesting food costs calories. Protein is the most expensive at 25%, carbs 7.5%, fat 1.5%. Because TEF depends on macros which depend on total calories which include TEF — this is solved iteratively until the result stabilizes.

TEF = (Protein_kcal × 0.25) + (Carb_kcal × 0.075) + (Fat_kcal × 0.015)
Maintenance = NEAT + Exercise + TEF
// Solved iteratively until convergence

Step 4

What's your daily calorie target?

Once maintenance is known, the target is set based on your goal. Bulk surplus scales smaller with experience — advanced lifters' adaptive ceiling is lower, so excess calories beyond ~200/day mostly become fat.

Cut:   Maintenance − 300 / 500 / 750 cal
Bulk:  Maintenance + 400 / 300 / 200 cal (Beginner / Inter / Adv)
Recomp: Maintenance

Step 5

How are calories split into macros?

Protein and fat are set first as minimums based on lean mass and bodyweight. Every remaining calorie goes to carbohydrates to fuel workouts and maintain anabolic hormone levels.

Cut / Recomp:  Protein = LM × 1.2g  |  Fat = BW × 0.4g
Bulk:          Protein = LM × 1.0g  |  Fat = BW × 0.5g
Carbs = (Target Cals − P×4 − F×9) ÷ 4

Step 6

Where does the weight change come from?

Not all weight lost on a cut is fat — some is muscle. Not all weight gained on a bulk is muscle — some is fat. The model accounts for both based on experience level and deficit or surplus size.

Cut:  LBM_lost = totalWeightLost × ratio
// Beginner 0–10%  |  Intermediate 10–20%  |  Advanced 15–30%

Bulk: LBM_gained = totalGain × 0.70  |  Fat_gained = totalGain × 0.30

Step 7

How long will it take?

One pound of body fat contains roughly 3,500 calories. Dividing the total calorie gap by your daily deficit gives the number of weeks to goal.

Weeks = (pounds to lose × 3,500) ÷ (daily deficit × 7)

Example: 20 lbs at −500 cal/day → (20 × 3,500) ÷ (500 × 7) = 20 weeks

Community

The fitness tool I wish I had when I started.

Share your goals

Getting in shape is straightforward in theory — eat right, train hard, be consistent. But the advice online is either too generic to be useful or so contradictory you don't know where to start. Calculators that multiply your bodyweight by 15. Influencers telling you opposite things about protein. Programs that don't account for your actual experience level or goals.

I got frustrated with that. I've been training seriously for 3 years — running cut and bulk cycles, tracking nutrition, and learning what actually moves the needle. When I dug into the research, I found things that explained a lot. Most TDEE calculators, for example, completely ignore the thermic effect of food — the fact that your body burns up to 25% of protein calories just through digestion. That single oversight means millions of people are eating "correctly" by generic standards and still not hitting their goals. Another: two people at the same bodyweight but different body fat percentages have meaningfully different metabolisms, yet almost every calculator treats them identically.

I have a love for math, so when I found gaps like these I built PhysioPlan to fix them — using the actual formulas from peer-reviewed research rather than the shortcuts everyone else settles for. The goal is simple: give you a plan that's genuinely accurate, so you can stop guessing and start making real progress.

Fill out the form below and I'll follow up with you throughout your journey.

How it works

Three steps.

Get your plan

Use the calculator to generate your personalized calorie, macro, and training plan. Takes 2 minutes.

Share your goals

Fill out the short form with your starting stats and what you're working toward.

Check in every two weeks

A short check-in every two weeks tracks your progress. Adjust targets based on real results.

What you'll be asked

Short check-ins every two weeks.

None take more than 5 minutes.

Day 1

Name & sex

Goal & specific target

Current weight & body fat %

Training experience level

PhysioPlan's calculated calorie target

Current lift & estimated 1RM (if strength goal)

Baseline photo (optional)

Data use consent

Every 2 weeks

Current weight (fasted, morning)

Working weight for each tracked lift

Days out of 14 within 10% of calorie target

Training sessions completed out of planned

Open comments (optional)

Final check-in

Physical outcomes

Final weight (fasted, morning)

Final working weight for each tracked lift

Overall adherence

Calorie & macro consistency — full period (1–10)

Training consistency — full period (1–10)

Average days per week PhysioPlan was used

Satisfaction

Would you continue using PhysioPlan? Why?

Likelihood to recommend (0–10)

Overall satisfaction (1–10)

Qualitative

Most valuable thing about PhysioPlan

Biggest limitation or thing you'd change

Any other comments (optional)

Member results

Real outcomes.

Updated as members complete their journeys.

Results will appear here as members complete their plans.

Ready to get started?

Get your plan, share your goals, and I'll follow up. Your progress helps make PhysioPlan better for everyone.

Share your goals

The plan your bodyactually needs.

Everything in one place.

Most calculators leave these out.

Lean mass BMR

Thermic effect of food

Goal body fat %, not weight

Experience-scaled surplus

Deficit-adjusted LBM model

Training + nutrition unified

Everything in one place.

Smart calorie targets

Macros in grams

Training volume

Split recommendations

Body composition projections

Timeline to goal

Three steps.

Pick your goal

Enter your stats

Get your complete plan

The science behind every output.

Macronutrient targets

Elevated protein during restriction

Dietary fat & hormone support

Thermic effect of food

Experience-scaled calorie surplus

Lean mass gain ratio

Deficit size & LBM retention

Training recommendations

Training frequency & hypertrophy

Volume dose-response

Proximity to failure

Simultaneous muscle gain & fat loss

How it's calculated.

How many calories does your body burn at rest?

How many calories do you burn moving around?

How many calories does digestion burn?

What's your daily calorie target?

How are calories split into macros?

Where does the weight change come from?

How long will it take?

The fitness tool I wish I had when I started.

Three steps.

Get your plan

Share your goals

Check in every two weeks

Short check-ins every two weeks.

Day 1

Every 2 weeks

Final check-in

Real outcomes.

Ready to get started?

The plan your body
actually needs.