I see some of you posting the number of calories you should eat etc. I want to figure out how many calories I should have a day so that I can burn the fat that I have left on my body and build more lean muscle. I will be working out with weights and cardio alternating 6 days a week. I am planning on a 40-40-20 diet. I have been lifting weights for a year already, but now I will be adding more cardio. I have never measured my bodyfat, but I would guess that its somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-20%. Im 6'5" and 180lbs.

You'll want to consume anywhere between 1800 and 2160 calories a day in order to lose weight. Begin closer to 2160 and as you see (or do not see) results, adjust accordingly. Losing fat, when done properly, is a relatively slow process; you should only be losing 1 or 2 pounds a week (in most cases) if you hope to maintain your current muscle mass.

Well I just did the online central body fat calculator and it says that I have 14% bodyfat. I know its probably not that accurate. I dont want to necessarily lose more weight, I want to replace the fat that Im losing with muscle.

My question still stands with how did you come up with that number for how many calories I should be having?

You'll want to consume anywhere between 1800 and 2160 calories a day in order to lose weight. Begin closer to 2160 and as you see (or do not see) results, adjust accordingly. Losing fat, when done properly, is a relatively slow process; you should only be losing 1 or 2 pounds a week (in most cases) if you hope to maintain your current muscle mass.

bang on!

start at 2160

My question still stands with how did you come up with that number for how many calories I should be having?

the general rule of thumb is eat 10-12 calories per pound of bodyweight

At 6'5" and 180 lbs. you sound pretty lean already. If your goal is to not loose weight but to increase your fat to muscle conversion, protein intake will be essential. the 40-40-20 split should get you well on your way. Coupled with 10-12 times your weight for caloric intake. You should see results.

Stay strong!