Macro Calculator
This free, easy-to-use macro calculator gives you your optimal macronutrients and calories. It serves as a weight loss or muscle gain calculator for both women and men.
Combine with macro counting, flexible dieting, or IIFYM to reach your goals faster.
How to calculate your macros for fat loss
The foods we eat are made up of three macros (macronutrients). These are carbohydrates (carbs), protein, and fat.
Chicken is high in protein but has no carbs; rice is high in carbs but has very little fat or protein.
The three macronutrients provide the body with energy and raw materials for growth and repair.
By calculating the appropriate daily calorie amount for you, we can then break this down into the best macronutrient ratios to achieve weight loss.
The calculator is based on sound science, combined with data from years of coaching hundreds of successful clients.
What is a good macro ratio for fat loss or muscle gain?
Your macros should be based on your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and your goals.
The calculator defaults at the best macro ratio proven to work for most people.
This ratio is:
- 30% fat
- Protein is 0.65 grams per pound of body weight,
- The remainder is carbs.
Depending on your goal, this will be either a calorie deficit or a surplus.
You can go further and make more adjustments: Perhaps you’re an extreme endomorph and do better with fewer carbs. Or perhaps you have one kidney and need to eat less protein.
You can fine-tune your results for you with a bit of math. See how to change your macros here.
MACRO COUNTING
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- Achieve fat loss without starvation.
- Individually tailored to your body composition.
What is a good protein ratio?
Rather than a percentage, proteins are based on your body weight.
Our calculator has three settings:
- Moderate adjusts the ratio to 0.65 grams per pound of body weight.
This is appropriate for sedentary individuals or people with higher body fat percentages. - High is for active people with moderate strength training and an average body fat percentage.
- Maximum will set the ratio to 1 gram per pound.
This amount is good for bodybuilding and gaining muscle mass. You must be doing intense training.
Find out how to fine-tune your protein ratios when counting macros
Fat macro ratio
Set fat at 30% of daily energy expenditure.
Most people do very well with this amount of fat. See more about choosing the best macro fats. Because of high-fat diets like keto, many people are now eating more fat than they need to.
Carbohydrate macro ratio
Once you’ve calculated protein and fat, the remainder of your daily calories should be from carbohydrates.
Carbs fuel your body and workouts and are the body’s preferred energy source.
If you are coming from a low-carb background, this may seem high. However, according to respected nutritional research, this is a moderate amount of carbs.
If you are eating according to your TDEE, the notion that carbs cause weight gain or stop fat loss is incorrect.
Using as a Calorie Deficit Calculator
As a weight loss calculator, this tool establishes a safe calorie deficit only.
The Lose option puts you in a 20% calorie deficit, promoting safe, steady weight loss.
The best macro ratio for body recomposition
If you want to recompose your body (lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously), then use the body recomposition calculator.
Macro ratio for maintenance
The Maintain button shows you the macro levels to maintain your current weight.
This is great if you have lost weight and don’t want to gain it back.
Macro ratio for muscle gain
The Gain button puts you in a 20% calorie surplus.
The macro breakdown is designed to build muscle fast in conjunction and must be combined with a comprehensive weight training program.
It can also be used by people who are underweight.
TIP: Try starting with the maintenance goal and then gradually increase calories from there if you want lean muscle gains.
Calculating macros using your body fat percentage
The calculator uses your body weight to determine calories and macros.
However, you can obtain superior results by using your body fat percentage. The calculator allows you to choose which method; Normal for body weight, Lean Mass for fat percentage.
When to choose the Lean Mass Formula
If you are lean (have a low body fat percentage), choose the Lean Mass formula, and enter your body fat %.
If you are classified as obese and have a lot of weight to lose, the lean mass formula is superior. You can read more about macro counting and obesity.
Help? Calculate your ideal body weight or get an assessment of your body fat percentage.
Why the difference? Muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells, so the more accurately we measure this, the better your results will be.
How to calculate macros per meal
Once you’ve calculated your daily macros in the calculator, you can break this down into meals.
Choose from 2 to 6 meals per day to see the macro ratio you can track for each meal. For some people, this is easier, but for others, this is too much detail.
Do what works for you.
Meal Plans
See a 5-day macro-based meal plan. It includes three meals and two snacks per day.
Macro calculator activity level settings
A higher activity level means a higher daily calorie goal.
For example – if you maintain your weight at 2,000 calories per day, adding vigorous daily exercise means you need more calories to maintain your weight.
If you are sedentary and trying to lose weight, adding exercise will increase your daily calorie goal.
The idea seems counter-intuitive, but more energy is required to fuel your workouts. More workouts lead to increasing metabolism; therefore, more fat is burned!
Undereating is one of the leading causes of the weight loss plateau.
So many of our clients previously “hit the wall” with dieting. They would continually reduce calories, stop losing fat and gain weight when they eat a little more.
Macro counting defeats this by prescribing the right food and calorie levels.
Which activity level do I choose?
- Sedentary: Just regular everyday activity like a bit of walking, a couple of flights of stairs, eating, etc.
- Light: Any activity that burns an additional 200-400 calories (females) or 250-500 calories (males) over your sedentary amount.
- Moderate: Any activity that burns an additional 400-650 calories (females) or 500-800 calories (males) more than your sedentary amount.
- Extreme: Any activity that burns more than 650 calories (females) or more than 800 calories (males) in addition to your sedentary amount.
Other options for determining your calorie burn
- Use our calories burned calculator – it accurately assesses over 380 activities.
- Use a fitness tracker – like a Fitbit or Apple Watch (note that they can overestimate calorie burn).
- Use a suitable app – like MapMyFitness
Why should I eat more when I exercise more?
High physical activity not fueled with enough calories will lead to muscle catabolism (breakdown of muscle fiber).
This lack of nutrition could stall your weight loss, so eat up if you love to exercise!
I’ve got my macros – now what?
Once you’ve identified your target daily macros, you must determine the macros in all the foods you eat.
By tracking them daily, you can reach your recommended macro targets that encourage fat loss, muscle gain, or whatever your goal may be.
You can learn more about the macro counting system and the flexible dieting philosophy. Many people use an app like Myfitnesspal to track macros.
For more specifics on what to eat – see a sample macro meal plan or a list of macros for familiar foods.
I've helped 14,000+ people lose thousands of pounds by tracking their macros.
Choose either my self-guided program or let me coach you.
Learn how to count macros in under 60 minutes
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References
- Mifflin, M. D., St Jeor, S. T., Hill, L. A., Scott, B. J., Daugherty, S. A., & Koh, Y. O. (1990). A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 51 (2), 241-247. Link
- McArdle, W. D., Katch, F. I., & Katch, V. L. (2010). Exercise physiology: nutrition, energy, and human performance. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Link
- Jequier, E. (1994). Carbohydrates as a source of energy. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 59(3), 682S-685S.
- Lemon, P. W., Tarnopolsky, M. A., MacDougall, J. D., & Atkinson, S. A. (1992). Protein requirements and muscle mass/strength changes during intensive training in novice bodybuilders. Journal of Applied Physiology, 73(2), 767-775. study abstract link
- Grundy, S. M. (1999). The optimal ratio of fat-to-carbohydrate in the diet. Annual review of nutrition, 19(1), 325-341. abstract
- Conlin, L.A., Aguilar, D.T., Rogers, G.E. et al. Flexible vs. rigid dieting in resistance-trained individuals seeking to optimize their physiques: A randomized controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 18, 52 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-021-00452-2
2,067 Comments
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Hey Ted!
I’m 30 years old, 5’10 and weigh around 190. I teach 3 and 4 years old, am constantly up and down during the day, walking around the classroom or playground. My goals are to lose weight and gain muscle. After work I head to the gym doing 30 minutes or cardio and weights 6 days a week. What activity level should I choose and should I choose lose or gain for my goal? I just want to make sure I am choosing the best options to get the best results.
Hi Jenny, I think moderate activity would be safe. Select high protein but definitely select lose. You won’t lose any fat unless you are in a calorie deficit. Be sure to check out my book as well. Tons of useful stuff in there to guide and help you be successful. https://healthyeater.com/macro-solution
Hi Ted,
I’m 20 years old. 5’9. 165-170 ish. I would like to lose bodyfat but keep my muscle. High protein diet. I want to be lean with size. My activity would be moderate. I chose lose, and high protein diet. What would you suggest?
Hi Eric, Read this article that I’ve written as it explains how to do this. https://healthyeater.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat-iifym
Hey Ted!
I just want to make sure this is right…im 29 female 5’4 and weigh 141 – I’m usually on the go throughout the day and I workout 6 times a week for at least 50 min. (crossfit, turbo kick, weight training, with HITT and circuit type stuff) are my carbs suppose to be in the 200 range? Sounds great!!! but of course I don’t want to go too high and also for females do you recommend a lb per body weight for protein when lifting weights at least 4 times a week – so 140 for protein? and fat no more that 150? Thanks so much!!
Carrie
Hi Carrie, It looks like you should be safe with moderate activity and IIFYM isn’t a low carb diet so the 200 range is correct. Since you’re doing so much strength training you are good with doing high protein. As for the fat, you should be at 46 g per day but if you go with very active you’d be at 52 g per day.
Thanks for getting back to me! I meant to say 50 on fat, not 150! 🙂
I also meant to share I’m trying to drop 10lbs… would that change my carb intake. Thanks for letting me know my fat intake…so fat intake all depends on your daily activity? I was taking in 57, but I’ll drop it to 46.
Sure, happy to help. Nope, keep carbs where they’re at. Since you only have 10 pounds to lose, on a rest day you should be eating at your “sedentary” macro amounts. Good luck and please check out my book. https://healthyeater.com/macro-solution
Hi Ted! I’ve worked with a coach in the past who introduced me to IIFYM, and I have loved it ever since. Your website is great and makes it easy to calculate my necessary macros for now. However, do you have any suggestions on carb cycling? Previously I had at least one high card day per week, but I’m unsure as to how to calculate how many more carbs I should be consuming on that day. Thanks!
Hi Nikki, Thanks, glad you found us. I don’t think carb cycling is necessary unless it is done with purpose. Randomly picking a day out of the week to eat more carbs doesn’t have a physiological purpose. But, consuming more on workout days and less on rest days seems to be beneficial in fueling workouts but also encouraging fat loss on rest days. This is tied to your TDEE which is higher for workout days and less for rest days. So, you could have an exercise set of macros and a sedentary set of macros using the calculator, that way you’ll be eating more carbs during workout days and less during rest days.
Thanks for the response. I will do a test run of tailoring my macros to fit my activity on varying days. I appreciate the information!
Hello Ted, I’ve stumbled onto your website while researching flex dieting. Great stuff! I’m 26 years old and weigh 218.5 lbs with about 19% body fat. My goal is to drop body fat to about 14% and keep my lean muscle. What would be your suggestion in reaching this goal? Thanks Ted.
Hi Johnny, Welcome! Use the calculator above and select high protein and “lose” after you have entered the other details. You should also have a comprehensive weight training program in place. Be sure to check out my book: https://healthyeater.com/macro-solution
This group of articles is so helpful! It sounds like what I’ve been doing sort of intuitively but according to that calculator, I should be eating more carbs – I could stand to lose at least 10 pounds. So my question is what are good carbs? All I can come up with are things like pasta and bread, starchy foods that tend to leave me feeling tired, or bloated if I eat too much.
Any tips would be great!
Hi Katy, glad you found us. Here’s a good list here. https://healthyeater.com/carb-protein-fat-rich-foods
Fantastic, thank you so much! So basically everything I need to know is all on this site! 🙂
Yes, and even more in my book 🙂 https://healthyeater.com/macro-solution
Hi there, I’m 44 yrs old, 5’4″ and weighing in at 160lbs. I’m very active, and have been for years—I run 2-4x per week, am a roller derby player, and do circuit training as well for strength. When I decided a couple months ago to try and shed 25lbs, I started by calculating my BMR at approximately 1300 cals. I’ve been eating healthy, wholesome foods, never exceeding 1300 cals (journaling my food intake religiously), and burning about 500-700 cals per day except on weekly rest day. So even though I’m running at a consistent deficit, no weight is coming off! Not even a pound, in three weeks! I’m feeling strong and have great endurance, but this is the stubbornnest fat EVER 🙂 Using your calculator, it says I ought to be consuming 1689 cals a day, which seems far too high, especially if I’m not reducing as it is. What am I missing?
Hi there, It’s simple, you aren’t eating enough to support all your movement and your metabolism and this has caused your body to enter starvation mode. Please see my article here on the subject here. https://healthyeater.com/eat-to-lose-weight
I guess I’m just questioning the logic of this. If starvation looked like me, then how do we explain the emaciated bodies of prisoners of war, refugees, or participants on “Survivor”? Not that anyone is striving for that fearful condition of malnutrition, obviously… but common sense tells us that starvation leads to weight loss. So, backing away from that extreme example, my question remains… if I increase my calorie intake, then I lessen the deficit between calories burned and calories consumed, which means by my logic, I would guess my path to reduction would be slowed down. Isn’t there a point at which the body stops panicking, sees the 1300 (or fewer) calories as “the new normal,” and starts consuming its own fat stores for energy? How do we get that engine running?
Yes, that is true with cases of extreme deficiency, but you are giving your body just enough to keep it functioning while not using its fat reserves. If you want to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way, you have to start eating more. This is what our calculator and flexible dieting are designed to do. You have to support your metabolism and your exercise with enough calories and as I pointed out in my article, science backs this up. You get the engine running by feeding it fuel.
Thanks Ted!
You’re so welcome! Check back in a few weeks from now and let me know how increasing your calories has helped break the plateau.
Ted, I’m a 23 year old female, 5’4. I currently weigh 122. I weight lift 5-6 times per week and mix in 30 mins of cardio 2-3 days a week. My lifts are generally muscle isolation lifts/different muscle group each day and last for 60-80 mins. I deadlift heavy and squat heavy once a week, each. I’m trying to maintain my current weight while burning fat and gaining muscle. I’ve been tracking my macros for about 2 weeks now. My current macros are 140p / 231c / 50f. I’m very new to tracking and just wanted your opinion on whether or not I’m on the right track for my goals with these macros! I’m a police officer, so my activity level at work varies each day. I can be very active, or spend about 6 of 10 hours in a car. All this into consideration, do you think I’d be in the moderately active or very active category?
Hi Shannon, You may want to have a more fluid approach since your activity can vary. I plug my sedentary macros into myfitnesspal and then also track my exercise. MFP adjusts my TDEE and macros based on my activity for a given day. You’ll have to cap your protein though as well as be in a 100-300 calorie deficit to be able to lean down. Here are a couple of resources to help and please check out my ebook.
https://healthyeater.com/iifym-myfitnesspal-tutorial
https://healthyeater.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat-iifym
https://healthyeater.com/macro-solution
Thank you! I will definitely check all that out!
Hi Ted, so glad I found your site! I am a 31 year old female, 110lbs, 5’3″. I participate in boot camp 3 days a week, with one-two additional days weight training. I work at a desk job. I’m really trying to add muscle to my frame. Which activity level should I use to calculate my macros? Thank you for your help!
Hi Christy, Me too! Welcome. It’s a bit hard to estimate because I don’t know the duration of both your boot camp and your weight training sessions. Also, with the weight training it’s helpful to also describe your basic program. Thanks 🙂
Thanks for your response Ted! The boot camp is 1 hour per day, for 3 days a week. Two of those days are typically AMRAP-style workouts, with the third day usually a strength training circuit with dumbbells or body weight movements. I’ve just started doing the weight training on my own, usually for an hour. I’m starting with bench presses, dead lifts, squats, assisted pull-ups, split squats, etc. Basically whatever I feel like doing that day. Thanks again for your help!
Thanks, I think it would be pretty safe to classify that as “moderate” then.
Great! Thank you so much!
Hi … I’m a 45 year old female and I run trails 6 days a week logging 50-70 miles… A week .. Im weighing in at 121 and would love to be 100 lbs for my next marathon.Please suggestions!!!
Denise
Hi Denise, Is 100 lbs a healthy body weight based on your stats?
Hi. i am a 38 year old female who is 5’3 weighs 180lbs. I am would like to lose 40-50 lbs. for the last two months I workout for 60 min half cardio and half weight training 4-5 days a week. Typically burning between 350-400 calories but my job has me sitting most of the day. Should I choose sedentary or lightly active? Also I ran macros this is obtained C-1614 Carbs-154 Protein-149 Fat-45 with light activity does this sound correct for my goal? Thank you
Hi Shema, Yes, light activity is correct and your macros look correct as well. You may want to also have a sedentary set of macros to use during your rest days. For more help and tips please see my Flexible Dieting ebook. https://healthyeater.com/macro-solution All the best!
Hi. I am a 36 year old female 150 lbs and 61 inches, trying to lose weight in the mid section mostly, but also trying to gain muscle. I lift weights mostly and not much cardio, would I choose lose or gain?
Hi Alison, You would choose “lose” but also have a read of my article on this subject. https://healthyeater.com/gain-muscle-lose-fat-iifym