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.
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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.
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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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Hello, I used the calculator to figure out my Macros. I have been working on those percentages for about a week and I’m finding out that I quickly hit the fat goal half way thru the day. I thought it was easy to meet protein goal but I’m finding this is a challenge also. The problem for me is how to eat less fat considering that most everything has fat including chicken and fish. Today I had 2 pieces of high protein toast and 3 hard boiled eggs for breakfast and I’m already at half of my fat goal. I’m wondering if the amount of fat on the calculator is disproportionate to the carbs and protein which is really high. My numbers look like this: 167g C, 118g P, 42 g F. I’m a female 5’2″, 143 lbs looking to lose fat and gain muscle. I work out 5 days a week.
Hi Lillian, 25% fat is just a baseline but you can adjust this to 30% and still have great results. Do 30% fat and deduct 5% from your carbs.
Hi, I am almost 34, 5ft10 and 191lb. I go to the gym 4/5 times a week and do a 45 min session doing resistance training (bootcamp) Its telling me I need to have 1813cals a day – I never have this many yet I’m not loosing weight? I have stayed the same for about 2 months now after having lost almost 2 stone since Jan. Any help would be hugely appreciated.
Hi Vicky, Give this article a read and see if it makes sense regarding your situation.
Hi Ted,
Now that I’m eating a balance diet I’m, however, noticing that I’m getting constipated which is ironic to me. I haven’t changed the food that I’d been eating before macro diet drastically other than the fact that, I’ve increased my protein intake and reduced my fat intake. I’m wondering if consuming more protein can have this side affect. Do you happen to know? If so, do you have any tips?
It can take time for your body to adjust. Are you now using a protein supplement? This could be causing some GI issues if it’s whey based. Also, how much fiber are you eating per day?
How much time does it typically take? It’s been a month for me and I don’t see any improvement. Instead of feeling light, I feel bloated and nauseated. I have 1 scoop of whey in a day but I used to have it before macro diet as well with the only difference that nowadays I’m having it daily whereas before I used to skip a day or so. On an average,I’m having 18g of fiber. Please advise as I’m feeling very frustrated. I see some good results and I don’t want to give up however, if it continues like this I’m not positive if I can’t survive.
If you’re feeling bloated an nauseated that is probably due to something you are eating, not counting macros in general. Since you are using whey protein daily, it could be the culprit. You could try switching to plant-based protein or egg white based. Also, I would recommend upping your fiber intake a tad.
Ok I’ll give it a try. Thanks for the advise
I just counting my macros.. the grams it gave me I scaled it before cooking or after?
Hi Betho, It depends on the food. Some food is measured using the precooked weight and others the cooked weight. Also, remember that you have to use a nutritional database to find out the exact macros in a food. i.e. chicken isn’t 100% protein. Give this article a read.
Hi Ted,
Is it a good idea to recalculate macros with new weight? I lost 3 pounds but my weight doesn’t seem to go down any further. Well! It’s not been that long since I started on my macro journey which was around 3 weeks back but I was just curious to know. Also, I’m tracking my macros using MFP and I’m noticing that my calories are going in negative even though I’ve not met my macros for the day so I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong here or is it just the way this app works? Do you happen to know what the deal is?
Hi Naina, You don’t need to recalculate until you’ve lost about 10 pounds. With MFP, errors in nutritional info can cause this. Some entries list calories but show macros as zero. Always make sure a listing includes a food’s macros before using that entry. Another reason is if you consume alcohol. It counts towards your calories but not your macros.
Sure, so far I’ve been making sure I add the ones with macros and I add the alcohol manually but it’s a guesstimate since not much info is available online. When I started with this I noticed immediate difference in my weight (I went down to 138) and I also was feeling lighter however I’m noticing that the past few days haven’t been that great and my weight has gone up a little and has been fluctuating between 140-141 Lb and since then I’m trying to figure out what could possibly have changed
You may be dealing with water weight fluctuations especially depending on where you are in your monthly cycle. Read more here.
I hope so! Thank you once again
Hi, I am a 27-year-old female who weighs 150. I work at a desk all day but I get up and walk around and do mini workout throughout the day. When I am off of work I go the gym every day for an hour. Burning anywhere from 500 to 650 calories during my workout. I have about 15 more pounds I would like to lose, but I also want to build some muscle. I have lost 50 pounds so far but I have hit a wall. What would you say my activity level is at? Nothing has changed for months and it is getting very frustrating.
Thank you for your help!
Hi Jessica, It looks to me like you are overestimating your calorie burn for an hour at the gym. How many calories/macros are you eating daily now?
Hi – how come the calculator gives me different results when I enter my weight and height in imperial vs metric? Shouldn’t it give the same numbers?
Incorrect question. Woops.
What I meant was, why are the results different when I do the manual calculation as per https://healthyeater.com/how-to-calculate-your-macros which is metric measurements based versus this macro calculator in imperial measurement mode?
It probably has to do with how the calculator rounds decimal points during the metric conversion. The results are probably just slightly different, no? Remeber, that all calculations and formulas are just an estimate of your likely TDEE.
Hi, I’m a 5’4, 172 pound female trying to lose weight.
I’ve already lost 14 pounds the last two months with counting macros and exercising.
However, I am unsure of my activity level as a stay-at-home mom who also exercises a bit.
I spend most of my time at home, or shopping for groceries. But at night, I power walk/jog (3.2-4.5 speed) a full mile every other day on the treadmill… Do around 20 squats, 50 (10lbs) bicep curls, and 50 jumping jacks. Sometimes I arrow-pull 90lbs weights on a machine 50 times. I like to get in about 5 different exercises a day.
Does this make my activity level Sedentary, or Light? I go by Sedentary, but my weight loss eventually stalled and I wondered if it was because I wasn’t eating enough.
Please help me find the correct activity level! Thank you ❤
You definitely fall into the Light category, and with sedentary calories, you probably are not eating enough.
Im 28 female 170 lbs and last time i checked i was 26-27 pbf what percentage would u recomend i should be aiming? My built is just normal clothing size medium lower and top small-medium
My workouts are mostly crossfit and sometimes weight training woth cardio 3-4 times a week
Take a look here https://healthyeater.com/body-fat-percentage-calculator
This provides some body fat targets.
Hi
I’m 48 years old. 55kg and 5ft 4. I have done spin for many years but lately I have lost my motivation for the gym. I used to be toned but now I’ve lost all my muscle tone due to not eating or exercising. I really need to get my muscle tone back as wyivk as possible
Hello,
Im a 35 yo old female . 178 cm and 60 km with a BMI of 18.9.
Im the definition of skinny fat.. I do not look fat at all but Im the opposite of toned. Im really trying to improve by running a lot and doing workouts,but without lifting yet. My legs still look like jello.
I also am the type of person that can eat everything and maintain,also a vegetarian. What can I do to gain some muscle on my legs? Thanks!!
The best advice I can give is to stop running, and start lifting weights. It’s weight-bearing exercise that will lead to the muscle development that you are looking for. That, combined with eating the right daily macros will help you reach the goals you are looking for. Note that we have a complete vegetarian edition of our macro counting book. See more here.
Hi, I’m an 24, 180cm, 75 kg I want to gain muscles and lose fat at the same time, I workout 5 days a week, how I calculat my macros! And how much fat do I have to eat dayilly!, thanks 🙏
Ragnar, enter your info into the calculator above, and choose the Lose 10% goal. Gaining muscle and burning fat at the same time can be done, but it is difficult to achieve. I would encourage you to consider the Macro Solution – Muscle Gain Edition — we’ve recently revised it for people exactly like yourself.