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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When should you be using Lean mass? I’m 144 lbs and 5” 3 just went to the doctor yesterday and got a BMI of 25%.
Age 22 female
Lean mass is more appropriate for woman 18-15% body fat or less and men at 12-10% body fat and less.
Hi-
I’m new to this and trying to figure out the best macro for my body. I’m 32yrs, 143lb, 5’3” female looking to lose body fat and gain muscle. I go to gym 4 times a week (my workout are intense as I do lot of resistance, weightlifting training on upper, lower or total body for at least 65 mins with minimal breaks followed by 10mins stair master) and the other days I try to hit my daily activity goal on my Apple Watch by walking( light walk) or keeping myself engaged or active on other things such as running errands etc. When I used this calculator I’d selected light activity level so my calories intake came out to be 1646. It’s been 8 days and my weight dropped to 140.8 lb already. However, I’m noticing that my energy level is dropping too especially while working out in the gym (at times I felt light headed). I!m guessing its because of the calorie intake so today, I changed my stats by selecting moderate activity level and my total intake came out to be 1860. It’s encouraging to see some results but I’m not sure if I’m going in the right direction so any advice is highly appreciated as I’m worried if I’m doing more harm than good to my body after experiencing low energy. Im using MyFitnessPal to track my macros.
Hi Naina,
I think you accurately found the problem. You originally were in too much of a calorie deficit on days that you lift. What you could do is eat at your 1646 level on days you don’t go to the gym and eat at 1860 level on days you do.
Awesome! That’s what I was thinking to do. Really appreciate your time. If I’m not mistaken MFP doesn’t let you log calories for rest day. Is that correct?
Only the premium version allows multiple macro sets. Just enter your exercise macros and manually stop when you reach your rest day goals.
Great, thanks for your time!
Hello, I’m an 18, 67 kg, 169cm,male. I’m trying to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time by having a caloric surplus on work out days, and a caloric deficit on rest days. For non workout days, I put sedentary activity level with lose %10 and got 1,773 calories on non workout days . For workout days, I put moderate activity level( I do weight training with few calisthenics for around an hour and a half to two hours including rest time) with gain and got 3,053 calories on workout days. Do these valuable seem reasonable? I feel like 3,053 is too much for me. Am I underestimating how many calories are burned through workout?
Hi Maarouf, For that method, I would recommend starting at just a 10% surplus on workout days.
Hi, I’m 20, Male, 122 lb, 5’4. I want to gain muscle weight / Bulk :)!
Sports (Tennis) 4x week, Gym 4x week.
Macro : 450 carbs, 122 prots, 85 fat = 3050 calories.
Q1: I was wondering, before starting eating that much calories, if it was normal that the calorie intake (3050) was that high! and if those macros are accurate or I should go see a nutritionist?
Q2: On rest day, I should take my normal calorie intake, but how do I know / calculate my ‘normal daily calorie intake’?
Q3: Is it essential to be 100% accurate with my macro counting…?
Q4: Is it essential to go to the gym in order to gain muscle weight / bulk or I can do exercises in my house?
Big thanks <3, It'll be very helpful !!
Hi McGregor,
Q1 I’m not sure how you calculated things but 3050 does seem a little high based on your stats. You may want to start a bit lower since you want your gains to be lean and not also coupled with fat storage.
Q2 Select sedentary and maintenance for your rest day macros.
Q3 No, but you should be within 5 g of your targets.
Q4 You can have some gains at home using bodyweight exercises and dumbbells but a gym will give you access to more equipment and will give you the ability to work your muscles harder.
If you need more help dialing in your macros, check out our macro coaching options.
Hi! I’ve had my macros calculate by a trainer before however, I’ve seemed to plateau. I’m 28, 154lbs looking to lose body fat but also gain lean muscle. My excerise is moderate, doing 4-5 days if HIIT exercises. On leg days I go pretty hard because I’m looking to grow my legs and booty. Is it possible I’m not eating enough and that may have caused me to gain a few pounds/not lose weight? I’m currently eating about 1500 calories a day.
Can you let us know your height?
Hi Ted, I’m 22 years old and weigh 112Lbs 5’0″ I workout 6 days a week but I seem to have plateaued for more than 4 months now, I’m not too concerned about the number on the scale but I’m afraid my macros are off and that’s why I’ve stopped seeing real progress despite being consistent,m with my diet and work outs, right now I stay around 1280 calories a day, any thoughts? Thank you.
Hi Fernanda, You aren’t eating enough. You have to support your exercise with the correct nutrition. 1280 calories aren’t enough on the days you workout and this is placing your body in too much of a calorie deficit. This over time causes a plateau.
Thanks, will the basic coaching plan work to reach my goals? how effective is it?
It depends on how much support you need and how self-motivated you are. With basic, I won’t be checking in with you weekly and monitoring your progress, but will be available via email anytime you have a question or need your macros adjusted. This is just like anything else, it’s effective as long as you’re putting in the effort of hitting your macro targets. Also, it can take a few weeks of better eating until you start seeing results. Plateaus don’t happen overnight and they aren’t fixed overnight either. You have to trust the process.
Hey Ted how are you? I’m 30 years old and weigh 147Lbs 5’6” I’ve been intermittent fasting but I still do not have my macros dialed in. I’m wondering if you could help me out. I do 2 mike runs and boxing in the morning. And so weight training at night. So I’m moderate in my workouts. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Chris, What are your goals? Based on your stats it seems like building lean muscle?
Yes that is my goal to build lean muscle. To have an athletic look more than just bulky.
Cool, I would start with your maintenance macros/TDEE plus 10% and do high protein. If you need more help dialing everything in, please consider one of our coaching options.
5’4″, 47 year old women who’s current weight is 178 lbs. I have been plateaued for over 3 weeks in my journey I am researching counting macros. I have a sedentary job. I am wanting to lose weight. Trying to figure out all the math is challenging. I am hoping do to it at 20% loss. Please help me figure out my carbs, proteins, and fat percentages/grams for a day. I believe my calories should be 1029 per day.
Hi Lara, Sorry to hear about your plateau that can be very frustrating. 1029 calories aren’t enough for a woman of your height. If you’ve been eating like that for a while, it may have slowed your metabolism causing the plateau. I’m happy to calculate everything for you, but can only do so as part of our coaching services. We have several options here.
Hello i am a 30 year old female 5’4 i weigh 130 my typical weight hovers around 128-129 i cant seem to budge at all no matter what i do. I crrently workout 5 to 6 days a week 3 lower body days 2 light/bodyweight upper body days bc i grow really fast in my upper body 2-3 hiit sessions and 2 steady state sessions a week i dont really track bc i got very obsessed over it and ready to track again what is your thoughts
Hi Lindsey, How much are you eating? Diet is 85% of the equation.
I’m 5’5” 184lbs 33 year old woman. I seem to have plateaued and I’ve been counting my macros for about a year now on and off with consistency. I am definitely an endomorph and am naturally curvy. I workout 5 days a week and according to my polar watch burn about 700-800 per workout totaling about 4K per week give or take. I incorporate 2 steady state cardio workouts and 2 hitt workouts per week but primarily strength training. My goal is to lose 15lb but also muscle growth. What are your thoughts on macros? No matter what I do I can’t seem to budge this plateau. I was 270 at my heaviest but I’ve been 185ish for years now.
Can you share your daily calorie intake (and macros)?
1890 calories: 142p/189c/63f
Hi Sheena, It seems like your eating too much. You should be eating at sedentary levels on days you don’t workout and I think you are overestimating the calorie burn from your workouts. Wearable trackers almost always overestimate and some studies have shown them to overestimate by 100%. It’s always a good idea to check them against established exercise databases like our one here.
Do you recommend an app to track macros throughout the day?
Hi Mendy, We recommend several good apps here.
I want to gain weight and I have a hard time ganing weight