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.
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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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Everything I have been reading lately recommends high fat, low carb, moderate protein for weight loss….then I put my info into the calculator and it’s telling me 46% carbs?!!! I’m really concerned, I must say, that I will blow up like a balloon. I’m 44 and want to lose about 8 pounds (I’m 5’2″ and 130). I averae 12000 steps per day and usually exercixse 3-4 times per week…nothing crazy, either a 35 minute video at home of some weight machines and 20 min of cardio at the gym. Thoughts?
Same for me. Carbs are through the roof on calculator. Why is this? Was trying to use it as a tool
Hi Rebekah, If you are coming from a low carb type of eating mentality then carbs may seem high, but in reality, the calculator gives a moderate proportion of carbohydrates. Don’t be afraid of carbs. They do not cause weight gain in relation to one’s TDEE. This page gives a breakdown of how calculations are made.
Hi Eileen, Flexible dieting doesn’t advocate the need for low carbs, in fact, has proven the opposite. You can eat normal ratios of food and reach your goals. Give this article a read, which will help you understand the concept and the science behind it.
Hi
In the body fat % section do I input my goal or what I currently am ? Thanks in advance .
Hi Taf, You use your current body fat percentage.
Hi,
I’d really appreciate a little guidance.
I’m 6ft , 255lbs. My maintenance was around 2,400 at sedentary. I’m eating 2,000. I work 3 times a day where I walk 8k – 10k steps so i’d estimate I at least burn 500 calories a day because of my weight and size. I also workout 3 times at least an hour my fitbit says i burn around 500 calories. I do heavy lifting and run 2 miles at 20 ish minutes. Every day I’m either working or at the gym. So with my deficit 500 cal and 500 work/gym, im burning 1000 calories a day times 7. So in a week I should be burning 2 lbs? 7000 – 3500.
Sorry the reason i’m asking is because I’ve hit a plateau I was 300 lbs, and started eating 2000 calories and stuck to that number.
Hi Joseph. It seems like you are in too much of a deficit on the days you work out. This can cause plateau since your body starts to conserve its resources. Also, I think you are over-estimating your calorie burn a tad. Casual steps like you described burn very little and FitBit over-estimates this. So all that to say, I don’t think you are calculating your weight loss TDEE and macros correctly which is why your results have stalled.
Hello,
So I live a pretty active life style I would like to say. I workout every morning at 5 am for an hour- hour in a half, and than I’m a full time med student & here and there work at a restaurant where I’m averaging 18000-20k steps a day. . During the my regular routin day I sit in classes, but I always according to my fit bit average about 12-15000 steps a day and burn around 2100-2300 calories a day. When I type in my goals, I just wanna lose another 2-3 pounds but shed more body fat I get real low numbers and I’m not sure if it’s rignt cause I’m always still feeling hungry & lacking energy. Every time I try macro calculators I get such different numbers, I wanna kno what I truly need to be healthy. I’m 25 & weigh 128-129 and I’m 5-4. Looking for some help and advice thank you
Hi Riley, First of all, it’s important to note that FitBit over-estimates your calorie burn from casual steps so you aren’t burning as much as you think. You should probably do very active, high protein, and lose 10. This will allow you to lose those couple of pounds slowly and help with hunger. If you want me to calculate things for you, I can do so with one of our coaching plans here.
Macro calculator is not working. Tried many times., showing error in height section. I have tried entering in cm and inches both.
Could you let us know what browser you are using, and exactly what you are typing into the height field?
The height is not working for me either. Tried over 10 times. I’m putting in 5’1” or 5.1 inches, I even tried typing it in words. What should I put in?
You have to convert it to inches. 5’1″ or 5.1 feet converts to 61 inches.
Height has now been changed to handle both feet & inches, or centimeters.
Hi, i weigh 54.2kgs (female), height 4.12-5 inches. I have all the fat near belly and the sides of the stomach. I want to gain proper metabolism which i lack also loose that fat near stomach area. What would you recommend?
Hi
I did the macro calculater for moderate activity … i do two HiTT classes a week , one spin class plus a weight class .. on those work out days should I increase my macros ?
Also do I have high days / refeed days ??
Hi Sherry, you already set the calculator to Moderate activity which already accounts for the exercise you described. I’m not sure what your goals are but looking at the exercise you’ve described refeed days wouldn’t be necessary.
Thank you for your responds . I started flexible dieting about a year ago and love love love it !!! I lost 18 inches and 15 pounds in that time . I’m leaving for my winter holiday in feb for a couple of months and would love to lose another 8-10 pounds , and of course tone some more .
I so know that if you don’t eat enough while working out you can in turn gain weight . It’s all about balance .!
Flexible dieting lets me eat healthy plus I still get to eat some of the same foods I like .
Great to hear and awesome job! It can be productive to have at least a day or 2 a month where you take a break and eat more than you normally would. It can keep the body from getting too comfortable with the same macros day in and day out. I personally vary my macros based on how active I am on a particular day and use sedentary on days I do no exercise.
Hello! I want to get off Keto but I’m afraid of gaining all the weight back. I don’t plan on eating unhealthy and want to have a well balanced diet that I can maintain for the rest of my life. The macro calculator suggests 25% fat , 40 % carbs, and 35% protein. Do you think I should follow these macros ? I’m scared that my 6 months of progress will go to waste.
Hi Emily, It will be mostly about how many calories you are consuming. Why don’t you start with Lose 10 which will put you in a 10% deficit. See how your body responds and then move to your maintenance macros if everything looks good.
Hi Ted!
I was wondering if you were familiar with the Beachbody programs…I recently subscribed and love the variety I found. Starting today I committed to cleaning up the diet a little bit more (minus the 72% dark chocolate and Peanut Butter) BUT I also committed to the 21 Day Fix program, but instead of just doing that program I decided to add in another cardio video like the Country Heat or the Rockin’ Body dance videos to round out my hour long morning workout. What is the best way to estimate calorie burn in order to determine macros? Thanks!
I also tend to be a fairly active person in general, although I just started law school so it’ll be more like the life of a desk job except I take the stairs ALWAYS and i’ll go for short 5-10 minute walks every so often. I also eat a fairly healthy diet already but there are some things i’d like to clean up and focus on. The last time I was on the scale about 3 weeks ago I was 111 at a doctors appointment for a stress fracture, but I don’t know how much I weigh now, is it safer to err on the side of caution and input 115?
Hi Ashley, I would start with moderately active and then adjust from there if you are losing too rapidly or not gaining etc. Not sure what your goals are.
I am trying to tone up/build muscle and lean out…I suppose you could consider me in the “skinny fat” phase of the process.
How does carb cycling work with macro counting? Meaning if I go to the macro calculator and figure out my macros, how do I then adjust them for high carb and low carb days?? Thanks so much!
Hi Nataly, Please check out this article: https://healthyeater.com/carb-cycling-flexible-dieting
Hi Natalie, personally what I do is use the numbers given by the calculator as an average calorie intake for the week, then adjust the macros in high and low carb days ina way that the average for the week will be the same. Hope that makes sense. Cheers
Hi I’m 17 year old male 165lbs pretty muscular but need to loose some belly fat to show my abs what would you reccomemd me doing I train 6 times a week thanks
Trying to really shred myself basically just
Hi Ralph, You’ll need to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat, but you don’t want to sacrifice all the hard work you’ve put in building the muscle. You should start with the “lose 10” setting when using the calculator. Also chose the high protein setting. That should get you started in the right direction.
Hi,
I’m a female and I’m currently 17 years old. I am about 5’3″ and weigh 108 pounds. Although that is slightly underweight for my height, I am not happy with the way I look. I used to lift 4-5 times a week and was fit and toned with a lower body weight (100-103 lbs) and I was satisfied with how I looked but I wanted to gain more muscle mass. Instead, I wasn’t able to maintain my weight and I stopped going to the gym and ate unhealthy. Now I’m currently 108 pounds and I’ve gained extra fat on my cheeks and overall face, my arms became flabbier, my abs are not toned anymore and I gained thigh fat. My goal is to gain more muscle mass and start weight lifting, but I also desperately want to lose my face fat, arm fat and stomach fat as well. Do you know how many cals I should be eating and whether I should lose the weight first and then start lifting or can I do it at the same time? I want to start going back to the gym but I don’t know what I should be focusing on. I work in a camp so I would say that I’m lightly active during the day. Should I be calculate my macros with a lose 10%? It calculates 1541 calories with a normal protein intake of 89 grams, 200g carbs, and 43 grams of fat. Does that seem correct for my goals?
Hi Raf, I think lose 10 is a good place for you to start and when you start weight training again use the high protein setting. Also, make sure you factor in your weight lifting exercise as well. On days you lift weights you’d most likely be moderately active.