Macro Calculator
Macros are the protein, carbs and fat in your food. Enter your details and goal to get daily grams for each, built around enough protein to keep or build muscle.
How we got it
Calories: Mifflin-St Jeor resting energy times your activity level, minus about 500 to lose fat (never below your resting energy or 1,200 / 1,500 calories) or plus about 250 to build muscle. Protein: the middle of 1.6 to 2.0 g per kg when losing fat or building muscle, 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg to stay the same, with an adjusted weight at a BMI of 30 or more. Fat: 30% of calories, inside the 20 to 35% range in the US dietary reference intakes. Carbs: the calories left over. Protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram, fat 9.
Updated . Sources: Mifflin, St Jeor and others, 1990, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Jäger and others, 2017, ISSN position stand: protein and exercise; Institute of Medicine, 2005, Dietary Reference Intakes for energy and macronutrients.
Questions
What are good macros for weight loss?
Enough protein to keep your muscle (about 1.6 to 2.0 g per kg), fat around a third of your calories, and carbs for the rest. The calorie total matters most for weight; protein matters most for how you look.
Do I have to hit my macros exactly?
No. Getting protein close each day and keeping calories about right is what counts. Carbs and fat can swap a little from day to day.
Should I eat low carb?
Only if you prefer it. With the same calories and protein, low carb and higher carb diets lose about the same fat.