- Enter your personal stats. Gender, age, height, and weight are used to calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) via the Mifflin-St Jeor formula. These must be accurate for the macro targets to be meaningful.
- Select your activity level honestly. Sedentary is a desk job with little exercise. Lightly active is 1-3 workouts per week. Moderately active is 3-5 workouts. Most people overestimate this, which leads to calculated targets being too high.
- Choose your goal. Lose Fat applies a 500-calorie daily deficit for approximately 1 lb/week of fat loss. Maintain sets calories at TDEE. Gain Muscle adds a 300-calorie surplus for slow, lean muscle gain. Aggressive bulking (500+ surplus) typically adds more fat than muscle.
- Select a diet type. Balanced distributes macros at a moderate ratio. High Protein allocates more calories to protein, useful for fat loss and muscle retention. Low Carb reduces carbohydrates. Keto is very low carb (under 50g/day). Choose based on what you can sustain.
Macro Calculator
Calculate your daily protein, carbohydrate, and fat targets based on your goals.
ft
in
lbs
Protein205g
Fat91g
Carbs273g
| BMR | 1,760 kcal |
| TDEE (maintenance) | 2,728 kcal |
| Target Calories | 2,728 kcal |
| Protein | 205g (820 kcal) |
| Fat | 91g (819 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 273g (1092 kcal) |
How to Use the Macro Calculator
Macronutrient Ratios by Diet Type
Macros are tracked in grams. The calorie density: protein = 4 cal/g, carbohydrates = 4 cal/g, fat = 9 cal/g. The typical macro distributions this calculator uses:
| Diet Type | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | 25% | 50% | 25% |
| High Protein | 35% | 40% | 25% |
| Low Carb | 30% | 25% | 45% |
| Keto | 20% | 5% | 75% |
Example for a 2,000-calorie High Protein target:
Protein: 2,000 × 35% = 700 cal ÷ 4 = 175g protein Carbs: 2,000 × 40% = 800 cal ÷ 4 = 200g carbs Fat: 2,000 × 25% = 500 cal ÷ 9 = 55g fat
Protein is the most important macro to hit consistently. Research consistently shows that 0.7-1.0g protein per pound of bodyweight (1.6-2.2g/kg) maximizes muscle retention during cutting and muscle gain during a surplus. Carbs and fat are more flexible: adjust the split based on preference while keeping protein high.
Frequently Asked Questions
For active people, the evidence-based recommendation is 0.7-1.0g of protein per pound of bodyweight (1.6-2.2g per kg). At 175 lbs, that is 123-175g of protein daily. Higher protein (closer to 1g/lb) is recommended when cutting calories to preserve muscle mass, and when doing heavy resistance training to support muscle repair and growth. Sedentary individuals need less: about 0.36g/lb (0.8g/kg) is the minimum to prevent muscle loss.