Calculate your ideal protein, carbs, and fat targets. Choose your diet style and see your macros broken down by meal.
Tracking macros gives you more control over your body composition than counting calories alone. By ensuring adequate protein intake, you preserve muscle while losing fat. Adjusting carbs helps manage energy levels and cravings. Setting fat targets supports hormonal health. The right macro balance depends on your goals — our macro calculator personalizes your targets based on your stats and chosen diet style. All calculations run entirely in your browser — your data never leaves your device.
Macronutrients — protein, carbohydrates, and fat — are the three nutrients that provide your body with energy. Unlike micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), which are needed in small quantities for specific biological processes, macronutrients are consumed in large amounts and directly supply the calories your body runs on.
Each macronutrient provides a fixed caloric value per gram:
Macro targets are calculated by allocating your daily calorie target (TDEE) across the three macronutrients according to your chosen ratio. Common distributions:
Protein is the most critical macro to optimize. Research consistently shows that consuming 0.7–1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (1.6–2.2 g/kg) during a caloric deficit dramatically reduces lean mass loss compared to lower protein intakes. Without adequate protein, a significant portion of weight lost comes from muscle — a poor body composition outcome that also lowers TDEE over time.
James is targeting fat loss at 1,800 calories/day. He chooses a 40% protein / 30% carb / 30% fat split to maximize muscle retention.
Protein (40% of 1,800 = 720 calories):
720 ÷ 4 = 180g protein/day
Carbohydrates (30% of 1,800 = 540 calories):
540 ÷ 4 = 135g carbs/day
Fat (30% of 1,800 = 540 calories):
540 ÷ 9 = 60g fat/day
To hit these targets with real food, James might structure his day as:
That totals roughly 167g protein, 128g carbs, and 50g fat — close to his targets. Weighing food in grams on a kitchen scale significantly improves accuracy over estimating portions by eye.
Goal alignment: Your macro split should reflect your primary objective. Fat loss benefits from higher protein to preserve muscle. Muscle building benefits from adequate carbohydrates to fuel training sessions and support protein synthesis. Maintenance allows the most flexibility across distributions.
Training type: Endurance athletes deplete glycogen stores and need higher carbohydrate intake to perform and recover. Strength and power athletes benefit from moderate carbs timed around training. General fitness allows flexible distribution across the day.
Protein for muscle preservation: During any caloric deficit, protein intake below 0.7g per pound of bodyweight substantially increases lean mass loss. Maintaining — or even slightly increasing — protein intake while in a deficit is the most evidence-supported strategy for improving body composition while losing weight.
Carbohydrate timing: Consuming 20–40g of carbohydrates before resistance training supports performance, while 30–60g post-workout accelerates glycogen resynthesis and recovery. Total daily carb intake matters more than timing for most recreational exercisers, but timing becomes more important at higher training volumes.
Fat quality: Within your fat target, prioritize unsaturated fats — olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish. These support cardiovascular health and hormone production. Limit saturated fat and avoid trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils regardless of your total fat intake target.
Macros (macronutrients) are the three main nutrients your body uses for energy: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Protein provides 4 calories per gram, carbs provide 4 calories per gram, and fat provides 9 calories per gram. Tracking your macros helps ensure you get the right balance for your specific fitness goal.
Most fitness experts recommend 0.7–1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. If you are actively building muscle or in a calorie deficit, aim for the higher end (0.8–1g/lb) to preserve lean mass. Athletes may benefit from slightly more. Our macro calculator ensures your protein target meets this minimum.
A balanced macro split for weight loss is typically 30–40% protein, 30–40% carbs, and 20–30% fat. Higher protein helps preserve muscle mass while in a deficit. Some people do well with a lower-carb approach (35% protein, 45% fat, 20% carbs). Our calculator lets you choose from Balanced, Low Carb, High Protein, or Keto splits.
The easiest way to track macros is using a food logging app where you log every meal and scan barcodes. Start by hitting your protein goal first, then fill in carbs and fat. Weigh food in grams for accuracy. After 2–3 weeks of tracking, many people develop a good intuitive sense of macro content.
Calories represent total energy intake, while macros describe where those calories come from. You can hit your calorie goal but eat poor quality macros (too little protein, too much fat) and see suboptimal results. Tracking both gives you a more complete picture of your nutrition and helps you optimize body composition, not just weight.