Macro CalculatorProtein, Carbs & Fat for Your Goal
Get your daily macros in grams for fat loss, maintenance or muscle gain. Choose a balanced, high-protein, low-carb, keto or endurance split, or set your own, and see grams per meal with an automatic sanity check.
Built & medically reviewed by Manzoor Ahmad, Pharmacist & Calculator Developer · Updated
Calories use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Ranges follow the National Academies AMDR and ISSN protein guidance.
How do you calculate macros?
First find your daily calories, which is your TDEE plus or minus your goal. Then split them by a ratio, for example 30% protein, 40% carbs and 30% fat. Convert to grams: protein and carbs have 4 kcal per gram, fat has 9. At 2,000 kcal on a 30/40/30 split, that’s 150 g protein, 200 g carbs and 67 g fat a day.
Set your macros
feet · inches
Macros per meal
Sanity check
Best macro ratios by goal
Hitting your calories and protein matters far more than the exact ratio. Pick the split you can stick to.
| Diet style | Protein / Carbs / Fat | Best for | At 1,800 kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | 30 / 40 / 30 | General health, most people | 135 g P · 180 g C · 60 g F |
| High protein | 40 / 30 / 30 | Fat loss, keeping muscle | 180 g P · 135 g C · 60 g F |
| Low carb | 35 / 25 / 40 | Blood-sugar control, appetite | 158 g P · 113 g C · 80 g F |
| Keto | 25 / 5 / 70 | Ketogenic diet, epilepsy (with a doctor) | 113 g P · 23 g C · 140 g F |
| Endurance | 20 / 55 / 25 | Runners, cyclists, long training | 90 g P · 248 g C · 50 g F |
How macros are calculated
First we find your calorie target: Mifflin-St Jeor BMR × activity, plus or minus your goal adjustment, with a safety floor. Then we split it by your chosen percentages and convert to grams using the Atwater factors.
1,625 kcal fat-loss target, high-protein split
- Protein: 1,625 × 0.40 = 650 kcal ÷ 4 = 163 g (2.5 g/kg for a 65 kg woman)
- Carbs: 1,625 × 0.30 = 488 kcal ÷ 4 = 122 g
- Fat: 1,625 × 0.30 = 488 kcal ÷ 9 = 54 g
- Over 3 meals, that’s about 54 g protein, 41 g carbs and 18 g fat each.
- The sanity check flags that 2.5 g/kg of protein is more than she needs, so she could use the Balanced split instead.
Easy foods for each macro
| Macro | Lean choices | Per typical serving |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | Chicken breast, Greek yogurt, egg whites, tuna, tofu, whey | 20–31 g |
| Carbs | Oats, rice, potatoes, fruit, beans, wholegrain bread | 25–45 g |
| Fat | Olive oil, avocado, nuts, nut butter, salmon, cheese | 10–15 g |
Tip: plan your protein first, then fat, then let carbs fill whatever calories remain.
Macros and medication: what to watch
If you take insulin or a sulfonylurea, a sudden switch to low-carb or keto can cause hypoglycaemia. Your doses usually need lowering, so plan the change with your prescriber. On an SGLT2 inhibitor (empagliflozin, dapagliflozin), a ketogenic diet raises the risk of ketoacidosis, even with normal blood sugar. Avoid keto unless your doctor approves it.
Very high-fat diets can raise LDL cholesterol in some people. If you’re on a statin or have heart disease, get your lipids rechecked about 8–12 weeks after changing your macros.
Related calculators
Macro calculator FAQs
Macros, short for macronutrients, are the three nutrients that supply calories: protein (4 kcal per gram), carbohydrates (4 kcal/g) and fat (9 kcal/g). Counting macros means hitting daily gram targets for each, not just a calorie total.
Work out your daily calories (TDEE plus or minus your goal), choose a ratio such as 30/40/30, and convert to grams. Divide the protein and carb calories by 4, and the fat calories by 9. At 2,000 kcal on 30/40/30, that’s 150 g protein, 200 g carbs and 67 g fat.
A higher-protein split, such as 40/30/30 or 35/35/30, works well for fat loss because protein keeps you full and preserves muscle. Studies show low-carb and low-fat diets give similar results when calories and protein are matched, so choose the one you can stick to.
Eat a small calorie surplus (+250–500 kcal) with 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight, at least 0.5–1 g/kg of fat, and fill the rest with carbs to fuel training. A 25–30% protein, 45–50% carb, 25% fat split works for most lifters.
A standard ketogenic diet is about 70–75% fat, 20–25% protein and 5% carbohydrate. That usually means 20–50 g of net carbs a day. Use our dedicated Keto Calculator for targets based on lean mass.
No. Being within about ±5–10 g of protein and carbs and ±5 g of fat each day is plenty. Your weekly average matters more than any single day.
Counting macros includes calorie counting, because the macros add up to your calories. It also makes sure you eat enough protein, which matters most for body composition. For many people, tracking calories plus protein alone works just as well.
Most adults should get 20–35% of calories from fat, which is about 44–78 g on a 2,000-calorie diet. Don’t drop below about 0.5 g/kg for long, because dietary fat supports hormones and the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K.
Manzoor Ahmad
Pharmacist · Supplement & Nutrition Writer (9+ yrs) · Calculator Developer (13+ yrs)
I’m a practising pharmacist and I build DexoCalc’s calculators. Most macro calculators stop at the numbers. This one checks them too: it flags protein that’s too low or wasteful, fat that’s too low for hormone health, and the diabetes medicines that clash with low-carb or keto diets.
References
- Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (AMDR).
- Jäger R, et al. ISSN Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20. PubMed
- Gardner CD, et al. Effect of low-fat vs low-carbohydrate diet on 12-month weight loss (DIETFITS). JAMA. 2018;319(7):667–679. PubMed
- Mifflin MD, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241–247. PubMed
- FDA. SGLT2 inhibitors: ketoacidosis warnings.
Medical disclaimer: Macro targets are for healthy adults and are not medical advice. If you have diabetes, kidney disease or heart disease, or take medicines affected by diet, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing your macros.