Macro Calculator

Macronutrients — protein, carbohydrates, and fat. They're the calorie-bearing components of food. Protein and carbs deliver about 4 kcal per gram; fat delivers about 9 kcal per gram. A daily calorie target is the sum of your three macro contributions; we just divide it up at whatever ratio you pick.

Both are valid, but a percentage split keeps the result honest if you change your calorie target — protein, carbs, and fat all scale proportionally. The grams per kg approach (e.g. 1.6 g protein per kg of body weight) anchors protein to body size, which can be smarter for very large or very small people. We picked the simpler model for this calculator; if you want grams-per-kg precision, multiply your weight in kg by the gram target you want.

For most healthy adults, 1.2–2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight per day covers everything from sedentary minimums to peak athletic recovery. The goal-loss preset (40% protein) is intentionally on the higher end — high-protein diets help preserve muscle during a calorie deficit. Maintenance (30%) and muscle-gain (30%) presets are more typical splits.

Use our TDEE calculator to estimate maintenance calories, then subtract 250–500 for fat loss or add 250–300 for muscle gain. Larger deficits or surpluses tend to backfire — too aggressive and you lose more muscle on the way down, or gain more fat on the way up.

No. Lower-carb (e.g. 30/20/50 P/C/F), higher-carb (e.g. 25/55/20), or balanced 33/33/33 splits all work for healthy adults — total calories, protein adequacy, and food quality usually matter more than the exact macro split. The presets here are reasonable starting points; adjust by feel and outcomes over a few weeks.