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Hit your nutrition targets with our free macro calculator. Get your daily calorie goal plus protein, carb and fat grams based on your body, activity level and goal.
Enter gender, age, weight, height, activity level and goal (lose, maintain or gain). The calculator finds your BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, multiplies by an activity factor for TDEE, adjusts for your goal, then splits calories into protein, carbs and fat grams using your chosen macro ratio.
Formula: BMR (men) = 10×kg + 6.25×cm − 5×age + 5; BMR (women) = same − 161. TDEE = BMR × activity (1.2–1.9). Target = TDEE × goal (0.85/1/1.1). Grams: protein & carbs ÷ 4 kcal/g, fat ÷ 9 kcal/g.
Dialing in your daily protein, carbohydrate, and fat targets takes seven inputs and one click. Follow these steps for numbers you can build meals around.
Tip: recalculate every 4–6 weeks or after every 3–4 kg of weight change. A lighter body burns fewer calories, so yesterday’s macros become tomorrow’s maintenance.
Macronutrients, or “macros,” are the three nutrient families that supply essentially all of your food energy: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. (Water, fiber, vitamins, and minerals matter enormously for health but contribute negligible calories.) Counting macros means budgeting your daily calories across these three buckets instead of only watching the total, which gives you control over body composition, not just body weight.
Protein provides 4 kcal per gram and supplies the amino acids your body uses to build and repair muscle, enzymes, hormones, and immune cells. It is also the most satiating macro and has the highest thermic effect of food: your body burns roughly 20–30% of protein’s calories just digesting it, versus 5–10% for carbs and 0–3% for fat. Active people generally thrive on 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, far above the 0.8 g/kg minimum set for sedentary adults.
Carbohydrates also provide 4 kcal per gram and are the body’s preferred fast fuel, stored as glycogen in muscles and the liver. They power high-intensity training and brain function. Despite their reputation in diet culture, carbs are not inherently fattening; excess calories from any macro are stored as fat. Athletes and very active people typically perform best with carbs at 40–55% of calories.
Fat provides 9 kcal per gram, more than double the others, and is essential for hormone production (including testosterone), vitamin absorption (A, D, E, K), and cell membranes. Going too low, below about 0.5 g/kg or 15–20% of calories, can disrupt hormones and hunger signals. The takeaway: each macro has a job, and the “best” split is the one that hits your protein floor, keeps fat above its floor, fills the rest with carbs, and fits food you will actually eat for months.
The calculator works in three stages. Stage 1: BMR via the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. For men: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5. For women: the same formula minus 161. Stage 2: TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) = BMR × activity multiplier (1.2 sedentary, 1.375 light, 1.55 moderate, 1.725 active, 1.9 very active), then adjusted for goal (× 0.85 to lose, × 1.10 to gain). Stage 3: macro grams = (target calories × macro %) ÷ kcal per gram (4 for protein and carbs, 9 for fat).
Worked example 1 (widget defaults): man, 30 years, 70 kg, 178 cm, moderate activity, maintain, balanced 30/40/30. BMR = 10 × 70 + 6.25 × 178 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 700 + 1112.5 − 150 + 5 = 1667.5 ≈ 1668 kcal. TDEE = 1668 × 1.55 = 2585.4 ≈ 2585 kcal, and the goal is maintain, so the target stays 2585. Now the macros: protein = 2585 × 0.30 ÷ 4 = 775.5 ÷ 4 = 194 g; carbs = 2585 × 0.40 ÷ 4 = 1034 ÷ 4 = 259 g; fat = 2585 × 0.30 ÷ 9 = 775.5 ÷ 9 = 86 g. Check: 194 × 4 + 259 × 4 + 86 × 9 = 776 + 1036 + 774 = 2586 kcal, matching the target within rounding. These are exactly the calculator’s default results.
Worked example 2: woman, 28 years, 65 kg, 165 cm, light activity, lose weight, high-protein 40/30/30. BMR = 10 × 65 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 28 − 161 = 650 + 1031.25 − 140 − 161 = 1380.25 ≈ 1380 kcal. TDEE = 1380.25 × 1.375 = 1897.8 ≈ 1898 kcal. Goal is lose weight, so target = 1898 × 0.85 = 1613.3 ≈ 1613 kcal. Macros: protein = 1613 × 0.40 ÷ 4 = 645.2 ÷ 4 = 161 g (2.5 g/kg, ideal for preserving muscle in a deficit); carbs = 1613 × 0.30 ÷ 4 = 483.9 ÷ 4 = 121 g; fat = 1613 × 0.30 ÷ 9 = 483.9 ÷ 9 = 54 g. Check: 161 × 4 + 121 × 4 + 54 × 9 = 644 + 484 + 486 = 1614 kcal. The high-protein split keeps her protein at 2.5 g/kg even as calories drop, which is precisely how you lose fat instead of muscle.
To do this on paper for any split, remember the single rule: percent of calories becomes grams by dividing by 4 (protein, carbs) or 9 (fat). A 2000 kcal target at 30% protein is 600 ÷ 4 = 150 g of protein, no calculator required.
Aisha is 32 years old, weighs 75 kg, is 170 cm tall, exercises moderately, and wants to lose fat while keeping her strength. She selects the balanced 30/40/30 split. Her BMR = 10 × 75 + 6.25 × 170 − 5 × 32 − 161 = 750 + 1062.5 − 160 − 161 = 1491.5 ≈ 1492 kcal. Her TDEE = 1491.5 × 1.55 = 2311.8 ≈ 2312 kcal. With the 15% deficit for fat loss, her target is 2312 × 0.85 = 1965.2 ≈ 1965 kcal.
Her macros: protein = 1965 × 0.30 ÷ 4 = 589.5 ÷ 4 = 147 g (2.0 g/kg, right in the muscle-preserving zone); carbs = 1965 × 0.40 ÷ 4 = 786 ÷ 4 = 196 g; fat = 1965 × 0.30 ÷ 9 = 589.5 ÷ 9 = 66 g. She splits this across four meals: about 37 g protein, 49 g carbs, and 16 g fat per meal. A sample day: Greek yogurt with oats and berries at breakfast, chicken rice bowls at lunch and dinner, and a whey-and-banana shake after training.
At a 347 kcal daily deficit (2312 − 1965), Aisha can expect roughly 0.3 kg of fat loss per week, about 1.2 kg per month, before any metabolic adaptation. She weighs herself daily and watches the weekly average; if it stalls for three weeks, she will first verify her activity level choice, then trim 100 kcal from carbs rather than touching protein. After losing 4 kg she re-runs the calculator, because her new 71 kg body has a lower TDEE and her old macros would now be maintenance.
Tom is the 70 kg man from the default example, maintaining at 2585 kcal, but he wants to try a ketogenic diet for three months. He switches the split to Keto (20/5/75) while keeping everything else identical. His calorie target stays 2585, but the grams transform: protein = 2585 × 0.20 ÷ 4 = 517 ÷ 4 = 129 g; carbs = 2585 × 0.05 ÷ 4 = 129.25 ÷ 4 = 32 g; fat = 2585 × 0.75 ÷ 9 = 1938.75 ÷ 9 = 215 g.
Compare the two days side by side. Balanced Tom eats 194 g protein, 259 g carbs, 86 g fat. Keto Tom eats 129 g protein, 32 g carbs, 215 g fat, the same 2585 calories, but his plate looks entirely different: eggs and avocado instead of oatmeal, salmon and olive oil instead of rice bowls, and virtually no bread, fruit, or starchy vegetables. His 32 g of carbs must cover all vegetables and any incidental carbs, which requires careful tracking.
The practical lesson is that the calorie target is set by the goal (maintain), while the split is a behavioral tool. Tom’s experiment will answer a personal question, does he adhere better and feel better on high-fat or balanced eating, because the best diet is the one he follows. He keeps protein at 129 g (1.8 g/kg), enough to protect muscle, and he knows that if keto proves miserable, he can return to 30/40/30 at the same 2585 kcal without changing his weight trajectory at all. Pair macro targets with our Calorie Calculator when setting the overall intake goal.
1. Setting protein too low. The classic error is accepting a split that lands protein under 1.6 g/kg while training hard. At 70 kg that means anything below ~112 g risks muscle loss during a diet. If your split gives you 90 g of protein, raise the protein percentage first and take the calories from carbs or fat, not from your deficit.
2. Choosing an extreme split you cannot sustain. Keto’s 5% carbs or a 50%-fat bulking split works on paper, but a plan you abandon in week three delivers zero results. Pick the least restrictive split that still hits your protein target; adherence beats optimization every time.
3. Never recalculating. Your TDEE falls as you lose weight, roughly 20–30 kcal per kilogram lost. Someone who dieted from 85 kg to 75 kg on the original macros is now eating at maintenance and wondering why the scale stopped. Re-run the calculator every 4–6 weeks or every 3–4 kg.
4. Logging sloppily, then blaming the numbers. Eyeballing portions, forgetting cooking oils (120 kcal per tablespoon), and logging “one chicken breast” as a fixed 150 g when it ranges from 120–250 g can erase a 300 kcal deficit invisibly. Weigh food for two weeks to calibrate your eye; most people are shocked.
5. Hitting macros with junk and ignoring fiber and micronutrients. Technically, 150 g of protein from pastries and shakes “fits your macros,” but 25–35 g of daily fiber, vegetables, and varied whole foods control hunger, digestion, and health markers that pure macro math misses. Build macros from real food first, then fit treats into the remaining budget.
This page provides a free macro calculator using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for BMR (men: 10×kg + 6.25×cm − 5×age + 5; women: same − 161), TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier (1.2–1.9), goal adjustment (×0.85 lose, ×1.10 gain), and macro grams = (target kcal × macro %) ÷ 4 (protein/carbs) or 9 (fat). Worked examples: a 30-year-old 70 kg, 178 cm moderately active man maintaining weight at 30/40/30 gets BMR 1668, TDEE 2585, and 194 g protein / 259 g carbs / 86 g fat; a 28-year-old 65 kg, 165 cm lightly active woman losing weight at 40/30/30 gets BMR 1380, TDEE 1898, target 1613, and 161 g protein / 121 g carbs / 54 g fat. Practical cases cover a 75 kg woman’s fat-loss plan (1965 kcal: 147/196/66 g) and a ketogenic comparison (2585 kcal: 129/32/215 g). The page explains macronutrient roles, thermic effect of food, and five common macro-tracking mistakes.
Roughly 1.6–2.2 g per kg of body weight for active people (a 70 kg person: ~112–154 g).
Higher protein preserves muscle in a deficit — 35–40% protein works well for most dieters.
Calories determine weight change; macros determine what that weight is (fat vs muscle).
40% of calories from protein, 30% from carbs, 30% from fat. At 2,000 kcal that’s 200 g protein, 150 g carbs and ~67 g fat.
It’s the most validated BMR formula, typically within ±10% of measured metabolic rate.
Pick the level that matches your real weekly routine: Sedentary 1.2 (little exercise), Light 1.375 (1–3 days/week), Moderate 1.55 (3–5 days/week), Active 1.725 (6–7 days/week), Very active 1.9 (physical job plus training). Most people overestimate: for a BMR of 1668 kcal, Moderate gives 2585 kcal while Active gives 2877 kcal, a 292 kcal daily difference that can erase a fat-loss deficit. When in doubt, choose the lower level and adjust after two weeks of weight-trend data.
Multiply your calorie target by the macro’s decimal percentage, then divide by the macro’s calories per gram: 4 for protein, 4 for carbs, 9 for fat. Example: on a 2000 kcal target with 30% protein, that’s 2000 × 0.30 = 600 kcal from protein, and 600 ÷ 4 = 150 g of protein. For 25% fat: 2000 × 0.25 = 500 kcal, and 500 ÷ 9 ≈ 56 g of fat.
Usually not. Your TDEE already includes your activity level through the multiplier (1.2–1.9), so adding a workout’s calories on top double-counts them. Only eat back exercise calories if the session was far beyond your selected level, for example a 3-hour hike on a ‘Light’ day, and even then add back only about half the estimate, since trackers and machines typically overstate burn by 20–40%.
Also try our Calorie Calculator, BMR Calculator, BMI Calculator and Body Fat Calculator — or browse all Fitness & Health Calculators.
Cite this page: Macro Calculator. SigmaCalculator.net. Available at: https://sigmacalculator.net/fitness-health-calculators/macro-calculator/