The Macro Calculator estimates how many grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat you should eat each day to reach your goal. Enter your details below and choose a diet plan.
The macro calculator tells you how many grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat to eat each day to reach your goal, whether that is losing fat, gaining muscle, or maintaining your current weight. "Macros" is short for macronutrients - the three nutrients that supply all of the energy (calories) in your diet. While a calorie calculator tells you how much to eat, a macro calculator tells you what to eat, breaking your daily calorie target into the right balance of protein, carbs, and fat. This calculator first estimates your daily calorie needs from your age, gender, height, weight, activity level, and goal, then splits those calories into macronutrient targets using several popular diet plans.
Macronutrients are the nutrients your body needs in large amounts to function and produce energy. There are three of them, and each provides a specific number of calories per gram:
Because protein and carbohydrates each provide 4 calories per gram while fat provides 9, the same number of grams of fat contains more than twice the calories. This is why shifting macros around changes the gram amounts even when total calories stay the same.
The calculator follows three steps:
The Mifflin-St Jeor equations are:
Men: BMR = 10W + 6.25H − 5A + 5
Women: BMR = 10W + 6.25H − 5A − 161
where W is weight in kilograms, H is height in centimeters, and A is age in years. The result is multiplied by your activity factor (1.2 for sedentary up to 1.9 for extra active) to get TDEE.
Macros only matter in the context of total calories. To maintain your weight, you eat at your TDEE. To lose weight, you eat below it; to gain weight, you eat above it. Because one pound of body fat stores roughly 3,500 calories, the goal options translate to predictable daily adjustments:
Avoid going too low: very aggressive deficits can cost you muscle and make a diet hard to sustain. Most people do best with a moderate deficit and adequate protein.
This calculator offers four preset macro splits plus a custom option. Each takes your calorie target and divides it differently:
The recommended ranges shown beside each macro are based on the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges and guidelines from organizations including the American Dietetic Association, the CDC, the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine, and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Protein needs vary with activity and goals. The Recommended Dietary Allowance is about 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight for sedentary adults, but active individuals, athletes, and those in a calorie deficit benefit from considerably more - often 1.2 to 2.2 grams per kilogram - to preserve and build muscle. Higher protein also helps control appetite. The High Protein plan in this calculator pushes protein toward the upper end of the healthy range, which is a smart choice when you are dieting and want to hold on to lean mass.
Carbohydrates typically make up the largest portion of a balanced diet because they are the body's main fuel, particularly for the brain and intense exercise. Prioritize complex, fiber-rich carbs such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains over refined sugars. Dietary fat should not be cut too low, since it is essential for hormones and vitamin absorption; emphasize unsaturated fats from sources like olive oil, nuts, seeds, and fish. The calculator also flags sensible upper limits for added sugar and saturated fat, both of which are best kept to roughly 10% of total calories or less.
There is no single best ratio - it depends on your goals, preferences, and how your body responds. A balanced split works well for most people, while higher protein helps when dieting or building muscle, and lower carb suits those who prefer steadier energy. The most effective plan is one you can stick to consistently.
No. Treat the numbers as targets to aim for, not strict rules. Getting reasonably close most days - especially on protein and total calories - is what drives results. Small daily variation is completely normal.
For weight change, total calories are the primary driver. Macros determine the quality of that weight change - adequate protein helps ensure weight you lose comes from fat and weight you gain comes from muscle. Both matter, but calories come first.
This calculator's carbohydrate target includes all carbs, sugar and fiber alike. Some low-carb dieters track "net carbs" (total carbs minus fiber), but for most people simply meeting an adequate fiber intake and hitting total carbs is sufficient.
Recalculate whenever your weight changes by about 10 pounds (4-5 kg), your activity level shifts, or your goal changes. As you lose or gain weight, your calorie needs change, so your macro targets should be updated to match.
No. All calculations run entirely in your browser, and nothing you enter is uploaded or saved to any server, so your data stays private.
This Macro Calculator is provided for educational and general informational purposes and is not medical or nutritional advice. Individual needs vary, and athletes, pregnant or nursing women, and people with medical conditions should consult a doctor or registered dietitian before making significant dietary changes.