Macro Diet Guide: How to Calculate Your Macros

Counting macros — short for macronutrients — means tracking your daily intake of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in grams rather than just counting total calories. This approach, often called IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros), gives you more flexibility in food choices while still hitting your nutritional targets.

Our Macro Calculator splits your daily calories into protein, carbs, and fat based on four popular ratio presets: balanced, low-carb, high-protein, and keto.

Step-by-Step Macro Calculation

First, calculate your TDEE to know your total daily calorie target. Then use the macro calculator to split those calories. For most people, a balanced approach (30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat) works well. Athletes and those doing heavy resistance training often benefit from higher protein — check your specific needs with the Protein Intake Calculator.

Macros for Different Goals

For fat loss, a higher protein ratio helps preserve lean muscle. For endurance athletes, more carbohydrates fuel long training sessions. For keto dieters, very low carbs (5%) with high fat (65%) puts the body into ketosis.

Track your body composition changes with our Body Fat Calculator and Lean Body Mass Calculator to ensure your macros are producing the results you want. If you are strength training, use the One Rep Max Calculator to track strength gains alongside body composition.

Try the Calculator

Put these concepts into practice with our free Macro Calculator. No signup required — just enter your numbers and get instant results.