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Macro Calculator

Protein, Carb and Fat Grams for Balanced, Keto and High-Protein Splits

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How the Macro Calculator works

This macro calculator turns your daily calorie needs into targets for protein, carbohydrate and fat in grams. It estimates maintenance calories from your age, sex, height, weight and activity, adjusts for losing, keeping or gaining weight, then applies a balanced, low-carb, high-protein or keto split and shows how that divides across meals.

Macronutrients are the three nutrients that supply calories. Protein and carbohydrate each provide 4 kcal per gram and fat provides 9 kcal per gram. Tracking grams of each, rather than calories alone, helps keep muscle while dieting, fuel training and keep meals filling.

How the macro calculator works

Maintenance calories come from the Mifflin-St Jeor formula times your activity multiplier. The goal adds −500, 0 or +300 kcal. Each macro's grams are then target calories × its percentage ÷ its calories per gram: protein grams = kcal × protein % ÷ 4, carbs grams = kcal × carb % ÷ 4 and fat grams = kcal × fat % ÷ 9.

First example. A moderately active 30-year-old man, 180 cm and 80 kg, maintains on 2,759 kcal. To lose weight he eats 2,259 kcal; on the balanced split that is 169 g protein, 226 g carbs and 75 g fat.

Second example. On 2,000 kcal of keto, protein is 2,000 × 0.25 ÷ 4 = 125 g, carbs 2,000 × 0.05 ÷ 4 = 25 g and fat 2,000 × 0.70 ÷ 9 = 156 g.

How many grams of protein, carbs and fat should I eat? It depends on your calories and split. The table below covers common targets for the balanced and high-protein plans.

Daily macros in grams by calorie target

Calories Balanced protein Balanced carbs Balanced fat High-protein protein High-protein carbs High-protein fat
1,400 105 140 47 140 122 39
1,500 113 150 50 150 131 42
1,600 120 160 53 160 140 44
1,700 128 170 57 170 149 47
1,800 135 180 60 180 158 50
1,900 143 190 63 190 166 53
2,000 150 200 67 200 175 56
2,100 158 210 70 210 184 58
2,200 165 220 73 220 193 61
2,300 173 230 77 230 201 64
2,400 180 240 80 240 210 67
2,500 188 250 83 250 219 69
2,600 195 260 87 260 227 72
2,700 203 270 90 270 236 75
2,800 210 280 93 280 245 78
2,900 218 290 97 290 254 81
3,000 225 300 100 300 263 83
3,100 233 310 103 310 271 86
3,200 240 320 107 320 280 89
3,300 248 330 110 330 289 92

Tips and pitfalls

FAQ

What are macros?

Macros, short for macronutrients, are protein, carbohydrate and fat, the three parts of food that provide energy. Alcohol also provides calories, 7 per gram, but is not counted as a macro. Tracking macros means hitting a gram target for each instead of only a calorie total.

Which macro split is best for weight loss?

Any split that keeps you in a calorie deficit will produce weight loss. Higher-protein splits tend to work better in practice because protein is filling and helps preserve muscle. Pick the split you can stick to, since adherence matters more than the exact percentages.

How do I calculate macros by hand?

Multiply your calorie target by each percentage, then divide by calories per gram. For 1,800 kcal at 40% carbs: 1,800 × 0.40 = 720 kcal, divided by 4 is 180 g. Do the same for protein with 4 kcal per gram and fat with 9.

What are good keto macros?

A standard ketogenic diet gets about 70% of calories from fat, 25% from protein and 5% from carbs, which usually means 20 to 30 g of net carbs a day. Staying under that carb level is what matters most for ketosis; fat simply fills the remaining calories.

Should macros change on training days?

Some people eat more carbs on hard training days and fewer on rest days, keeping protein steady. This carb cycling can help performance, but the weekly average is what drives weight change. For most people, the same targets every day are simpler and work just as well.

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