Free Tool · Nutrition
Macro Calculator
Turn a calorie target into daily grams of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. We scale protein with bodyweight and goal, hold fat at 25 percent of calories, and let carbs fill the rest.
Protein scales with bodyweight: 1.0 grams per pound for maintain. Fat is 25 percent of total calories. Carbs fill the rest.
How it works
Protein first, fat second, carbs fill the rest
Protein is the anchor of any flexible diet. It is the most satiating macro, the most thermic to digest, and the one that protects lean mass in a deficit. We set it per pound of bodyweight: 1.1 g/lb for cutting, 1.0 g/lb for maintenance, 0.9 g/lb for bulking. These ranges come from the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand.
Fat is set at 25 percent of total calories, which keeps every diet above the floor required for hormone health (roughly 0.3 g/lb) while leaving plenty of room for carbs. If you prefer higher-fat eating, push fat to 30 to 35 percent and pull carbs down to match.
Carbohydrates fill the remaining calorie budget. They are the primary fuel for hard training and the macro that moves most when you shift between cut, maintain, and bulk. A 500-calorie deficit is almost always a 125-gram carb reduction.
Calories per gram
The math behind every label
Frequently asked questions
Questions we hear a lot
Macronutrients are the three calorie-containing nutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Protein and carbs each supply 4 calories per gram; fat supplies 9 calories per gram. Splitting your daily calorie target into specific macro grams produces better body composition outcomes than tracking only total calories.
For most lifters chasing muscle growth or fat loss with muscle retention, 0.8 to 1.1 grams per pound of bodyweight per day is the evidence-backed range. Cutting? Err higher, 1.0 to 1.2 g/lb. Maintaining? Around 1.0 g/lb. Bulking? 0.8 to 0.9 g/lb is plenty because muscle protein synthesis plateaus.
Fat supports hormone production and should not drop below about 0.3 g/lb of bodyweight. Most sustainable flexible diets land around 25 to 35 percent of total calories from fat. We default to 25 percent to leave more calories for carbs, which fuel training performance.
After protein and fat are set, carbohydrates fill the remaining calorie budget. This is why carbs swing up and down with your calorie target more than the other two macros. Higher calories means more carbs; deficit means fewer.
No. This calculator follows standard flexible-dieting guidelines with ~25 percent calories from fat. If you follow keto or a specific low-carb protocol, swap fat and carb percentages manually after reading the results.
The framework is evidence-based, but individual response varies. Use the output as a starting point and adjust after 2 to 3 weeks based on scale weight, waist measurement, and training performance. If lifts are dropping, raise carbs. If body fat is climbing during a cut, check adherence before changing the plan.