Free Macro Calculator
Work out daily amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fat with our free macro calculator. See how your goal and diet preferences change the gram targets, with flexibility to choose foods you enjoy.
Enter your stats and activity, then choose your goal and preferred diet. We'll estimate a Calorie budget and suggest macro amounts to plan around.
How to Read Your Macro Targets
Your result includes a daily calorie target and suggested amounts in grams. We focus on getting enough of each macro while leaving you flexibility to eat foods you enjoy. You don't need to squeeze every meal into a fixed percentage split.
“At least” means a suggested minimum, not an exact amount. Those minimums usually won't add up to your full calorie target. The rest can come from a mix of protein, carbs, and fat within your plan's ranges; it doesn't all have to be carbs. Keto uses a carb limit instead of a minimum in the meal planner.
Turn Your Macros Into Meals
Once you're happy with your goal and diet choice, select Generate Meal Plan below your results. That opens the homepage planner with your calorie and macro targets. Review the number of meals, then use its generate button to get meals and recipes built around those targets.
You can generate a plan without an account. If you already have specific macro targets from a dietitian or want to set your own, create a free account to customize them.
How We Calculate Your Macro Targets
Macros is short for macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. We work out a calorie target first, then suggest amounts of each macro. The numbers below describe our starting rules; diet preferences and the available calories can change the final result.
First, Your Daily Calories
We use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to estimate resting energy use from your age, sex, height, and weight. An activity multiplier estimates maintenance calories. Choosing Lose fat or Build muscle adjusts that target using your selected weekly weight-change rate. The rate is a planning input, not a promised outcome. Our calorie calculator explains this part in more detail.
Protein: Weight, Body Fat, and Your Goal
Protein helps your body build and repair tissues. For athletes, guidance summarized by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements gives a daily range of 1.2–2.0 g/kg (about 0.54–0.91 g/lb). That's a sports-nutrition reference, not a requirement for everyone who uses this calculator.
Here's how our protein starting amounts work:
- Maintain weight: 0.6–0.8 g/lb, with a lower amount at lower activity levels.
- Lose fat: 0.5–0.7 g/lb, scaled up or down with your activity level.
- Build muscle: 0.8–0.82 g/lb (about 1.8 g/kg), before diet and calorie adjustments.
High body fat selects the lower end of these starting ranges; Low selects the upper end. Low, Medium, and High are rough categories, not a measurement of lean mass. This choice affects protein suggestions but doesn't change your calorie estimate. These are suggested minimums, so your meals can provide more. Eggs, fish, tofu, beans, and yogurt are useful options; our protein calculator focuses on daily protein.
Carbs: More Room for an Active Day
Carbs are a major source of energy. We choose a starting minimum from your weight, activity level, and goal. Higher activity settings generally raise it; choosing fat loss lowers it compared with maintenance at the same weight and activity.
For example, at 150 lb (about 68 kg) with Active daily, frequent exercise selected, the initial carb minimum is 45 g for fat loss, 120 g for maintenance, or 225 g for muscle gain. Those are starting minimums, not full-day carb allowances. Oats, rice, potatoes, fruit, and beans can contribute carbs; many of these foods also bring fiber.
Fat: A Minimum That Changes With Your Goal
Fat supplies energy and helps you absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K. Our initial fat minimum is 0.3 g/lb for fat loss (about 0.66 g/kg), or 0.5 g/lb for maintenance or muscle gain (about 1.1 g/kg). At 150 lb, that's 45 g or 75 g per day before adjustments.
These are ETM's planning suggestions; individual needs can differ. Your actual intake can be higher within the plan's ranges. Nuts, olive oil, avocado, and fish are some ways to include fat in your meals.
Why Your Final Numbers Can Differ
Diet presets change some starting amounts. For example, Keto sets a carb cap and raises the fat minimum, while Mediterranean, Vegetarian, and Vegan presets modify protein suggestions. Those are meal-planning choices, not evidence that choosing a different diet changes your body's protein needs.
We also reduce minimums when they would use up the calorie target, check them against the upper limits, and round the results to whole grams. That's why multiplying your weight by one number above may not reproduce your final result. Use the calculator's output as the starting point for your plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I use this macro calculator?
Enter your stats and activity. Choose your units and sex, then enter your height, current weight, and age. Pick a rough body-fat category and your usual activity level. If you're unsure about body fat, Medium is a reasonable starting point.
Submit, then choose your diet and goal. After submitting, choose your preferred diet and Lose fat, Maintain weight, or Build muscle above the results. For weight change, also select a weekly rate. Your targets update as you change these choices.
Review your targets. Check your daily calories and suggested macro amounts. Use Change Settings to edit your stats or activity level.
Make a meal plan. Generate Meal Plan opens the homepage planner with your targets. Review the number of meals, then use its generate button to create meals and recipes.
Which activity level should I choose?
Include your whole day: a workout before eight hours at a desk is different from a workout after a day of physical work. Choose the description closest to your normal routine, including walking and time on your feet. The highest settings are for consistently demanding activity. If you need help comparing the options, our TDEE calculator has a fuller guide.
What is the difference between macros and calories?
Calories measure energy; macros describe the protein, carbs, and fat supplying it. As a general conversion, protein and carbs provide about 4 Calories per gram and fat about 9 (USDA). For example, 25 g of protein contributes about 100 Calories. A food with 25 g of protein may have more calories overall because it also contains fat or carbs.
What is the best macro ratio for weight loss?
There isn’t one ratio we recommend for everyone. In the DIETFITS trial, 609 adults with overweight or obesity were assigned to healthy low-fat or low-carb diets; average weight loss did not differ significantly after 12 months.
Start with a calorie target and food choices you can maintain. Choose Lose fat above to get suggestions, or use our calorie deficit calculator for more on setting a weight-loss target.
Why use grams instead of macro percentages?
Grams make it easier to keep a useful amount of protein while adjusting calories. For example, 100 g of protein supplies about 400 Calories: 20% of a 2,000-Calorie day, but 25% of a 1,600-Calorie day. The amount of protein hasn’t changed; only the percentage has. This is an illustration, not a recommendation that everyone eat 100 g. We use gram-based ranges to leave room for different combinations of meals.
How do these protein suggestions compare with research?
The adult protein RDA is 0.8 g/kg per day (about 0.36 g/lb), a reference intended to cover nearly all healthy adults’ requirements, rather than a target for maximizing muscle gain (AHRQ review of protein requirements). Training and dieting research asks different questions.
For example, a four-week trial by Longland and colleagues found greater lean-mass gain with 2.4 versus 1.2 g/kg of protein in young men doing intensive exercise during a large calorie deficit. That specific setting doesn’t establish a universal target or a ceiling on useful protein.
Our suggested minimums don’t reproduce a sports study’s diet. If you’re training hard during weight loss, a sports dietitian can help you set a protein target suited to that workload.
Do I have to hit my macros exactly every day?
No. These are planning estimates, so there’s little value in chasing the last gram. Aim to meet your suggested minimums while staying close to your calorie target, and follow any limits that apply to your chosen diet. If meeting your targets regularly feels difficult, adjust the meals or get help reviewing the targets rather than treating each day as a pass or fail.
How accurate is this calculator, and when should I recalculate?
It gives you a starting estimate, not a measurement of your metabolism or nutrient needs. Follow your targets for a few weeks and look at your average weight trend alongside hunger, energy, and training recovery. Update your inputs when your weight or usual activity changes meaningfully. You don’t need to recalculate for every daily fluctuation.
What is IIFYM? Can I eat anything that fits my macros?
IIFYM means “If It Fits Your Macros”: choosing foods that fit your daily macro targets instead of following a fixed menu. It leaves room for foods you enjoy, but macro totals don’t tell you everything about a diet. Include a variety of foods that also provide fiber, vitamins, and minerals; hitting three numbers alone doesn’t cover all of that.
Health & Fitness Calculators
Looking at a different part of your plan? Choose the calculator that answers your next question.
- Calorie Calculator
- Choose a daily intake for your goal, check how it works for you, and turn it into meals.
- TDEE Calculator
- Estimate what you burn in a typical day and understand your maintenance Calories.
- BMR Calculator
- Estimate the energy your body uses at rest, before activity and a weight-change goal.
- Calorie Deficit Calculator
- See how your selected weight-loss pace changes your daily intake target.
- Protein Intake Calculator
- Get a daily protein suggestion and find ways to reach it with everyday foods.