Macro calculator

Macros (macronutrients) are the three nutrients your calories come from: protein, carbs and fat. Two days with the same calories can work out very differently if the split is different. Enough protein helps you keep and build muscle, carbs fuel hard training and you need fat for things like your hormones.

1 g protein = 4 kcal · 1 g carbs = 4 kcal · 1 g fat = 9 kcal

Protein first, because it matters most for your muscles. The amount depends on your weight and your goal. If your BMI is 30 or higher, we use an adjusted weight: the weight at a BMI of 25 plus a third of what you weigh above that, as the European Society for Clinical Nutrition (ESPEN) does, since body fat needs hardly any protein. Then fat, as a share of your calories. What is left goes to carbs.

Example: 2,500 kcal, 80 kg, maintain, 25% fat. Protein: 80 × 1.6 = 128 g (512 kcal). Fat: 25% of 2,500 = 625 kcal, divided by 9 = 69 g. Carbs: 2,500 − 512 − 625 = 1,363 kcal, divided by 4 = 341 g.

When losing weight, the split mainly decides what you lose: with enough protein and strength training you lose mostly fat and less muscle. Protein is also filling, which makes a deficit easier to stick to.

For muscle gain you need enough carbs besides protein to train hard. The rest of the split is mostly about what you enjoy and can keep up: less fat and more carbs or the other way round makes little difference to your results, as long as your calories and protein are right.