Your exact macros for
every goal

What are macros?

Macronutrients are the three main nutrients that provide your body with energy: protein (4 calories per gram), carbohydrates (4 calories per gram), and fat (9 calories per gram). Every food you eat is made up of some combination of these three. When you "track macros," you're monitoring how many grams of each you consume daily.

Step 1 — Calculate your TDEE

Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a day, accounting for your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and physical activity. This is your maintenance level — eating this amount keeps your weight exactly the same.

The most accurate way to calculate TDEE is using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which factors in your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level. Our calculator above does this automatically.

Step 2 — Set a caloric deficit

To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. A deficit of 20% below your TDEE is the sweet spot for most people — aggressive enough to see results, but moderate enough to preserve muscle and maintain energy levels. For example, if your TDEE is 2,200 calories, your weight loss target would be around 1,760 calories per day.

Avoid cutting calories too aggressively. Deficits larger than 25–30% tend to cause muscle loss, fatigue, hormonal disruption, and are very difficult to sustain.

Step 3 — Set your macro split

For weight loss, a macro split of 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fat works well for most people. Here's why each matters:

Step 4 — Track consistently

Use a food tracking app like MyFitnessPal or Cronometer to log your meals daily. Weigh your food with a kitchen scale for the first few weeks until you can accurately eyeball portions. The goal isn't perfection — hitting 90% of your targets consistently beats hitting 100% twice a week.

Step 5 — Recalculate every 4 weeks

As you lose weight, your TDEE decreases because your body is smaller and requires less energy. Recalculate your macros every 4 weeks using your new weight to make sure you're still in an appropriate deficit. Our calculator makes this quick and easy.

The minimum vs. the optimal

The official Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein is just 0.36g per pound of bodyweight (0.8g per kg). However, this represents the bare minimum to prevent deficiency in sedentary people — not the optimal amount for someone who exercises or wants to improve their body composition.

For active individuals, research consistently shows that significantly higher protein intakes produce better results for muscle retention, fat loss, and recovery.

Protein recommendations by goal

Why is protein so important?

Protein does far more than just build muscle. It plays a critical role in almost every process in your body. From a body composition standpoint, here's why it matters so much:

Muscle preservation: During a caloric deficit, your body can break down muscle tissue for energy. Eating enough protein signals your body to preserve muscle and burn fat instead — a process called muscle protein synthesis.

Satiety: Protein is the most filling macronutrient. High-protein meals significantly reduce hunger hormones like ghrelin and increase satiety hormones like peptide YY, making it much easier to stick to a caloric deficit without feeling deprived.

Thermic effect: Your body burns 20–30% of protein calories just through the process of digesting and metabolizing it. This is significantly higher than carbs (5–10%) or fat (0–3%), meaning high-protein diets have a modest but real metabolic advantage.

Best high-protein foods

Getting enough protein is much easier when you know which foods are the most efficient sources:

Can you eat too much protein?

For healthy individuals, research shows that very high protein intakes — even up to 1.5g per pound of bodyweight — are safe and well-tolerated. The main risk of eating too much protein is simply that it displaces other nutrients. The idea that high protein intake damages kidneys has been studied extensively and is only relevant for people with pre-existing kidney disease.

You need a caloric surplus

Muscle tissue cannot be built from nothing — it requires energy. To gain muscle, you need to eat more calories than you burn, giving your body the raw materials it needs for growth and repair. This is called a caloric surplus.

A modest surplus of 10% above your TDEE is ideal for most people. This is aggressive enough to support muscle growth while minimizing fat gain. Larger surpluses ("dirty bulking") result in significantly more fat gain without meaningfully faster muscle growth.

Optimal macro split for muscle gain

When building muscle, your macro split shifts to support training performance and recovery:

Protein (30% of calories): Aim for 0.8–1g per pound of bodyweight. This provides more than enough amino acids for maximum muscle protein synthesis. Going higher than 1g/lb doesn't produce additional muscle gains.

Carbohydrates (45% of calories): Carbs are your muscles' primary fuel source during resistance training. Higher carb intake replenishes glycogen, improves workout performance, and supports recovery. This is the biggest difference between a muscle gain diet and a weight loss diet.

Fat (25% of calories): Fat supports testosterone and other anabolic hormone production. Keep fat at a minimum of 20–25% — dropping too low can suppress the hormones that drive muscle growth.

Meal timing for muscle growth

While total daily intake matters most, strategic meal timing can optimize muscle protein synthesis:

Pre-workout (1–2 hours before): A meal containing protein and carbohydrates fuels your workout and begins the muscle-building process. Something like chicken and rice or a protein shake with a banana works well.

Post-workout (within 2 hours): The post-workout window is when your muscles are most receptive to nutrients. A meal with 30–50g of protein and a moderate amount of carbs accelerates recovery and muscle repair.

Before bed: A slow-digesting protein like casein (found in cottage cheese and Greek yogurt) before sleep provides a steady stream of amino acids during the overnight fast — one of the longest periods your body goes without food.

How fast can you realistically build muscle?

Natural muscle gain is slower than most people expect. Research suggests the following approximate rates for drug-free individuals eating and training optimally:

Common muscle gain nutrition mistakes

Not eating enough: The most common mistake. If you're not gaining weight over a 2–3 week period, you're not eating enough. Add 200 calories and reassess.

Not enough protein: Consistently falling short on protein is the second biggest mistake. Even in a caloric surplus, inadequate protein limits muscle growth significantly.

Eating too much (dirty bulking): Eating 500–1,000 calories over TDEE doesn't build muscle faster — it just adds fat that you'll need to diet off later. A 10% surplus is all you need.

Inconsistency: Muscle is built over months and years of consistent training and eating. Alternating between aggressive bulks and cuts every few weeks produces far worse results than a steady, sustained approach.