How Do You Determine Your Macros?
A macro calculator can help you determine your specific macro needs.
Based on your calorie needs, fitness level, and other personal characteristics, you can determine how many grams of each macronutrient you should aim to consume per day.
Why Should You Follow a Macro Diet for Weight Loss?
You will lose weight as long as you eat fewer calories than you expend each day.
The weight loss process can feel easier or harder depending on what you eat.
Your choices also affect your body composition, including how much body fat and muscle mass you lose or maintain.
Macronutrients are a great way to solve a lot of different concerns all at the same time.
Macros are the calories you get from food, which are divided into three nutrient groups: protein, fat, and carbs. Each group has different health benefits and contains a different number of calories (protein has 4 calories per gram, carbs have 4 calories per gram, and fat has 9 calories per gram).
A macro diet can help you lose fat, build muscle, and achieve better results overall compared to calorie control alone.
What Is the Best Macro Ratio for Fat Loss?
Each macro is used a little differently by the body, and understanding how each one supports your daily health and fitness needs is key:
- Carbs are your preferred source of quick energy, and excess carbs can be stored in your muscles for fuel or as body fat.
- Fat is your source of long-term energy, used as immediate fuel or stored as body fat.
- Protein is the builder macro, used to build and maintain a majority of the cells throughout your body, including your DNA, bones, and muscle mass – any excess protein can be used as energy or stored as body fat.
Macro calculator basics: what are macros?
So, you know more than you think when it comes to macros! ‘Macros' are an abbreviation for ‘macronutrients', which are the three main nutrient groups that humans need.
- Fats
- Carbohydrates
- Protein
You can use macros to help you lose, maintain, or gain weight, depending on whether you're eating more or less than you're burning each day.
This infographic provides a handy reminder of which foods fall into each category.
Remember that not many foods contain only one macronutrient. A lot of them consist of two or three macronutrients in different proportions. As you start tracking your macros with this weight loss calculator, you'll become more familiar with this concept. But it's good to be aware of it before you start eating a lot of cheese.
Counting Macros for Weight Loss
Although knowing your macros is important, it is not the only thing you need to do to be healthy. You also need to make sure that the food you are eating is nutritious and fits into your macros. This can be done by meal planning ahead of time.
How Many Carbs Do You Need to Lose Weight?
The debate over the best way to lose weight by controlling carbohydrate intake has been going on for decades, with different experts advocating for low-fat or low-carb diets. In recent years, the keto diet has taken the low-carb approach even further, restricting carb intake to less than 5% of total calories.
The amount of carbohydrates recommended by popular diets varies greatly. According to the US Dietary Guidelines, Carbohydrates should make up 45% to 65% of total calorie intake, but other popular diets recommended intake as low as 20g of carbohydrates per day.
Does cutting carbs help people lose weight? If so, how many carbs should a person eat?
The argument about whether carbs make you fat is not relevant, because weight loss occurs when you eat fewer calories than you burn. Low carb diets may have some advantages over other macronutrient diets when it comes to weight loss.
Many people find it easier to stick to a low-carb diet, which may be one reason low-carb diets work so well (2). While there is research to support both low-carb and low-fat diets, many people find it easier to stick to a low-carb diet, which may be one reason low-carb diets work so well.
The science shows that everyone has different dietary needs. We need more individual approaches to dieting, looking at what variables we should be guided by.
Weight loss calculator: what's the difference between calories and macros?
Most weight-loss plans involve reducing the number of calories you consume each day, which has proven effective for many people. However, it's not just about the quantity of food you eat each day, but also the quality of the food you eat.
If you are following a CICO diet, then whether you eat 20 calories of kale or 20 calories of chocolate is the same to your body.
A calorie-focused diet may allow you to eat less healthy “junk” food and still stay within your calorie amount for the day. However, you may not get enough protein and may eat more fat than necessary.
How Much Protein Do You Need to Lose Weight?
Protein is the most unique macronutrient because it is not a preferred source of energy and is the least likely to be stored as body fat. Protein also helps maintain lean muscle, takes more energy to digest (more thermogenic than the other macros), and is thought to help control hunger and reduce cravings.
Although more research is needed to determine an exact amount, it seems that consuming more protein may help with weight loss. The amount of protein a person needs depends on many factors, such as body composition and fitness level. The government's recommended amount of protein (0.36-0.45 grams per pound of body weight) may not be enough for some people.
According to some studies, the minimum intake of protein should be 0.45 to 0.55 grams per pound of body weight. Some studies argue that a higher intake of protein, at 0.6 to 0.72 grams per pound, and meals providing at least 25 to 30 grams of protein, are associated with decreases in appetite and better weight management overall. Studies that look at athletes who are cutting calories suggest that intakes of protein as high as 1 to 1.5 grams per pound minimize their loss of lean mass.
How Much Fat Should You Eat to Lose Weight?
Dietary fat is necessary for good health, but because it has the most calories per serving, it can be easy to overdo it.
How much fat you need to eat to lose weight depends on the person. Some people are good at using fat for energy and do well on a higher fat diet, while others prefer more carbs – this is determined by your fitness needs and how much lean body mass you have.
Macro calculator: Do macros really work for weight loss?
If you want to lose weight, you have to be in a calorie deficit. This weight loss calculator can help you figure out how many calories you need to eat in order to lose weight.
The experts agree that one of the best and simplest ways to lose weight is to have a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit occurs when a person burns more calories than they consume. Most weight loss macro calculators have a calorie deficit built in to their recommendations.
If you're looking to lose weight, calculating your macros may be a more effective solution than counting calories. This is because it focuses on a balanced diet, rather than just the overall calorie intake. This means you're more likely to be meeting your body's nutritional needs and feeling fuller for longer.
How to calculate your macros using WH‘s macro calculator
This macronutrient calculator provides a detailed explanation of the process, but if you need a more comprehensive understanding, check out the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1. Work out your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Your BMR is how many calories your body burns in a day when you're not doing anything. If you were to stay in a room and not move for a whole day, this is how many calories you'd burn.
To find your BMR, use the following Harris-Benedict equation:
Your BMR is the amount of energy you burn at rest. The equation for BMR is determined by weight, height, and age.
So, for example, a 128-pound, 5 foot 2, 33-year-old woman would do:
- 655 + (4.35 x 128) + (4.7 x 62) – (4.7 x 33) = 1348.1
- 1348.1 would be her BMR.
Step 2. Decide your activity level
Then, to find out your exact ratios based on your daily activity you multiply your BMR by your average activity level based on the following categories:
- Little or no exercise: 1.2
- Light exercise a few times a week: exercise a few times a week: 1.375
- Moderate exercise 3-5 times a week: 1.55
- Heavy exercise 6-7 times per week: 1.725
If the woman above exercised moderately (three times a week cycling and two yoga classes), her BMR would be 1,348.1 x 1.55 = 2,089.5.
She is then left with a number that represents the amount of calories she would eat in a day.
Step 3. Choose your macro split
If you're keen to stay lean while adding muscle, WH suggests splitting your daily calories into a macronutrient split of:
- 40% protein
- 30% carbohydrates
- 30% fat
This diet provides you with the carbs you need to fuel your workouts, the protein you need to build muscle, and healthy fats to maintain optimal hormone production – all of which are necessary to stay lean.
Step 4. Work out how many grams of each macro you need to eat
More calories does not mean that fat is better for you. In fact, too much fat can lead to health problems like obesity and heart disease. Not all macronutrients are created equally. Protein and carbohydrates provide your body with 4 calories of energy per gram, while fat provides 9 calories per gram. Too much fat can lead to health problems like obesity and heart disease.
To calculate how many grams of each macronutrient you need to consume each day, multiply your total daily calorie intake by 0.4 for protein, 0.3 for carbohydrates, and 0.3 for fat. Then, divide the protein and carbohydrate totals by 4 and the fat total by 9. The resulting numbers represent how many grams of each macronutrient you should eat each day.
This diet consists of 1800 calories with a 40% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and 30% fat ratio.
- Protein = 1800 x 0.4 = 720/4 = 180g
- Carbohydrates = 1800 x 0.3 = 540/4 = 135g
- Fat = 1800 x 0.3 = 540/9= 60g
Step 5. Make it work for you
You don't have to slave away to hit your macros. Something as simple as cooking a protein, carbohydrate and fat source and boxing them up for the next few days can do the trick. For example, roast chicken, quinoa and avocado is a meal that hits each macro, keeps you satiated and tastes delicious.
You can add Greek yogurt and peanut butter to your morning oats to get protein and healthy fats.
If you want to stay within your macronutrient split, using a food diary app like MyFitnessPal is a good idea. The app tracks your intake of each macronutrient and lets you know how much of each you have left for the day.
If you want to eat something outside of your normal diet, it's not a problem. You can just adjust the rest of your food to compensate.
The IIFYM (“If It Fits Your Macros”) Nutrition technique is an easy approach to keep you feeling happy and hitting your goals without sacrificing the occasional treats that keep you sane and ticking over. For more inspiration, check out the #IIFYM hashtag on Instagram for a whole fit community using the nutrition technique.
What is the best macro ratio for fat loss and muscle gain?
This cannot be answered simply, you will need to experiment to find the ideal macros.
Many experts believe that consuming more protein is the key to gaining muscle and preventing muscle loss while trying to lose weight. Consuming a diet that focuses on protein along with resistance training is a great way to lose fat while building muscle.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, if you want to build muscle, you should consume 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (or 0.5 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight) per day.
How do I calculate my macros for belly fat?
Instead, focus on whole-body movements like squats and planks Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed way to lose belly fat. Many people believe that spot reduction of fat is possible, but this is not the case. Rather than focusing on one area, it is important to focus on whole-body movements.
