Macro Formulas & Worksheet

01

Macro Math 101

Every gram of protein, carbs, and fat carries a fixed calorie value. This is where your targets come from.

Protein

4 calories per gram

Carbohydrates

4 calories per gram

Fat

9 calories per gram

Fiber

A type of carbohydrate — counts toward total carb grams, target roughly 14g per 1,000 calories consumed

Why this matters: Fat has more than double the calories per gram of protein or carbs. This is why small amounts of oil, nut butter, or dressing add up fast — and why "healthy" foods can still blow a deficit if you're not tracking gram amounts.

02

How Your Macros Are Calculated

The same four-step formula that powers the interactive calculator — shown in full.

Step 1 — Calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)

Using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate widely-used formula for estimating the calories your body burns at complete rest:

Men: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) + 5
Women: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) − 161

Step 2 — Calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)

Multiply your BMR by an activity factor:

Sedentary (desk job, little exercise): BMR × 1.2
Lightly active (light exercise 1–3 days/week): BMR × 1.375
Moderately active (moderate exercise 3–5 days/week): BMR × 1.55
Very active (hard exercise 6–7 days/week): BMR × 1.725

Step 3 — Adjust for your goal

Muscle gain (surplus): TDEE + 10–15%
Maintenance: TDEE, no adjustment
Fat loss (deficit): TDEE − 15–20%

Step 4 — Set your macros from your final calorie target

Protein: 0.8–1.1g per pound of bodyweight (upper end of the range on a cut, to protect muscle)
Fat: 0.3–0.4g per pound of bodyweight (keep at or above ~20% of total calories)
Carbs: remaining calories after protein and fat are set
Fiber: ~14g per 1,000 calories consumed

03

Your Worksheet

Do the math by hand, or use it to double-check the interactive calculator. Type right into the fields below.

Bodyweight (lb)

Goal Weight (lb)

Height

Age

BMR

Activity Factor

TDEE

Goal (+/− %)

Final Calorie Target

Protein (g)

Carbs (g)

Fat (g)

04

How to Track Your Macros

Your numbers only work if you actually log them. Here's how, day one.

Getting set up (MyFitnessPal or similar)

Download a tracking app — MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, or MacroFactor all work. Create a custom goal and enter the protein, carb, fat, and fiber numbers from your worksheet or calculator.
Log food before you eat it, not after. This lets you adjust portions in real time instead of realizing at 9pm that you're 60g over on carbs.
Use a digital food scale for the first 2–3 weeks. Weigh proteins and carb sources raw, before cooking, for the most accurate numbers — cooking changes water weight and throws off gram-based entries.
Use the barcode scanner for packaged foods and save your regular meals as favorites or recipes so repeat meals take seconds to log, not minutes.

How long you need to do this

Plan on weighing and logging everything for 2–3 weeks. That's roughly how long it takes to build an accurate internal sense of portion sizes — what 6oz of chicken actually looks like on your plate, what a real tablespoon of peanut butter is versus what you've been eyeballing.

After that window, you can loosen up on weighing everything and rely more on visual portions — but if progress stalls or your goal changes, go back to the scale for a couple of weeks to recalibrate. Precision is a tool you pick back up when you need it, not a permanent requirement.

Don't chase perfection. Hitting your targets within 5–10g on any given day is a win. The goal is a consistent weekly average, not a flawless daily number.