How Do I Figure Out My Macros? An Ultimate Guide

As a women’s Macro Coach, I’m often asked “what is the best way to lose weight and tone up?” The truth is, there are many effective ways to lose weight but counting macros is among one of the best if you want to meet your health and fitness goals while also building muscle. I think the reason more people aren’t tracking macros is because the question of “how do I figure out my macros?” can be a confusing process for someone new to process.

I was there once too. In this guide, I will walk you through how to figure out your macros. You’ll learn how to calculate your correct macros no matter what your goals are. 

Want more? Download my Free Guide, Macro Tracking for Beginners.

What Are Macros?

Let’s start with the basics. Macro is short for macronutrient. Your body needs macronutrients in large amounts to function properly. 

There are three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates and fat. Each one plays a role in how your body processes the food you eat. With the right macro balance, you can change your body composition. 

But, macro tracking isn’t just for weight loss. It can also be used for other goals like balancing blood sugar, gaining muscle or maintaining a healthy lifestyle after weight loss. 

Let’s take a closer look at the three macronutrients:

Protein

Protein is the building block of muscle. When you exercise, you create small tears in your muscles. Re-fueling with protein after exercise, will repair those tiny tears and essentially help your muscles grow stronger. The more muscle you have, the more fat you’ll burn. 

For this reason, eating enough protein is essential for weight loss. If there is one macronutrient to track, it’s protein. Protein contains four calories per gram. The recommended macro percentage for protein is 25-35 percent of total calories. In my program, we start with 25 percent. 

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy your body uses. Your body converts carbohydrates to glucose, which is what it uses as fuel. Carbohydrates also contain 4 calories per gram. For weight loss, the ideal carbohydrate macros are 40-50 percent of total calories. I use 45 percent. 

Fat

Fat is also a source of energy and is essential for growth, development and vitamin absorption. Fat contains 9 calories per gram. For this reason, fat adds up quickly as a macro. Aim for 25-35 percent of calories from fat for weight loss goals. 

Macros vs Calories

A lot of people think tracking macros is essentially the same as tracking calories. But they’re actually two different things!

Calories are a unit of energy. If you want to lose weight, you can count calories. At a very basic level, for weight loss, you must burn more calories than you consume. However, if you want to change your body composition and build lean muscle to tone up, it’s important to track macros. 

Tracking macros gives you an overall picture of what comprises your calories. If you hit your macro grams consistently, then your macro percentage and calorie needs should also balance out. 

Calculating Macros for Women

Typically, women need fewer calories than men so their macronutrient needs will also be fewer (in grams). This is the only major difference between calculating macros for weight loss for women vs. men. 

Ready to figure out your ideal macronutrient ratio? Keep reading for a step-by-step process you can follow.

Determining Your Nutrition Goals

The first step to answering the question, “How do I figure out my macros?” is to get clear on your fitness and nutrition goals. 

Weight Loss

If you’re calculating macros for weight loss, you will calculate your daily caloric needs using an online calculator. This will change based on your activity level. From there you will calculate your individual macros based on the following recommendations 25-35 percent protein, 40-50 percent carbohydrates and 25-35 percent fat and using the following formula:

Daily Calories per macro = calories per day x percentage of calories from each macronutrient

For example, someone who needs 1400 calories per day would calculate protein intake as follows: (1400 x .25 = 350 calories/day allocated to protein). Repeat this calculation for each macronutrient. 

Next, you’ll need to figure out how many grams of each macronutrient to which the above value equates using the following calculation:

Daily grams per macro = calories from X macronutrient/ calories per gram of the macronutrient. 

Let’s use the protein example from above: (350/4= 87.5 grams of protein per day). Repeat this for each macronutrient. 

Muscle Gain

For muscle gain, similarly, you will track your current caloric needs then calculate your macros at 25-35 percent protein, 40 – 60 percent carbohydrates and 15-25 percent fat using the equations above.

Maintaining Weight

Likewise, for maintaining weight, macros will change accordingly. Use the same calculations. 

Of course, to use these formulas correctly, you need to know your daily caloric needs based on your goals. That’s where the next step comes in.

Calculating Your Macro Needs

If you’re wondering how to figure out your own macros, there are a few ways to do it. First and foremost, you need to calculate your personal caloric needs based on personal data points. 

The most accurate way to do this is by using the Harris-Benedict formula which estimates your basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is essentially the rate of your metabolism when it’s at rest. Once you have your BMR, you need to calculate your active metabolic rate (AMR) which will tell you the number of calories you need to maintain your weight. 

Determining Your Daily Calories

For weight loss, you’ll need to determine your caloric deficit either by decreasing the calories you consume or increasing your physical activity. The best way to lose weight is with a combination of both. 

Of course, these formulas can be rather complicated to do by hand so you may choose to use a calorie calculator to do it for you. 

Using a Macro Calculator

Once you know your caloric intake goal and you select your macro percentages based on your specific goal, you can calculate your macros. Most macro calculators will easily do this for you.

Manual Calculation

You can also do these calculations manually as explained above.

Working with a Macro Coach

Is your head spinning yet? 

If so, you may benefit by working with a Macro Coach, read my post, “What is Macro Coaching?” for more information.

If this all sounds a little confusing, I totally understand. It was confusing to me once too, which kept me from diving in for so long, but once I started, it made more sense. 

However, this is where it can be helpful to have a Macro Coach and also to use a macro tracker that does these calculations for you. 

When I first got started figuring out my macros, I didn’t want to have to do all the math and synthesize all the free information on the Internet. I wanted someone to do it for me – essentially tell me how much of which macro to eat and then I could do it by tracking my meals and their components. 

That’s what a macro coach does. Coaching also builds in accountability and advice as well as feedback from a knowledgeable macro coach for women. 

Macro Ratios for Specific Needs

There are many different reasons for tracking macros, and many life situations that can impact the number of macros you need on a daily basis. Here are a few examples of how your macro needs may change:

Macros for Weight Loss

When you calculate macros for weight loss as per the examples above, you will be operating in a deficit. A deficit is necessary to lose weight, or essentially lose fat. 

Macros for Muscle Building

Calculating macros for muscle building will use the same calculations but the percentages will change as explained above. Typically, you’ll aim to get a higher percentage of protein than is typically needed to maintain weight.

Macros for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

A lot of people wonder if you can track macros while pregnant or breastfeeding and the answer is “yes!’ This will help immensely to ensure you’re getting the right amount of macronutrients for a healthy pregnancy. 

However, keep in mind that you will not be calculating macros for weight loss. Instead, you will calculate macros for weight maintenance and your calories will increase for each trimester of your pregnancy. When breastfeeding, your calories will also increase. 

 

How Do I Figure Out My Macros When Exercising?

Whether or not you exercise, how often and the intensity of your exercise will also change your macronutrient needs. This is because your individual macronutrient and caloric needs are meant to fuel your unique body. Regardless of your fitness and health goals, you need to fuel your body properly to see progress.

Do macros change based on exercise?

Yes, they do. If you’re exercising hard most days (such as intense cardio or weightlifting), then your macronutrient needs will change. While less strenuous exercise like a daily walk or light yoga may not significantly change your macros, it’s still helpful to use a calculator like TRIM’s to know for sure how your regular activity may impact your macros.

How to Track Macros

Figuring out your macros is futile unless you track them consistently. This is where a macro tracker comes in handy. It allows you to input your meals and snacks to get a full picture of how your macros shape up. 

Keep in mind that not all macro trackers are created equal. Most trackers calculate macros by going off of what a food label says. However, the calories depicted on food labels don’t always accurately add up to reflect the number of macros in a food. By law, they’re permitted to have a 20 percent discrepancy so this can skew your results. 

When using a food tracker, however, (which also calculates your calorie and macros for you), the tracker adds up the macros in a food to get the total calories. It calculates carbohydrate content based on net carbs (the carbs your body actually absorbs) and calculates fiber, which accounts for 2 calories per gram. 

I recommend spending a few days to a week just tracking to see how your macros fall to see where you need to focus. Most people notice that 1) They have a hard time hitting the number of calories they actually need (most people are eating too few calories and underestimating their real caloric needs) and 2) their fat is often too high while carbs and protein are too low. 

FAQ About Calculating Macros

These are some questions about figuring out macros that I often get. If you’re still figuring out how to figure out your macros, keep reading for the answers. 

What methods are most accurate for calculating macros for muscle gain?

The percentages above are the recommended percentages to use. There is no one set number but rather a range. You may wish to try different numbers until you find a balance that works for you. 

What are the best macro calculators and trackers?

Most people use My Fitness Pal. It’s the best one if you’re just getting started.

How often should I recalculate my macros?

You should recalculate eery 8-12 weeks for fat loss or whenever you’ve hit a plateau.

Does calculating macros to lose weight really work?

Yes, calculating macros for weight loss really works – but you have to be consistent. Another thing to keep in mind is that it’s not effective to eat first, then track. When you start tracking macros, it’s essential to plan your meals and snacks in advance so you can ensure you’re consuming the right balance of macros. Once you’ve been doing it for some time, then you will intuitively know what to eat to achieve that balance. 

Need Help Calculating Your Macros?

Figuring out your macros can be a rewarding process and dare I say, fun. If you like numbers it can be like a puzzle to figure out how your meals and food choices fall into place. It will most certainly open your eyes to your eating habits and where you need to make adjustments or improvements to meet your goals. 

Happy Tracking!

If you want even more guidance, download my Free Guide, Macros 101: Tracking Macros for Beginners for step-by-step guidance on figuring out your own macros and three sample meal plans for different macro goals.

Learn more about working with me by filling out a contact form here.