Calorie & Macro Calculator
Daily calorie target with protein, carbs, and fat breakdown for your goal.
Written by Anil Gautam · Updated
How is the daily calorie target set?
The calculator estimates your basal metabolic rate with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and multiplies it by an activity factor, from 1.2 for Sedentary to 1.9 for Extra active, to get maintenance calories. It then applies your goal: 500 kcal less to lose weight, no change to maintain, or 300 kcal more to gain muscle. Maintenance is shown in the note under the macro boxes. With the starting values (a 30-year-old man, 170 cm, 70 kg, Moderate activity), maintenance is 2,507 kcal, so the targets are 2,007 kcal to lose and 2,807 kcal to gain.
How are calories split into protein, carbs and fat?
Protein and carbohydrate count as 4 kcal per gram and fat as 9. The calculator takes each percentage of the target and divides by those numbers. For 2,507 kcal on Balanced (30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat), 752 kcal of protein is 188 g, 1,003 kcal of carbs is 251 g and 752 kcal of fat is 84 g. Low carb is 35/25/40, High carb 25/55/20 and Keto 20/10/70, always in the order protein, carbs, fat.
Each gram figure is rounded separately, so the three can add back to a few kcal off the target: 188 g, 251 g and 84 g make 2,512 kcal.
Why does my protein target look high or low?
A percentage split ties protein to calories, so the grams rise and fall with your energy needs. On the starting values, 188 g is about 2.7 g per kg of body weight. Switch the goal to Lose weight and the same split gives 151 g, about 2.2 g per kg. A 28-year-old woman of 160 cm and 58 kg with Light activity who picks Lose weight gets 1,259 kcal and 94 g of protein, about 1.6 g per kg, and Low carb raises that to 110 g. Compare the gram figure with your own protein goal before planning meals.
Keto here means 10% of calories from carbohydrate, which is 63 g at 2,507 kcal and 50 g at 2,007 kcal. If your plan sets a daily carb limit in grams, check it against this figure. BMR & TDEE Calculator shows the BMR itself and opens on lightly active, while this tool opens on Moderate, so set the same activity level before comparing the two.