Macro Calculator

Splits a daily calorie figure into grams of carbohydrate, protein and fat. It also turns the grams on a food label into calories and adds up the macros of the foods you eat in a day.

How to use

1. On "Split calories", enter the "Daily calorie target" and the "Meals per day".
2. Choose "By percentage" and set the three shares with the sliders or the number boxes. The result appears when they add up to 100%.
3. To fix protein by body weight instead, choose "Protein by body weight" and enter your weight and the protein per unit of weight.
4. Use the "Grams to calories" tab when you only know the grams, and "Today's food" to log what you eat.

How it works

• Carbohydrate and protein count as 4 kcal per gram, fat as 9 kcal and alcohol as 7 kcal (general Atwater factors, FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 77).
• Grams = calories × share ÷ kcal per gram. With "Take alcohol calories out first" switched on, alcohol calories are removed before the split.
• The example split buttons are plain numbers and do not stand for any diet. The tool is not nutrition or medical advice.
• Entries in "Today's food" are kept only in this browser on this device.

Questions and answers

How many grams are 50/20/30 macros on 2000 calories?

Carbs 1,000 kcal ÷ 4 = 250 g, protein 400 kcal ÷ 4 = 100 g and fat 600 kcal ÷ 9 = about 67 g.

Why does fat have 9 calories per gram?

Fat holds more than twice as much energy per gram as carbohydrate or protein. The general factors used on food labels are 9 for fat and 4 for carbohydrate and protein.

How much protein is 0.7 g per pound for a 160 lb person?

160 × 0.7 = 112 g a day, which is 448 kcal. The remaining calories are shared between carbs and fat by the share you choose.

Why do my results differ from the calories on a food label?

Labels may count fibre and sugar alcohols with other factors and round the numbers, so a difference of a few calories is normal.