What are macros and how do you calculate them?
October 6, 2026 · 2 min read
Macros (macronutrients) are the three nutrient groups that give your body energy: protein, carbohydrate and fat. Calories tell you how much you eat; macros tell you what you eat. The same 2,000 calories can come from very different splits, and your fullness, energy and muscle retention change with them.
Calories per gram
| Macro | Per gram |
|---|---|
| Protein | 4 calories |
| Carbohydrate | 4 calories |
| Fat | 9 calories |
| Alcohol (not a macro, but it has calories) | 7 calories |
A gram of fat carries more than twice the calories of the others. That is why small portions of fatty foods add up so quickly.
Calculate your macros in 3 steps
1. Set your calorie target. Start with your daily calories; the method is in how many calories should I eat a day. We will use 2,000 calories as the example.
2. Fix protein by body weight. When losing weight or training, aim for 1.2–2.0 g per kg. For a 70 kg (154 lb) person at 1.6 g/kg that is 112 g of protein, or 448 calories. See the protein guide for detail.
3. Split the rest between fat and carbs. For fat, 25–30 percent of total calories is a good starting point. Thirty percent of 2,000 is 600 calories, or about 67 g of fat. The remaining 952 calories go to carbohydrate: about 238 g.
Result: 112 g protein, 238 g carbohydrate, 67 g fat.
Common macro splits
| Approach | Protein | Carbohydrate | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | 20–25% | 45–55% | 25–30% |
| High protein (weight loss) | 30% | 40% | 30% |
| Lower carb | 30% | 20–25% | 45–50% |
At 2,000 calories, a 30 / 40 / 30 split is 150 g protein, 200 g carbohydrate and 67 g fat. No single ratio is the right one. What matters is total calories and enough protein; set the balance between fat and carbs by whichever you find easier to live with.
Do you have to count macros?
No. Total calories decide whether your weight changes. But if you only watch calories, protein can end up low, which leaves you hungry sooner and costs you muscle while losing weight. A simple method that is enough for most people: hit your calorie target and your protein target, and let the rest fall where it falls.
Tracking macros without the arithmetic
Looking up every food is tiring. Cal Crew sets your daily calorie and macro targets from your height, weight, age and activity, estimates all three macros from a photo of your plate, and shows what you have left for the day as rings. You can read how photo logging works in this post.